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10 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
- 3rd side (hint)
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Abjure
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to reject; abandon formally
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For a foreigner to become a U.S. citizen, he or she must take an oath abjuring allegiance to any other country and pledging to take up arms to defend the United States.
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Abscission
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the act of cutting: the natural separation of a leaf or other part of a plant.
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Two scientists, Alan G Williams and Thomas G. Whitham, have hypothesized that premature leaf abscission is an adaptive plant response to herbivorous attacks.
The surgeon abscised a small growth on the patient's hand. |
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Abysmal
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very bad
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The abysmal failure of the free market system in Russia has led some people to argue that the planned economy of the Soviet Union, while not perfect, was better suited to Russia's history and culture than Western-style capitalism.
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accretion
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growth in size or increase in amount
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in the 1960's, the American geophysicist Harry Hess conceived the idea of sea-floor spreading, a process in which the new crust in the ocean continually generated by igneous processes at the crests of the mid-oceanic ridges, causing a steady accretion of the crust.
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affected
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pretentious, phony
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It has been argued that the emphasis on so called "proper English" leads to unnatural and effected speech.
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alacrity
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cheerful willingness; eagerness; speed
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the football coach was pleased to see the team get to work on the task of improving its tackling skills with alacrity.
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allay
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to lessen, ease, soothe
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Improvements in antivirus software have allayed many people's fears of having their computers "infected" with malicious software.
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amenity
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something that increases comfort
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Many amenities considered normal and necessary by people in developed countries, such as indoor plumbing, were luxuries only a few generations ago.
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ambrosia / ambrosial
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Something delicious; the food of the gods.
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The combination of flavors in the Moroccan baked eggplant was pure ambrosia.
The food critic praised the chef for preparing what he called an "ambrosial meal." |
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amenable
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agreeable;cooperative; suited
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The young writer is amenable to suggestions for improving her prose style to make it more interesting.
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