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60 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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precept
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n. practical rule guiding conduct
"love thy neighbor as thyself" is a worthwhile precept |
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precipice
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n. cliff; dangerous position
Suddenly Indiana Jones found himself dangling from the edge of a precipice |
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precipitant
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n. something that causes a substance in a chemical sln to separate out in solid form
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precipitate
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adj. rash; premature; hasty; sudden
quitting a job in such a precipitate fashion v. throw headlong; hasten removal of his support precipitated her downfall |
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precipitous
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adj. steep; overhasty
This hill is difficult to climb bc it is so precipitous; one slip, and our descent will be precipitous as well |
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precis
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n. concise summing up of main points
before her presentation, she wrote a neat precis of the major pts she would cover |
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precocious
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adj. advanced in development
she was so grownup (procoscious!) |
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predator
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n. person who robs or exploits others
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preeminent
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adj outstanding; superior
the preeminent surgeon |
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preempt
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v. head off; forestall by acting first; appropriate for oneself; supplant
Hoping to preempt any attempts by the opposition.... |
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preen
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v. make oneself tidy in appearance; feel self-satisfaction
As Kitty preened before the mirror, she couldn't help preening herself on her good looks |
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prefatory
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adj. introductory
he made a few prefatory remarks about the speaker |
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prehensile
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adj. capable of grasping or holding
monkeys have prehensile tails |
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prelate
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n. church dignitary
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premeditate
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v. plan in advance
He had premeditated the murder for months |
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premise
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n. assumption; postulate
On the premise that... |
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premonitory
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adj. serving to warn
You should have seen the doctor right after the premonitory chest pains. |
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preponderance
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n. superiority of power, quantity, etc
the rebels sought to overcome the preponderance of govt forces |
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preposterous
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adj. absurd; ridiculous
What a preposterous excuse! |
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prerogative
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n. privilge; unquestionable right
The president cannot levy taxes; that is the prerogative of the legislative branch of govt |
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presage
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v. foretell
the vultures above presaged the discovery of the corpse |
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prescience
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n. ability to foretell the future
it does not take prescience for me to foresee problems in our future |
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presentiment
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n. feeling something will happen; anticipatory fear; premonition
Jack had a sudden presentiment that this was the last time he would see Jill |
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presumptuous
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adj. arrogant; taking liberties
it seems presumptuous for a newby to challenge the attending |
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pretentious
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adj. ostentatious; pompous; making unjustified claims; overambitious
it's so pretentious of him to wear his medal |
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preternatural
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adj. beyond that which is normal in nature
her preternatural ability to tell whenever he was lying |
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pretext
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n. excuse
she looked for a good pretext |
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prevail
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v. induce; triumph over
He tried to prevail on her to type his essay for him |
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prevaricate
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v. lie
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prey
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n. target of a hunt; victim
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prim
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adj. very precise and formal; exceedingly proper
the old lady's prim attire |
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primogeniture
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n. seniority by birth
by virtue of primogeniture... |
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primordial
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adj. existing at the beginning (of time); rudimentary
primordial ancestors |
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primp
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v. groom oneself w/ care; adorn oneself.
the bride primped on last time before the mirror |
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pristine
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adj. characteristic of earlier times; primitive; unspoiled
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privation
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n. hardship; want
In his youth,m he knew hunger and privation |
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privy
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adj. secret; hidden; not public
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probity
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n. uprightness; incorruptibility
Everyone took his probity for granted; his defalcations (embezzlement), therefore, shocked us all |
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problematic
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adj. doubtful; unsettled; questionable; perplexing
whether the arena will ever be completed is problematic |
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proclivity
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n. inclination; natural tendency
proclivity for neatness |
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procurement
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n. obtaining
the personnel dept handles the procurement of new employees |
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prod
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v. poke; stir up; urge
If you prod him hard enough, he'll do it |
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prodigal
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adj. wasteful; reckless w/ money
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prodigious
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think prodigy?!
adj. marvelous; enormous we marveled at his prodigious strength |
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profane
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v. violate; desecrate; treat unworthily
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profligate
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adj. dissipated; wasteful; wildly immoral
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profound
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adj. deep; not superficial; complete
n. profundity |
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profusion
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n. overabundance; lavish expenditure; excess
profusion of choices on the menu profuse apologies |
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progenitor
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n. ancestor
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prognosticate
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v. predict
I prognosticate disaster unless ew change our wasteful ways |
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projectile
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n. milssile
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proletarian
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n. member of the working class; blue collar guy
n. proletariat |
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prolific
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adj. abundantly fruitful
She was a prolific writer |
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prolixity
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n. tedious wordiness; verbosity
A speaker who suffers from prolixity tells us everything we don't care about |
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promiscuous
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adj. mixed indiscriminately; haphazard; irregular, particularly sexually
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promontory
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n. headland
they erected a lighthouse on the promontory |
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promulgate
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v. proclaim a doctrine or law; make known by official publication
When Moses came down from the mountaintop prepared to promulgate God's commandments, he was appalled to discover his followers worshiping a golden calf |
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prone
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adj. inclined to ; prostrate
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propinquity
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n. nearness; kinship
their relationship is not based on mere propinquity; they were more than relatives; they were true friends |
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propitiate
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v. appease
The natives offered sacrifices to propitiate the gods. |
