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120 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
aberration
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a deviation from the proper or expected course, a departure from the normal or typical
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abeyance
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the condition of being temporarily set aside; suspension
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acerbic
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sour or bitter tasting, acid
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acuity
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acuteness of vision or perception; keenness, sharpness, clearness, and distinctness of perception or vision
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admonish
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to reprove gently but earnestly, to counsel against something to be avoided; caution
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adroit
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dexterous, deft; skillful and adept to under pressing conditons, skillful in adapting means to ends
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aesthete
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one who cultivates an unusually high sensitivity to beauty, as in art or nature
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altruistic
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unselfish concern for the welfare of others; selflessness
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ameliorate
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to make or become better; improve
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amorphous
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lacking definite from, shapeless, of no particular shape, lacking organization
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antediluvian
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extrememly old and aniquated (outdated), occurring or belonging to the era before the Flood
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apocryphal
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of questionable authorship or authenicity, erroneous
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arable
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fit for cultivation, land fit to be cultivated
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ascetic
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a person who renounces material comforts and leads a life of self-disciple as an act of religious devotion
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assuage
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to make less intense or severe, to satisfy or appease, to pacify or calm
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atrophy
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a wasting or decrease in size of a body organ, tissue, or part, a wasting away, deterioration, to waste away
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avarice
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immoderate desire for wealth, excessive or insatible desire for greed
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aviary
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a large enclosure for holding birds in confinement, a building where birds are kept
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avow
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to acknowledge openly, boldy, and unashamedly, to state positively, to declare or affirm as true
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bilk
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to defraud, cheat, or swindle, one who cheats
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broach
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to bring up for discussion or debate, to announce, to pierce in order to draw off liquid
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buttress
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a structure, usually brick or stone, build against a wall for support or reinforcement, something that serves to support
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celerity
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swiftness of action of motion; speed, a rate that is rapid
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charlatan
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a person who makes elaborate, fradulent (deceitful), and often valuable claims to skill or knowledge, a quack or fraud
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cherubic
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having a sweet nature befitting an angel or cherub
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churlish
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of, like, of befitting a churl; boorish or bulgar, having a bad disposition, difficult to work with, rude
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circuitous
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being or taking a roundabout, lengthy couse, deviating from a straight course
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clandestine
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keep or done in secret, of in order to concean an illicit or improper purpose, hidden aims or methods
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commensurate
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of the same size, extent, or duration as another, corresponding in size or degree, porportional
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concomitant
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occurring or existing concurrently, one that occurs or exists concurrently with another
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cryptic
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having hidden meaning, mystifying secret or beyong the realm of human comprehension, tending to conceal or camouflage
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diffidence
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lack of self confidence, timidity or shyness, quality or state of being diffident
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dearth
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a scarce supply, a lack, shortage of food, a scarcity of provisions
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dissemble
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to disguise or conceal behind a false appearance, to make a false show of, make believe with the intent to deceive
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dissonant
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harsh and inharminous in sound, disagreeing, lacking in harmony
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desecrate
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to violate the sacredness of, violate the sacred nature of a place or language
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disparage
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to speak of in a disrespectful way, belittle, to reduce in esteem or rank, express a negative opinion of
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dilatory
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intended to delay, tending to postpone or delay, inclined to waste time and lag behind
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credulous
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disposed to believe too readily, guillible, disposed to believe on little evidence
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duplicity
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deliberate deceptiveness in behavior or speech, acting in bad faith, deception by pretending
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divination
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the art or act of foretelling future events, an inspired guess, successful conjecture by unusual insight, gift of prophecy
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dispassionate
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devoid or unaffected by passion, emotion, or bias, unaffected by strong emotion or prejudice
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elucidate
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to make clear or plain, especially by explaination; clarify, to make clear
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dotard
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a person who is in his or her senility, someone whos age has impaired his intellect
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conjugal
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of or relating to marriage or the relationship of spouses
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confluence
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a flowing or meeting together; a joining, a place where things merge or flow together, a coming together of people
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disaffected
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to cause to loss affection or loyalty, resentful and rebellious especially against authority
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coterie
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a small or often select group of persons who associate with one anotehr frequently, an exclusive circle of people with a common purpose
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demagogue
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a leader who obtains power by means of impassioned appeals to the emotions and prejudices of the populace
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elegiac
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mouring or expressing sorrow for that which is in the past, expressing lament for a deceased person
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emanate
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to come or send forth, as from a source, to give out or emit
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curmudgeon
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an ill tempered person full of resentment and stubborn notions, an easily angered, disagreable person full of stubborn ideas
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diatribe
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a bitter, abusive act of accusing another of a crime, thunderous verbal attack
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conundrum
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a riddle in whihc a fanciful question is answered by a pun, a paradoxical, insoluble, or difficult problem
ex: If a turtle loses its shell is it naked or homeless? |
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corpulence
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the condtiion of being excessively fat, obesity
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contentious
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quarrelsome, involving or likely to cause controversy, inclined or showing an inclination to dispute or disagree
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discursive
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covering a wide field of subjects; rambling, proceeding to a conclusion by reason/argument rather than intuition
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egregious
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obviously bad or offensive
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copious
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large in quantity, abundant, to be fully supplied in matter, thoughts or words, full of information or matter
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dissuade
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to deter a person from a course of action or a purpose by persuasion, turn away from
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emulate
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to strive to equal or excel, especially through imitation, to compete with successfully, approach or reach equality with
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enigmatic
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of or resembling an enigma; not clear to the understanding
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ennui
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listlessness and dissatisfication resulting from lack of interest; boredom, the feeling of being bored by something tedious
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ephermeral
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lasting for a brief time, living or lasting only for a day; short-lived, short time
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epicure
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a person with refined taste, especially in food and wine, a person devoted to sensuous pleasure and luxurious living
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equivocate
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to use of doubtful or uncertain nature, langauge, intentionally, be deliberately ambiguous or unclear in order to mislead or withhold information
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erudition
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deep extensive learning, profound scholarly knowledge
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esoteric
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intended for or understood by only a particular group, confined to a small group
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espouse
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to take in marriage, to give one's loyalty or support to, choose and follow, take up the cause
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ethereal
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not of this world, spiritual, intangible, characterized by lightness, of the celestial spheres
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extol
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to praise highly, glorify, honor
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fatuous
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smugly and unconsciously foolish, delusive, unreal, one that lacks common sense/substance
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fecund
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capable of producing offspring/vegetation; fruitful, intellectually productive
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felicity
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great happiness; bliss, a cuase or souce of happiness
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fetid
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having an offensive odor
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flippant
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marked by disrespectful speech/casualness, inappropriate lack of seriousness
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florid
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flushed with rosy color, very ornate; flowery, elaborately/excessively ornamented
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foible
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a minor weakness or failing of character, a behavioral attribute that is distinctive and peculiar to an individual
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furtive
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characterized by not disclosing one's true ideology, affiliations or positions, expressive of hidden motives or purposes
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garish
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marked by strident color or excessive ornamentation, gaudy, loud and flashy
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garner
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to gather and store in or as if in a granary, to amass, acquire, store grain, pull your thoughts together
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guile
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treacherous, cunning, skillful/deceit, to deceive, the use of tricks to deceive someone
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hedonism
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pursuit of or devotion to pleasure, the belief that only what is pleasant is intrinsically good, pleasure/happiness is the cheif gola in life
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heretic
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a person who holds religious beliefs in conflict with the dogma of the Catholic church
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hiatus
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a gap or interruption in space, time, or continuity, a break, a fissure in an organ
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histrionic
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of or relating to actors or acting, excessively dramatic or emotional
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hoary
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gray or white with or as if with age, ancient, showing chracteristics of age
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iconoclasm
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the beliefs, practices of one who attacks and seeks to overthrow traditional/popular ideas, someone who tries to destroy traditional ideas
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immutable
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not subject or susceptible to change
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impervious
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incapable of being penetrated, incapable of being affected
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impregnable
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impossible to capture or enter by force, difficult or impossible to attack, challenge, or refute with sucess
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impugn
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to attack as false or questionable; challenge in argument, attack as false or wrong
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inauspicious
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not favorable; not prosperous
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incipient
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beginning to exist or appear, beginning to come into being or to become apparent
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incisive
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penetrating, clear and sharp, as in operation or expression, having or demostrating ability to recognize or draw fine distinctions
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incorrigible
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incapable of being corrected or reformed, difficult or impossible to control or manage: firmly rooted
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indecorous
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lacking propriety or good taste in manners and conduct
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indefatigable
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incapable of being fatigued, tireless
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innocuous
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having no adverse effect; harmless, not likely to offend or provoke strong emotions
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inscrutable
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difficult to fathom or understand, of an obscure nature
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insipid
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lacking flavor or zest; not tasty, lacking qualities that excite, stimulate, or interest; dull
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intonate
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to intone, to utter with a particular tone of voice, speak carefully as with rising and falling pitch
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intractable
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difficult to manage or govern; stubborn, difficult to mold or manipulate
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intrinsic
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of or relating to the essential nature of a thing, originating or due to causes or factoes within a body, organ, or part
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inveigh
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to give vent to angry disapproval; protest vehemently, complain bitterly
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inveterate
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firmly and long established; deep-rooted, persisting in an ingrained habit; habitual
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irascible
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prone to outbursts of temper; easily angered, characterizedd by anger, quickly aroused to anger
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jettison
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to cast overboard or off, to discard as unwanted or burdenson, throw away
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juncture
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the act of joining or the condition of being joined, a place where two things are joined, an event that occurs at a critical time
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juxtapose
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to place side by side, especially for comparison or contrast
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laconic
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using or marked by the use of few words; terse or concise, brief and to the point
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lampoon
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a written attack ridiculing a person, group, or institution, a light, good-natured satire
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largess
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liberality in bestowing gifts, money or gifts bestowed, generosity of spirit or attitude
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lassitude
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a state or feeling of weariness, diminshed energy a feeling of lack of interest or energy
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lethargy
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a state of sluggishness, inactivity, and apathy
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lithe
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readily bent; supple, marked by effortless grace, gracefully slender; moving and bending with ease
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lurid
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causing shock or horror; gruesome, glowing or shining with the glare of fire through a haze, glaringly vivid and graphic
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malevolent
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having or exhibiting ill will; wishing harm to others; mallicious, having an evil or harmful influence
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maudlin
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effusively or tearfully sentimental
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meander
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to follow a winding and turning course, to move aimlessly and idly without fixed direction
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