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202 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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arrogate
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to claim or take without right
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banal
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trite, commonplace
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belabor
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to work on excessively
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carping
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tending to find fault, espeecially in a apetty, nasty, or hairsplitting way
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encomium
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a formal espession of praise
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eschew
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to avoid, shun, keep away from
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germane
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relevant, appropriate, fitting
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intransigent
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refusing to compromise
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invidious
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offensive, hateful; tending to cause bitterness and resentment
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largesse
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generosity in giving
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taciturn
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habitually silent or quiet
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temporize
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to stall or act evasively in order to gain time
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tenable
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capable of being held or defended
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animadversion
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a comment inclining strong criticism or disapproval
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brackish
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having a salty taste and unpleasent to drink
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celerity
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swiftness, rapidity of motion or action
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gambit
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in chess, an opening move that incolces rish or sacrifice of a minor piece in order to gain a later advantage
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halcyon
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a legendary bird identified with the kingfisher
calm, peaceful, happy, golden, prosperous, affulent |
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histrionic
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pertaining to actors and their techniques; theatrical, artificial; meldramatic
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incendiary
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deliberately setting or causing fires; tending to stir up strife or rebellion
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maelstrom
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a whirlpool of great size and violence; a sitation resembling a whirlpool in violence and destruction
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myopic
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nearsighted; lacking a broad, realistic view of a situation; lacking foresight or discernment
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perjorative
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tending to make worse; expressing disapproval; derogatory, deprecatory, belittling
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summarily
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without delay or formality; briefly or concisely
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suppliant
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asking humble and earnestly
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undulate
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to move in waves or with a wavelike motion
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cavort
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to romp or prance around exuvberantly
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credence
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belief; mental accceptance
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decry
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to condemn, ezpress strong disapproval of
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dissemble
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to disquise or coneceal, deliberately give a false impressiong
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eulogy
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high praise
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evince
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to display clearly, to make evident, to provoke
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exhume
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to remove from a grave; to bring to light
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feckless
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lacking in spirit and strength; in effect
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nefarious
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wicked, depraved, devoid of moral standards
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piquant
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stimulating to the taste or mind; spicy, pungent, apprealingly provocative
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propinquity
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nearness in place or time; kinship
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unwonted
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not usual or expected; not in character
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verbiage
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language that is too worsy or inflated in proportion to the sense or conten, wordiness; a manner of expression
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verdant
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green in tint or color' immature in experience of judgement
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viscous
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having a gelatinous or gluey quality, lacking in easy movement or fluidity
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bastion
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a fortified place, stronghold
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exigency
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urgency, pressure; urgent demand, pressing need; an emergency
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flotsam
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floating debris; homeless, improverished people
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frenetic
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frenzied, highly agitated
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glean
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to gather bit by bit; to gether small quantities of frain left in a field by the reapers
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grouse
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a type of game bird; a complaint
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incumbant
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obligatory, required; one who holds a specific office at the time spoken of
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mordant
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biting or caustic in thought, manner, or style; sharply or bitterly harsh
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nettle
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a prickly or stinging plant; to arouse displeasure, impatience, or anger, to vex or irritate severely
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pecuniary
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consisting of or measured in money; of or related to money
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pusillanimous
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contemptibly cowardly or mean-spirited
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recumbent
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in a reclining position, lying down
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stratagem
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a cheme to outwit or deceive an opponent or to gain an end
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acuity
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sharpness in the mind or senses
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delineate
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to portray, sketch, or describe in accurate and vivid detail; to represent pictorially
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enervate
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to weaken or lessen the mental, moral, or physical vigor of; enfeeble
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esoteric
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intended for or understood by only a select few, private, secret
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fecund
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fruitful in offspring or vegetation; intellectually productive
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fiat
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an arbitrary order of decree; a command or act of will or consciousness
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garner
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to acquire as the result of effort; to gather and store away, as for future use
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hallow
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to set apart as holy or sacred, sanctify, consecrate; to honor greatly, revere
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idnominy
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shame and disgrace
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overweening
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conceited, presumptuous; excessive, imooderate
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penchant
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a strong attraction or inclination
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reputed
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according to reputation or general belief; having widespread acceptance and good reputation; alleged
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sophistry
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reasoning that seems plausible but is actually unsound; a fallacy
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ubiquitous
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present or exising everywhere
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abject
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degraded; base, contemptible; cringing, servile; complete and unrelieved
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agnostic
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one who believe that nothing can be known aout God; a skeptic; without faith
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complicity
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involvement in wrongdoing; the state of being an accomplice
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derelict
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someone or something that is abandoned or neglected
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diatribe
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a bitter and prolonged verbal attack
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effigy
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a crude image of a despised person
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indictment
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the act of accusing; a formal accusation
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indubitable
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certain, not to be doubted or denied
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moot
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open to discussion and debate, unresolved,
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neophyte
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a new convert, beginner, novice
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perspicacity
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keennes in observing and understanding
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plenary
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complete in all aspects or essentials; absolute; attended by all qualified members
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sylvan
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pertaining to or characteristic of forests; living or loacated in a forest; wooded, woody
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allay
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to calm or pacify, set to rest; to lessen or relieve
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convivial
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festive, sociable
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coterie
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a circle of acquaintances; a close-knit, often exclusive, group of people with a common interest
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demur
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to object or take objection to
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effrontery
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shameless boldness
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ephemeral
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lasting only a short time
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felicitous
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appropiate, apt, well chosen; marked by well-being or good fortune, happy
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furtive
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done slyly or stealthily, sneaky, secret, shifty; stolen
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garish
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glaring; tastelessly showy or overdecorated in a vulgar or offensive way
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illusory
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misleading, deceptive; lacing in or not based on reality
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indigent
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needy, impoverish
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inordinate
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far too great, exceeding reasonable limits, excessive
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jettison
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to cast overboard, get rid of as unnescessary or burdensome
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misanthrope
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a person who hates or despises people
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pertinacious
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very persistant; holding firmly to a course of actiong or a set of beliefs; hard to get rid of, refusing to be put off or denied
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picayune
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of little value or importance, paltry, measly; concerned with trifling matters, small-minded
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raiment
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clothing, garments
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arrant
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thoroughgoing, out-and-out; shameless, blatant
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badinage
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light and playful conversation
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conciliate
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to overcome the distrust of, win over; to appease, pacify; to reconcile, make consistant
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countermand
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to cancel or reverse one order or command with another that is contrary to the first
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echelon
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one of a series of frades in an organization or field of activity; an organized military unit; a steplike formation or arrangement
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exacerbate
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to make more violent, severe, bitter, or painful
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fatuous
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stupid or foolish in a self-satisfied way
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irrefutable
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impossible to disprove; beyond argument
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juggernaut
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a massive and inescapable force or object that crushes whatever is in its path
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macabre
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grisly, gruesome; horrible, distressing; having death as a suject
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paucity
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an inadequate quantity, scarcity, dearth
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portend
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to indicate beforehand that something is about to happen; to give advance warning of
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raze
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to tear down, destroy completely; to cut or scrape off or out
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recant
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to withdraw a statement or belief to which one has previously been committed, renounce, retract
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saturnine
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of a gloomy or surly disposition; cold or sluggish in mood
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slough
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to cast off; discard; to get rid of something objectionable or unnecessary; to plod through as if through mud; a mire; a state of depression
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bucolic
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characteristic of the countryside, rural; relating to shepherds and cowheards, pastoral
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calumniate
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to slander; to accuse falsely
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chary
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extremely cautious, hesitant, or slow; reserved
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collusion
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secret agrement or cooperation
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dilettante
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a dabber in the arts; one who engages in an activity in an amateurish, trifling way; superficial
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imperturbable
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not easily excited; emotionally steady
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paltry
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trifling, insignificant; mean, despicable; inferior, trashy
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paroxysm
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a sudden outburst; a spasm, convulsion
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pedantry
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a pretentious display of knowledge; overly rigid attention to rules and details
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peregrination
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the act of traveling; an excursion, especially on foot or to a foreign country
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askance
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with suspicion, distrust, or disapproval
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attentuate
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to make thin or slender; to weaken or lessen in force, intensity, or value
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benign
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gentle, kind, forgiving
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cavil
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to find fault in a petty way; a trivial object or critism
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charlatan
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one who feigns knowledge or ability; a pretender, imposter, or quack
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foible
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a weak point, failing, minor flaw
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inure
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to toughen, harden; to render used to something by long subjection or exposure
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obsequious
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marked by slavish attentiveness; exclusively submissive, often purely self-interested reasons
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obtuse
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blunt
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oscillate
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to swing back and forth with a steady rhythm; to fluctuate or waver
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penitent
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regreatful for one's sins or mistakes
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peremptory
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having the nature of a command that leaves no opportunity for debate, denial, or refusal' offensively self-assured, dictatorial, determined, resolute
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rebuff
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to snub; to repel, drive away; a curt rejection, a check
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reconnoiter
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to engage in reconnaissance; to make a preliminary inspection
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abrogate
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to repeal, cancel, declare null and void
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asperity
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roughness, severity; bitterness or tartness
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burnish
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to make smooth or glassy
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cabal
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a small group working in secret
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deprecate
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to belittle
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detritus
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debris
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ebullient
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overflowing with enthusiasm and excitement; boiling, bubbling
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impecunious
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having little or no money
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inexorable
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inflexible
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onerous
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burdensome; involving hardship or difficulty
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rife
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common, prevalent, widespread, happening often; full, abounding, abundant
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sequester
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set apart
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winnow
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to blow on, fan; to get of something unwanted
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aesthetic
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pertaining to beauty
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defunct
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dead
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gregarious
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living together in a herd or group; sociable, seeking the company of others
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hapless
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unlucky
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importune
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to trouble with demands; to beg for insistently
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interpolate
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to insert between other parts of things; in addition or correction
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irreparable
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incapable of being repaired
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laconic
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concise
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languish
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to become weak, feeble, or dull; to droop; to be depressed; to suffer neglect
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mendacious
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given to lying; untrue
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nadir
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the lowest part
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perfunctory
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done in a superficial or halfhearted manner
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plaintive
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expressive of sorrow or woe
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requite
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to make suitable repayment
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tantamount
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equivalent, having the same meaning, value, or effect
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abstruse
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extremely difficult to understand
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affront
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an open or intentional insult; confront
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canard
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a false rumor
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captious
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excessively ready to find fault
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cognizant
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aware, knowledgeable, informed
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contrite
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regretful for some misdeed or sin
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machination
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a crafty, scheming, or underhanded action designed to accomplish some (usually evil) end
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opprobrium
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disgrace arising from shameful conduct; contempt
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putative
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generally regarded as such; reputed; hypothesized, inferred
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behemoth
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a creature of enourmous size
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blandishment
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anything designed to flatter or coax; sweet talk
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chicanery
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trickery
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consign
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to give over into someone's control
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febrile
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feverish
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gainsay
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contradict
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loath
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disinclined
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moratorium
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suspension of activity
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nostrum
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a cure-all
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pariah
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one who is rejected by a social group
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amenity
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that which is pleasant
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aperture
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a hole
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dissidence
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discontent; difference of opinion
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epicurean
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devoted to pleasure
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improvident
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not thrifty; failure to plan ahead
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iniquity
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wickedness, sin; a grossly immoral act
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inviolable
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sacred
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nascent
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just came into existence
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panegyric
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formal or elaborate praise
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pillory
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a device for publicly punishing offenders
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presage
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to foreshadow or point to a future event; to predict
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progency
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descendants
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promulgate
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to proclaim or issue officially; to make known far and wide
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rectitude
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uprightness, righteousness
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restive
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restless
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seaphic
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heavenly
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subsist
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to exist
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