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174 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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abate
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v. subside; decrease, lessen
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accolade
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n. award of merit
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acquiesce
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v. assent; agree without protesting
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acrid
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adj. sharp; bitterly pungent
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acrimonious
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adj. bitter in words or manner
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aggregate
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v. gather; accumulate
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amorphous
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adj. formless; lacking shape or definition
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anachronistic
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adj. having an error involving time in a story
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anomaly
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n. irregularity
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antediluvian
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adj. antiquated; extremely ancient
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antipathy
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n. aversion; dislike
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apocryphal
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adj. untrue; made up
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arable
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adj. fit for growing crops
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ardent
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adj. intense; passionate; zealous
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assiduous
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adj. diligent
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assuage
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v. ease or lessen (pain); satisfy (hunger); soothe (anger)
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atrophy
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v. waste away
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audacious
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adj. daring; bold
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avarice
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n. greediness for wealth
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avert
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v. prevent; turn away
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aviary
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n. enclosure for birds
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beguile
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v. mislead or delude; pass time
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bequeath
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v. leave to someone by a will; hand down
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bleak
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adj. cold or cheerless; unlikely to be favorable
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blighted
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adj. suffering from a disease; destroyed
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bombastic
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adj. pompous; using inflated language
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buttress
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v. support; prop up
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cacophonous
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adj. discordant; inharmonious
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cardiologist
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n. doctor specializing in the heart
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carping
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adj. finding fault
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certitude
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n. certainty
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charlatan
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n. quack; pretender to knowledge
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circumlocution
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n. indirect or roundabout expression
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cliche
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n. phrase dulled in meaning by repetition
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coalesce
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v. combine; fuse
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colloquial
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adj. pertaining to conversational or common speech
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combustible
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adj. easily burned
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complementary
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adj. serving to complete something
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confluence
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n. flowing together; crowd
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conjecture
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v. surmise; guess
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converge
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v. approach; tend to meet; come together
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corrode
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v. destroy by chemical action
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corrugated
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adj. wrinkled; ridged
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culpable
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adj. deserving blame
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debilitate
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v. weaken; enfeeble
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debunk
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v. expose as false, exaggerated, worthless; ridicule
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dehydrate
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v. remove water from; dry out
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deleterious
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adj. harmful
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depose
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v. dethrone; remove from office
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desiccate
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v. dry up
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diffidence
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n. shyness
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dilatory
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adj. delaying
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discourse
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n. formal discussion; conversation
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disquiet
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v. make uneasy or anxious
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distend
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v. expand; swell out
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dupe
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n. someone easily fooled
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ebullient
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adj. showing excitement; overflowing with enthusiasm
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edify
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v. instruct; correct morally
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efface
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v. rub out
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effervesce
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n. inner excitement or exuberance; bubbling from fermentation or carbonation
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elegy
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n. poem or song expressing lamentation
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elicit
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v. draw out by discussion
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elucidate
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v. explain; enlighten
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emaciated
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adj. thin and wasted
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emend
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v. correct; correct by a critic
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equanimity
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n. calmness of temperament; composure
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equitable
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adj. fair; impartial
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evanescent
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adj. fleeting; vanishing
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excerpt
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n. selected passage (written or musical)
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fallow
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adj. plowed but not sowed; uncultivated
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falter
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v. hesitate
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fathom
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v. comprehend; investigate
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fell
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v. cut or knock down; bring down (with a missile)
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fitful
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adj. spasmodic; intermittent
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florid
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adj. ruddy; reddish; flowery
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foolhardy
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adj. rash
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glacial
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adj. like a glacier; extremely cold
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hackneyed
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adj. commonplace; trite
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hyperbole
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n. exaggeration; overstatement
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iconoclastic
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adj. attacking cherished traditions
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ignominy
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n. deep disgrace; shame or dishonor
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illicit
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adj. illegal
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impecunious
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adj. without money
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impregnable
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adj. invulnerable
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incidental
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adj. not essential
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incontrovertible
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adj. indisputable; not open to question
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indefatigable
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adj. tireless
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indolent
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adj. lazy
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ineffable
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adj. unutterable; cannot be expressed in speech
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inexorable
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adj. relentless; unyielding; implacable
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insolvent
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adj. bankrupt; unable to repay one's debts
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insuperable
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adj. insurmountable; unbeatable
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intractable
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adj. unruly; stubborn; unyielding
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irreproachable
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adj. blameless; impeccable
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jocular
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adj. said or done in jest
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labyrinth
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n. maze
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laconic
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adj. brief and to the point
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laggard
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adj. slow; sluggish
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lampoon
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v. ridicule
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lassitude
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n. languor; weariness
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lithe
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adj. flexible; supple
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lurid
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adj. wild; sensational; graphic; gruesome
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luxuriant
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adj. abundant; rich and splendid; fertile
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meander
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v. wind or turn in its course
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mercenary
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adj. interested in money or gain
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mercurial
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adj. capricious; changing; fickle
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mirth
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n. merriment; laughter
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misanthrope
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n. one who hates mankind
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misnomer
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n. wrong name; incorrect designation
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mollify
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v. soothe
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mosaic
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n. picture made of colorful small inlaid tiles
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munificent
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adj. very generous
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nefarious
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adj. very wicked
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nuance
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n. shade of difference in meaning or color; subtle distinction
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obdurate
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adj. stubborn
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odious
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adj. hateful; vile
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ornate
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adj. excessively or elaborately decorated
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pariah
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n. social outcast
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parody
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n. humorous imitation; spoof; takeoff; travesty
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parsimony
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n. stinginess; excessive frugality
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paucity
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n. scarcity
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penury
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n. severe poverty; stinginess
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perfunctory
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adj. superficial; not thorough; lacking interest, care, or enthusiasm
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pernicious
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adj. very destructive
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pitfall
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n. hidden danger; concealed trap
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pithy
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adj. concise; meaningful; substantial; meaty
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polemical
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adj. aggressive in verbal attack; disputatious
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prattle
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v. babble
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precarious
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adj. uncertain; risky
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profligate
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adj. dissipated; wasteful; wildly immoral
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quagmire
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n. soft, wet, boggy land; complex or dangerous situation from which it is difficult to free oneself
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quell
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v. extinguish
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querulous
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adj. fretful; whining
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quiescent
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adj. at rest; dormant; temporarily inactive
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rant
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v. rave; talk excitedly; scold; make a grandiloquent speech
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rarefied
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adj. made less dense [of a gas]
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raucous
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adj. harsh and shrill; disorderly and boisterous
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ravenous
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adj. extremely hungry
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raze
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v. destroy completely
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recant
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v. disclaim or disavow; retract a previous statement; openly confess error
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remission
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n. temporary moderation of disease symptoms; cancellation of a debt; forgiveness or pardon
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replete
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adj. filled to the brim or to the point of being stuffed; abundantly supplied
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repugnant
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adj. loathsome; hateful
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rescind
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v. cancel
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respite
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n. interval of relief; time for rest; delay in punishment
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resplendent
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adj. dazzling; glorious; brilliant
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savory
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adj. tasty; pleasing, attractive, or agreeable
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sedentary
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adj. requiring sitting
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soporific
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adj. sleep-causing; marked by sleepiness
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spurious
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adj. false; counterfeit; forged; illogical
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spurn
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v. reject; scorn
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steadfast
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adj. loyal; unswerving
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stolid
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adj. unruffled; impassive; dull
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strident
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adj. loud and harsh; insistent
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stupefy
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v. make numb; stun; amaze
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supplant
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v. replace; usurp
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surfeit
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v. satiate; stuff; indulge to excess in anything
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swagger
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v. behave arrogantly or pompously; strut or walk proudly
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tantamount
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adj. equivalent in effect or value
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tenacity
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n. firmness; persistence
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terrestrial
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adj. earthly (as opposed to celestial); pertaining to the land
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threadbare
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adj. worn through till the threads show; shabby and poor
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tirade
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n. extended scolding; denunciation; harangue
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torpor
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n. lethargy; sluggishness; dormancy
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trepidation
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n. fear; nervous apprehension
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trifling
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adj. trivial; unimportant
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truncate
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v. cut the top off
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unkempt
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adj. disheveled; uncared for in appearance
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unprecedented
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adj. novel; unparalleled
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vaporize
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v. turn into vapor (steam, gas, fog)
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viable
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adj. practical or workable; capable of maintaining life
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virulent
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adj. extremely poisonous; hostile; bitter
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voluble
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adj. fluent; glib; talkative
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witticism
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n. witty saying; wisecrack
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