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25 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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spartan
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severe, rigorous, disciplined
syn=austere ant=lavish bootcamp life thirsty soldiers drank |
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macabre
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gruesome, horrible, causing fear suggesting the horror of death
syn=horrid danse Macabre black death |
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pittance
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small amount or portion, especially of money
syn=modicum ant=abundance donation to monks education for military |
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spurn
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scornfully reject or refuse
syn=repudiate ant=crave Shakespeare poem "kicks" |
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bombast
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speech or writing that sounds grand or important but has little meaning
syn=grandiloquence stuffing in men's costume |
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gadfly
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person who continually annoys others
syn=goad horsefly socrates bugged athens |
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preposterous
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ridiculous, obviously absurd, contrary to reason
syn=ludicrous ant=tenable "putting the cart before the horse" |
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farce
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ridiculous light comedy; slapstick comedy; absurd thing; mockery
syn=burlesque tired of waiting for play humorous skits before |
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homage
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action showing respect and honor
syn=tribute ant=scorn soldier swearing devotion to lord |
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pedigree
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ancestry or record of ancestry; line of descent
syn=genealogy nobleman had to prove ancestry foot of crane |
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serendipity
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ability to make lucky discoveries by chance or accident
syn=fortuity Walpole made word in book "three princes of serendip" |
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pecuniary
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relating to money
syn=monetary latin "pecu" cattle, used for trade |
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pariah
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social outcast
syn=outcast aryan caste system in India parai "drum", lowly field hands |
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stentorian
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very loud
syn=sonorous ant=muted Stent, greek announcer had loud voice |
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fathom
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understand, figure out, penetrate meaning of
syn=grasp ant=misconstrue old english faethm measure sea depth="get to bottom of" |
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desultory
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random, unmethodical, aimless
syn=haphazard ant=assiduous roman acrobats de "from" salire "jump" |
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tawdry
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showy and cheap
syn=gaudy "st audrey" became "tawdry" |
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achilles' heel
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weak point
syn=vulnerability ant=forte heel wasn't dipped in Styx only weak spot |
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impecunious
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having little or no money; poor
syn=indigent ant=affluent im "w/o" pecu "cattle" no cattle=poor |
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mnemonic
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assisting memory
syn=assisting reminiscence ant=amnesiac Zeus+Mnemosyne=mneomonics goddesses of art of memory |
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chimerical
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given to wildly impossible plans, unrealistic, fantastic, impractical
syn=quixotic ant=mundane mythical beast |
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asinine
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stupid or silly
syn=inane ant=prudent latin asinus "donkey/ass" |
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bellwether
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leader
syn=vanguard castrated sheep had bell around neck |
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limbo
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place or state of neglect; period awaiting change; in between state
syn=oblivion latin limbus "border" borders Hell |
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plagiarize
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use ideas or writings of another and present them as one's own
syn=purloin Ancient romans - raider "plagiarus" |
