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110 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
Fahrenheit
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temperature scale with a freezing point of 32 degrees and a boiling point of 212 degrees
"Paper catches fire at 451 degrees Fahrenheit." |
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subconscious
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the part of the mind below the level of consciousness
"My urge to kick the dog was a subconscious one; it surprised me as much as it did the dog." |
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melancholy
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sadness or depression of spirits; gloom
"An air of melancholy spread through the forest after the elf died." |
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exploitation
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utilization of another person or group for selfish purposes
"Prison labor is an example of state-sponsored exploitation." |
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suffuse
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to spread through with color, liquid, or light
"The morning sky suffused with deep colors." |
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subside
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to settle down or become less; to be calmed
"I let my anger subside before I tried to talk with him. I didn't want to lose control." |
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intuitive
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capable of knowing without reasoning or deduction
"I had an intuitive sense that the aliens were right around the corner." |
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mortal
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destined to die
"Some have searched for a fountain of youth to escape their mortal fate." |
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manifested
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plainly demonstrated, revealed, made evident
"His plans manifested in the death of his enemy." |
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scapegoat
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one that is made to bear the blame for others
"Jews were used as the scapegoat during the Holocaust." |
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status quo
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the state of staying the same
"I like the status quo; it's something that requires no adaptation." |
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beatific
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marked by utter benignity; resembling or befitting an angel or saint
"Dressed in robes of white and seated upon the throne, the King looked very beatific." |
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cadence
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balanced, rhythmic flow, as of poetry or oratory
"The rhythmic cadence of her speech was hypnotizing." |
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certitude
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the state of being certain, greater certainty than circumstances warrant
"I felt with utter certitude that I would be assigned homework that day." |
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moor
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a vast infertile land, covered with heath and peat bogs
"During our journey through the moor, I fell into many bogs." |
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strew
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to cover by scattering
"The battleground was strewn with dead bodies." |
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verbage
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a deliberate misspelling and mispronunciation of the word 'verbiage' that assimilates it to the word 'garbage'
"Her essay was verbage. It was over-wordy but contained no meaning." |
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welter
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to wallow or roll about, as in mud or high seas
"The pigs weltered lazily in the mud." |
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filigree
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ornamental work made from gold, silver, or other fine twisted wire
"He gave me a gold filigree ring for my birthday." |
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insidious
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treacherous, spreading harmfully in a subtle manner
"The poison spread through his body like an insidious disease. When he learnt of its presence, it was too late." |
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totalitarian
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having total control
"Communist countries are said to be totalitarian." |
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lassitude
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weariness, lethargy, languor
"I began the day with vigor, but by the end, I was filled with great lassitude." |
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doublethink
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believing two contradictory ideas at the same time
"Believing that 2+2=4 and also believing that 2+2 is not equal to 4 is an example of doublethink." |
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Orwellian
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relating to the works of George Orwell, especially 1984, a book about a totalitarian state.
"Some new aspects of the anti-terrorism bill have an Orwellian creepiness to them." |
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archaic
|
outdated
"Because he spoke many archaic words, we could not understand him." |
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heresy
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belief contrary to the popular opinion
"People were burned at the stake for heresy in Salem, Massachusetts." |
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servile
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slave-like
"Peasants during the Middle Ages were servile. They worked hard and received little in return." |
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sinecure
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a job that requires little or no work
"The president's job is not a sinecure because it requires a lot of responsible decision-making." |
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degradation
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lowering in rank, character, or status
"The degradation of army discipline can be seen from the prison abuses in Iraq." |
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truncheon
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policeman's club or a baton
"The murder weapon was a truncheon, so the police officer was immediately a suspect." |
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vapid
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dull, spiritless, boring
"The lecture was vapid and I soon fell asleep." |
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cursory
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hasty, without attention to details
"The bad teacher gave the essay a cursory glance and assigned it a grade without reading it." |
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diatribe
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denunciation, bitter verbal attack
"The president unleashed a bitter diatribe against his opponent during the presidential debate." |
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engender
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produce, cause, bring into being
"His insulting words engendered a fight." |
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ephemeral
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lasting only a short time
"The effects of the pain killer were ephemeral. They wore off quickly." |
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dearth
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shortage
"The dearth of food during the winter caused many people to starve." |
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hedonist
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one that lives solely for pleasure
"The hedonist was happiest in the late hours, when the parties degenerated into debauchery." |
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carping
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complaining
"Students are always carping about how much homework they have." |
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cache
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secret hiding place, something hidden in a secret hiding place
"I kept my money hidden in a secret cache under my bed." |
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clemency
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leniency, mercy
"Presidents and governors often show clemency to those on death row when their term is about to end." |
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imbroglio
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a confused and complicated situation
"Arthur found himself in an imbroglio when several women claimed he was the father of their children." |
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undulate
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to move like a wave
"The wheat undulated like an ocean of yellow." |
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paucity
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scarcity
"There was a paucity of participation in the class." |
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abstemious
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moderate in eating or drinking, abstaining
"He was abstemious with his food supply when he got stranded on a deserted island." |
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sachet
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a small bag of perfumed herbs or powder
"She made a scented sachet and put it into her car to make the car smell better." |
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candor
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frankness
"The candor of his speech made us realize that he didn't beat around the bush." |
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assiduous
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diligent
"Her teacher praised her for her assiduous work." |
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vermilion
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bright red
"The sun glowed in a vermilion color." |
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censure
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blame, criticize
"He was censured when he exercised his freedom of speech." |
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atrophy
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wasting away
"He needed physical therapy to prevent the atrophy of his unused legs." |
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pallor
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lack of color
"I could see the pallor of her face when she found out that she failed her test." |
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circumspect
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prudent, cautious
"She was always circumspect when crossing the street." |
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assuage
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to ease or lessen pain or distress
"He told her soothing words to assuage her pain." |
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cataract
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waterfall
"The moisture from the cataract produced a rainbow." |
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ardour
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emotional warmth or eagerness
"Their ardour was clear as they wrapped their arms around each other and kissed." |
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aggrandizement
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an increase in rank, wealth or power
"Most governments are dedicated to self-aggrandizement." |
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unmollified
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not soothed, appeased or pacified
"She remained unmollified when he bought her a new dog to replace the one he had killed." |
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cow
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to intimidate
"The boy was cowed by the bully into giving him all of his money." |
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altrusistic
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thoughtful of the welfare of others
"The altruistic girl shared her Christmas dinner with the poor." |
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solicitude
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concern, care
"He showed great solicitude when he donated all of his money to the poor." |
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jaunty
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perky, easy in manner
"Many people do not think Kerry has a jaunty smile." |
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contravene
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to conflict with
"The time of his baceball practice contravenes his basketball practice." |
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vortex
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whirlpool
"A tornado is a like a vortex in the air." |
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haricot
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a type of bean
"Haricot is the name of a type of bean i like to eat." |
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devoid
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being without usual, typical, or expected attribute or accompaniment
"Paul was finally devoid of any hope." |
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nostalgia
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a wistful or excessively sentimental yearning for return to or of some past period or irrecoverable condition
"I have a deep sense of nostagia about my high school years." |
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voracity
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insatiable hunger
"the monster's voracity was legendary. It ate 16 pigs a day." |
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disillusion
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the condition of being disenchanted
"with each new death, Paul became more and more disillusioned." |
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template
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something that serves as or establishes a pattern
"world war 1 set forth a template for the way violence would erupt in our century." |
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ostracized
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exiled, excluded
"young men during world war 1 often joined the army for fear of being ostracized." |
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futile
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completely ineffective
"he died in a futile attempt to win the war." |
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trajectory
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the curve that a body in motion describes in space
"the soldiers found themselves helpless under a crisscross of shell trajectories." |
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peat
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decayed soil
"he found himself alone in the marsh lying on a bed of peat, surrounded by reeds." |
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ideology
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a systematic body of concepts especially about human life or culture
"the soldier's longing for home was stronger than any war ideology." |
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discomfiture
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frustration, embarrassment
"his plan to show up at the prom in an elephant suit was bound to end in discomfiture." |
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queue
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a line of people
"i waited in a queue for 2 hours to ride Splash Mountain." |
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lorries
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trucks
"the lorry trundled down the road." |
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gangrene
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decay of tissue as a result of injury
"they had to remove his toes when they found gangrene under his toenails." |
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trundles
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moves on wheels
"the lorry trundled down the road." |
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indefatigable
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untiring
"in his new robotic legs, the soldier would be indefatigable; he could walk for days." |
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concord
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agreement
"they finally found themselves in concord regarding their homework-they both hated it." |
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pithily
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concisely
"journalists must write pithily." |
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acrid
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bitter, stinging
"he disliked the acrid scent of smoke." |
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sallow
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sickly, yellowish complexion
"the sallow youth must have been sick because nobody could look that yellow and still be healthy." |
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indigent
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poor
"the indigent farmer didn't have enough money to buy seeds for the next year's planting." |
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mastiff
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large hunting dog
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megalomania
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delusions of grandeur
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fodder
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course food for cattle, sheep, etc
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aberration
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deviation from the right path, a mental disorder
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trifle
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a small amount
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debauchery
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indulgence in sexual pleasure
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acquiesce
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to give in by keeping quiet
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chimerical
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imaginary, absurd, wildly fanciful
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dyspepsia
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indigestion
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appall
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horrify
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discern
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see clearly, percieve
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err
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to make a mistake
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esteem
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value highly
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feign
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pretend
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loiter
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move aimlessly
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meditate
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think, reflect
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obsess
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beset, haunt
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redeem
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make amends for
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regale
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entertain
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relent
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soften
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salvage
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restore, save
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wrest
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pull away
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brevity
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shortness
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censure
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critism
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chaos
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confusion
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