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20 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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abate
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v. subside or moderate.
Rather than leaving immediately, they waited for the storm to abate. |
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aberrant
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adj. abnormal or deviant.
Given the aberrant nautre of the data, we came to doubt the validity of the entire experiment. |
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abrasive
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adj. rubbing away; tending to grind down
Just as abrasive cleaning powders can wear away a shiny finish, abrasive remarks can wear a way a listener's patience |
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abridge
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conense or shorten
because the publishers felt the public wanted a shorter version of War Aand Peace, they proceeded to abridge the novel. |
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absolute
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adj. complete;totally unlimited;certain
Although the King of Siam was an absolute monarch, he did not want to behead his unfaithful wife without absolute evidence of her infidelity. |
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abstemious
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adj. sparing in eating and drinkming;temperate.
Concerned whether her vegetarian son's abstemious diet provided him with sufficient protein, the worried mother pressed food on him. |
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abstract
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adj. theoretical; not concrete; nonrepresentational
T him, hunger was an abstract concept; he had never missed a meal |
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abtruse
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adj. obscure;profound;difficult to understand
She caries around abtruse works of philosophy, not because she understnads them but because she wants her friends to htink she does. |
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accessible
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adj. easy to approach; obtainable.
we asked our guide whether the ruins were accessible on foot. |
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acclaim
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v. applud; announce with great approval
The NBC sportcasters acclimed every American victory in the Olympics and lamented every American defeat |
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founder
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v. fail completely; sink
After hitting the submerged iceberg, the Titanic started taking in water rapidly and soon foundered. |
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founder
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n. person who establishses(an organization, business)
Among thoses drowned whine the Titanic sank was the founder of the Abraham and Straus department store |
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frail
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ADJ. weak
THe sickly child seemed too grail to lift the fhavy carton. |
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frivolous
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ADJ. lacking in seriousness;selfindulgent carfree'relatively unimportant
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frugality
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N. thrift; economy
In economically hard times, thoses who do not learn to practice frugality risk bankruptcy |
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fundamental
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v. basic;primary;essential
The committe discussed all sorts of side issues without ever getting down to addressing the fundamental problems |
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furtive
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adj. stealhty;sneaky
Noticing the furtive glance the customer gave the diamond bracelet on the counter, the jeweler wondered whether he had a potential shoplifter on his hands. |
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futile
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adj. ineffective; fruitless
Why waster your htime on futile pursuits? |
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galvanize
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v. stimulate by shock; stir up; revitalize
News that the princes was almost at their door galvanised the ugly stepsisters into frenzy of combing and primping |
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garbled
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adj. mixed up; jumbled; distorted
A fovorite party game involves passing a whispered message from one person to another, till, bly the time it reaches the last player, the message is totally garbled |
