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298 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
archetypal
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an original model from which all others are patterened
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protean
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changeable
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amoral
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no admitting moral distinctions; neither moral nor immoral
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dichotomy
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a split, division
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esoteric
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understood by only a few
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disparate
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people or things so different they can't be compared
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equilibrium
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a mental state of calm and composure, a state in which opposing forces balance out, ability to mantain balance
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translucent
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allowing light to pass through but only diffusely so indistinct
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demise
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death, end of something
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bereft
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deprived of something, filled with a sense of loss
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lambency
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state of soft, glowing light, flickering light
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plangent
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expressing grief or sadness, resonating with a mournful sound, also a loud or resonant sound
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adamantine
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extremely hard and unyielding
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nimbus
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a halo, could of light often around a god or saint
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coruscate
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to give off flashes of bright light
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credulity
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tendency to believe too easily
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incantation
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ritual chanting
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invidious
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producing resentment or jealously
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castigate
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to criticize or punish
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craven
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cowardly
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iniquitous
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immoral, esp in a way that results in injustice
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turbid
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opaque and muddy, dense and cloudy, confused and muddled
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panoply
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an impressive display with all the accessories
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coy
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pretending to be reserved, actually shy, annoyingly reluctant to make a committment
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magnanimous
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very generous, kind or forgiving
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spurious
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being different than what it claims to be
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unctuous
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slippery, insincere
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antedate
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to come before
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arboreal
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having to do with trees
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tremulous
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quivering
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inchoate
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beginning, incipient
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addled
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muddled, confused
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calumniated
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slander, malign
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droll
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oddly amusing, whimsically comical
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exonerate
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to declare someone innocent, to relieve from responsibility
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obsequious
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excessively eager to please
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viscid
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thick and sticky
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Pointillist
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19C paintng style comprised of dots
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prescience
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foreknowledge
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iridescent
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marked by rainbow colors, any brilliant appearance
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ambrosial
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linked to ambrosia, delightful to taste or smell
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patina
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a thin layer formed by corrosion on the surface of some metals, a surface sheen, any thin layer of something
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wan
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unnaturally pale, expressive of melancholy
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suffuse
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to spread over
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doleful
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very sad or mournful
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permeate
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to spread through
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propitious
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favorable or likely to lead to success
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sallow
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pale or yellow
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malleable
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capable of being persuaded, of being modled
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exodus
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a departure
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stacatto
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short, rapid detached notes
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diminution
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a lessening, a making smaller
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undulate
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wave-like
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mottled
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spotted
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incandescent
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emitting light because of great heat, shining or glowing
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pedagogic
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the art of teaching
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impeccable
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without flaw
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vortex
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a whirling mass that draws everything to its center
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alloy
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something added that lowers value or purity (cheap metal)
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succulent
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full of juice or sap
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deign
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to do someting in a way that suggests that it is beneath your dignity
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prevaricate
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to avoid direct and honest answer, esp. by quibbing and misleading
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arabesque
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an intricate and often symmetical design, highly decorative
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attenuation
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long, slender, narrow, to make narrower (attenuate)
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beatific
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expressing great happiness and inner peace (as with a saint)
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pander
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to indulge someone else's weaknesses; to procure sexual favors for someone
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expiate
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to make ammends, show remorse for something done wrong
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intimation
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hint, suggestion
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torpor
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lethargy, apathy
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obdurate
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hardened in wrongdoing or wickedness, hardened to feeling, not given to persuasion
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ossify
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to turn into bone, to become set to a conventional pattern
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pecuniary
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having to do with money
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incorrigible
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impossible to correct or reform, difficult to keep in order
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quibble
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to argue over unimportant things and make petty objections
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execrate
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to put a curse on someone, to declare someone to be loathsome
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dissemble
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to put on a false appearance in order to conceal things
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mitigate
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to make something less severe or harsh
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wanton
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w/out restraint or inhibition, esp sexual
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transfigure
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revealing great beauty or spiritiualiy, to transform the app. of someone
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promontory
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a point of land that juts into the sea
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circumspection
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unwillingness to act without weighing the consequences
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archipelago
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a group of islands
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comely
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physically good-looking
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paltry
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insignificant, low and contemptible
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supplication
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a humble appeal to someone who can grant favors
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commodious
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pleasantly spacious
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coalesce
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to merge into one
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marmoreal
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made of marble, especially in being cold, aloof
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lapidary
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suitable for engraving in stone
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lacunae
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a small gap
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feng shui
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connection of a person to environment
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sesquipedal
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foot and a half
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iniquitous
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immoral, esp in sense of unjust or unfair
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sinuous
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gracefully winding, full of bend and curves, indirect or devious
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anathema
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something greatly disliked, cursed
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desultory
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aimlessly passing from one thing to another, happening in a random, disorganized way
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bacchic
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riotous drunkenness
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perfidy
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treachery or deceit
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perspicacious
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discerning, perceptive, astute
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perspicuity
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quality of being expressed clearly
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impunity
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exemption from punishment or h arm
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paean
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hymn of praise
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reprobate
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a disreputable or immoral person
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glib
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fluent in a superficial or insincere way, shallow, lacking in thought, easily, unconcerned and informal
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odious
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inspiring hatred, contempt or disgust
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contrite
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deeply sorry about something
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ineluctable
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unable to be escaped from or avoided
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mephitic
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noxious, poisonous smell
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nemesis
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bitter enemy, a source of harm, the god of punishment and revenge
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allay
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to calm anxiety or fear, to relieve severity of pain
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hegemony
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control or dominating influence, esp by political group or nation
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lugubrious
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extremely sad, gloomy, or mournful
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palpitate
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to beat in a rapid way
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solace
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comfrot in sadness
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coquetry
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flirtatious
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premonition
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a strong feeling w/out rational basis that something is going to happen
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transient
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lasting for only a short time (ephemeral, evanescent, transitory)
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imbue
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to saturate with something
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muse
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to think about something either deeply or in a dreamy state; noun – source of inspiration, a particular talent, one of the 9 daughters of zeus and memory
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palatable
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having a good enough taste to be eaten, acceptable to one's senses
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heinous
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shockingly evil or wicked
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esoteric
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understood by only a few
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abate
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to lessen, suppress a nuisance
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salutary
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of value or benefit, healthy
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efface
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to remove or obliterate
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terse
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brief, conceise
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dissemble
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to put on a false appearance, to hide one's true beliefs or intentions
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amphisband
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snake with two heads
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whorl
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having shape of a spiral
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herpentine
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reptiles or amphibians
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reliquary
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a container for relics
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pedophage
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having sex with a child
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baneful
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causing ruin or destruction
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equanimity
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evenness of temper
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emanate
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to come from or come out of, to emit
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perfidious
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guilty of treachery or deceit
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specter
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a ghostly presence or appartition, a threat
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pestilence
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epidemic, serious disease, a malevolent belief
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query
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a question
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pomposity
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excessive sense of self-importance usually displaye through exaggerated seriousness
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presumptuous
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inconsiderate, disrespectful in doing something when not entitled
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equivocal
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open to more than one interpretation, difficult to interpret
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sodden
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saturated with moisture
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induce
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to persuade or influence, to cause to bring about
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to augur
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to indiciate what will happen next
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to goad
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to provoke or incite someone into action, to prod an animal
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nape
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back part of neck
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ruse
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a clever trick or plot to deceive
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petrifacient
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able to turn something into stone
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gyre
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spiral
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peunultimate
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next to last
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avuncular
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pertaining to an uncle
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manumit
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to free (send from hand)
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uncial
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a letter used in Greek and Latin manuscripts between 3rd and 9th C that resembles a modern capital but is more rounded
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vituperate
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to attack in abusive language
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omphalos
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delphi stone – center of world, the central or focal point
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dhow
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a sailboat used by Arab sailors
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flaccid
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soft, limp, lacking energy, enthusiasm or competence
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pantheon
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all the dieties of a particular Religion considered collectively, a group of people who are the most famous in a particular Field, a temple dedicated to the dieties
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callow
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young, immature
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corporeal
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relating to the body
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subterfuge
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a plan, action, device to hide the real objective, trickery
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progenitor
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a direct ancestor
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ire
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anger
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obsequies
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rites or ceremonies at a funeral
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surrogate
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a substitue
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circumlocution
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using more words than necessary in order not to be direct
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ignominy
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a total loss of dignity, a public disgrace
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hubris
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excessive pride or arrogance
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epistolary
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taking the form of letters, associated with letters
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tryst
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a secret meeting between lovers
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cowl
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the hood of a monk's cloak
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aegis
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the shielf of athena or zeus, protection, sponsorship
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imprecation
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an oath or curse
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gaucherie
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a lack of grace or tact in social situations
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remonstrate
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to reason or argue forcefully with someone
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estellation
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to turn into stars
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surfeit
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an excessive number, overindulgence
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timber
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the pitch
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prototype
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the model on which later versions are developed
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reciprocity
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something done mutally in return or in interchange
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mollify
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to calm or soothe
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truncate
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to make shorter
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scylla and charybdis
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in a spot where avoiding one danger puts you in danger of something else
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penury
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extreme poverty
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elysian fields
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the home of the blessed after death, any ideal or blissful place
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medley
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a mixture or an assortment of various things
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cuckold
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a husband with an unfaithful wife
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quondam
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of an earlier time
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proclivity
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a natural tendency to behave in a particular way
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clairvoyance
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to see things beyond the range of normal human vision
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guffaw
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a loud or raucous laugh
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bullion
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gold or silver in bars
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to query
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to ask a question
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opalescent
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showing shimmering milky colors
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denouement
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the final part wherein everything is made clear
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procrustean bed
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arbitrary standard to which conformity is demanded
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sisyphean
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an arduous task impssible to complete
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shibboleth
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a test word, slogan, catchword (hebrews asked enemies to say it, knowing they couldn't)
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myrmidon
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a faithful folower who carries out order without question (followers of Achilles from Thrace)
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halcyon
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a mythical bird who had the power to calm the waves, hence – calm, peaceful, also prosperous
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laconic
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using few words
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piquant
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pungent
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alacrity
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cheerful readiness, liveliness and eagerness
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salubrious
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promoting health
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assiduous
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hardworking, busy
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vernal
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spring-like
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ebullient
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overflowing with enthusiasm
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epiphany
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sudden revelation
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feckless
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ineffectual, ineffective over another
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gilt
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golden
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plethora
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a large amount or number
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quiddity
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the essential nature of something (the "whatness")
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opprobrium
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disgrace, shameful conduct
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paradigm
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model, pattern, example
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sedulous
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diligent, industrious
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turpitude
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disgraceful conduct
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vertiginous
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dizziness
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disseminate
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to scatter or spread widely
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evanescent
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vanishing or fading
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impugn
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to refute, criticize
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deliquesce
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to dissolve gradually by absorbing water, to form many brances without a main stream
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voluptuary
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hedonist
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lucubration
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hard study, study at night like a scholar
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nugatory
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of little importance
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borborygmic
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rumbling of gas in the stomach
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bovine
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like a clow, esp slowness, body type
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sardonic
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disdainfully mocking
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enervate
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to weaken, physical, mental, moral
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languor
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a pleasant feeling of weariness; listlessness, indifference
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diaphanous
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delicacy of form, so fine as to be transparent; vague or insubstantial
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penchant
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a tendency
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palliative
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something that makes less severe or intense
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demagogue
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a leader who gains power by emotional appeal, leader of common people
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cant
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hypocritical pious language, special language of a profession
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touchstone
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a criterion or standard (hard black stone used to test gold)
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indigence
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extreme poverty
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felicity
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happiness
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clandestine
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secretive or furtive
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quiescent
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inactive or at rest
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pristine
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so clean and neat as to look like new, in an original condition
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augury
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the interpretation of natural phenomenon as signs of favor or disfavor from the gods
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persiflage
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light bantering style
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farrago
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medley, conglomeration
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consanguine
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blood relationship, close relation
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panegyric
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lofty praise
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parracide
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killing of parents
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garrulous
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extremely talkative
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munificient
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very generous
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neophyte
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a beginner
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cotumacious
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rebellious or disobedient
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maenad
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a female follower of dionysis: a woman affected by wild, uncontrollable emotion
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cacophany
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unpleasant combination of jarring sounds
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bacchanal
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a riotous drunken reveler, the celebration itself
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dirge
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a song of mourning or lament
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pristine
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so clean and neat as to look like new, in an original condition
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augury
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the interpretation of natural phenomenon as signs of favor or disfavor from the gods
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persiflage
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light bantering style
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farrago
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medley, conglomeration
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consanguine
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blood relationship, close relation
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panegyric
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lofty praise
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parracide
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killing of parents
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garrulous
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extremely talkative
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munificient
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very generous
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neophyte
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a beginner
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cotumacious
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rebellious or disobedient
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maenad
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a female follower of dionysis: a woman affected by wild, uncontrollable emotion
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cacophany
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unpleasant combination of jarring sounds
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bacchanal
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a riotous drunken reveler, the celebration itself
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dirge
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a song of mourning or lament
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bane
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something that causes problems, a fatal poison
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propinquity
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nearness
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recondite
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hard to understand
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encomiums
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praise
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exigent
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urgent, demanding a great deal
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empyrean
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highest
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epicene
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characteristics of both male and female
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crepuscular
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twilight
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abstruse
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arcane, esoteric, recondite
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conundrum
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a puzzle, riddle
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abstemious
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eating and drinking in moderation
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mellifluous
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sweet sounding, flowing
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espouse
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support or advocate
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opulent
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luxurious
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nascent
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emerging, coming into existence
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probity
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integrity, honest
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mamilpatinapei
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looking into each other's eyes, each hoping that the other will initiate what both want to do, but neither chooses to commence (tierra del fuegan word, example of a single word poem by barth)
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doppelganger
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the appartition of a living person as opposed to a ghost, alter ego
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bibulous
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given to drinking
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pallindrome
|
reads the same way backwards and forwards – racecar
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blovate
|
oration that is windy and verbose
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palimpsest
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parchment written over several times
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cretinous
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like a cretin, person of mental deficiency
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insouciance
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lack of concern, nonchalance
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proffered
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offered
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cornucopia
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abundances, overflowing
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preternatural
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beyond the normal course of nature
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moribund
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dying
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