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249 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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abrogate
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repeal or annul by formal authority
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abut
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to touch along a border or with a projecting part
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acarpous
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effete, no longer fertile, worn out
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acrimonious
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caustic, biting, or rancorous especially in feeling, language or manner
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adumbrate
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to give a sketchy representation or outine of; to suggest or disclose partially; to foreshadow vaguely
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adventitious
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coming from another source and not inherent or innate
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agonistic
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of, relating to, or being aggressive or defensive social interaction (as fighting, fleeing, or submitting) between individuals usually of the same species; argumentative; striving for effect
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alacrity
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eager and cheerful readiness
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amortize
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to provide for the gradual extinguishment of (as a mortgage) usually by contribution to a sinking fund at the time of each periodic interest payment
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aphorism
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a concise statement of a principle; terse formulation of a truth or sentiment
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aplomb
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complete and confident composure or self-assurance; poise
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apotheosis
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elevation to divine status
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apprise
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give notice to, inform
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approbation
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an act of approving formally or officially; commendation, praise
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arabesque
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a complex, ornate design: ornament or style that employs flower, foliage, or fruit and sometimes animal and figural outlines to produce an intricate pattern of interlaced lines
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appurtenance
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a subordinate part or adjunct; accessory objects
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arrant
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being notoriously without moderation; extreme
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arraign
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to call (a defendant) before a court to answer to an indictment; to accuse of wrong, inadequacy, or imperfection
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artifice
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clever or artful skill; an artful strategem, trick
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asceptic
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preventing infection; lacking vitality, emotion, or warmth
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asperity
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roughness of manner or of temper
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aspersion
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slander, calumny
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assiduous
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marked by careful unremitting attention or persistent application
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astringent
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suggestive of an astringent effect upon tissue : rigidly severe; pungent, caustic
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atavistic
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recurrence of or reversion to a past style, manner, outlook, or approach
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attenuate
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to make thin or slender: to reduce the severity, virulence, or vitality of
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auspice
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kindly patronage and guidance
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aver
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to verify or prove to be true in pleading a cause; allege or assert in pleading
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avocation
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a subordinate occupation pursued in addition to one's vocation especially for enjoyment
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axiology
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the theory of value
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bedizen
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to dress or adorn gaudily
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belie
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to give a false impression of: to show (something) to be false or wrong
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bifucate
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to cause to divide into two branches or parts; to divide into two branches or parts
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bilge
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the bulging part of a cask or barrel; stale or worthless remarks or ideas
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bilk
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to cheat out of something valuable, defraud
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brisket
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the breast or lower chest of a quadruped animal
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brook
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tolerate, endure
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burgeon
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growh forth, send out buds
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burnish
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to polish, rub to a shine
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cabal
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a scheme or plot, a group of plotters
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cadge
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to beg, to get by begging
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callipers
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metal supports attached to the legss; measuring instrument
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callow
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lacking adult sophistication; immature
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calumny
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a misrepresentation intended to blacken another's reputation
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canvass
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discuss thoroughly; solicit support
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carpous
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having (such) fruit or (so many) fruits
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chafe
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to rub and thereby cause wear or irritation
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chaff
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something comparatively worthless; the seed coverings and other debris separated from the seed in threshing grain
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chary
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discreetly cautious, slow to grant, accept, or expend
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cloture
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the closing or limitation of debate in a legislative body especially by calling for a vote
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coeval
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of the same or equal age, antiquity, or duration: contemporary
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collusion
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secret agreement or cooperation especially for an illegal or deceitful purpose
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compunction
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anxiety arising from awareness of guilt
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consternation
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amazement or dismay that hinders or throws into confusion
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contemn
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to scorn or despise
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contentious
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exhibiting an often perverse and wearisome tendency to quarrels and disputes
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continence
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self-restraint; a refraining from sexual intercourse
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contumacious
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insubordinate, rebelliuos
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convoke
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call together, summon
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cord
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a unit of wood cut for fuel
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cordon
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a line of troops or of military posts enclosing an area to prevent passage
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countervail
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to exert force against an opposing and often bad or harmful force or influence
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debacle
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a violent disruption; a great disaster, a complete failure
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demagogue
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leader who makes use of popular prejudices and false claims and promises in order to gain power
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deposition
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an act of removing from a position of authority
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descry
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to catch sight of
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dessicate
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to dry up; to drain of emotional or intellectual vitality
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dessicant
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a drying agent; substance used to absorb moisture
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desuetude
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discontinuance from use or exercise
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detumescence
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subsidence or diminution of swelling or erection
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dilatory
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tending or intended to cause delay; characterized by procrastination
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dilettante
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a person having a superficial interest in an art or a branch of knowledge
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disapprobation
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the state of being disapproving
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discomfit
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to put into a state of perplexity and embarrassment
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discountenance
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to look with disfavor on : discourage by evidence of disapproval
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disinter
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dig up from the earth
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diurnal
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of, relating to, or occurring in the daytime, recurring every day
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doggerel
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(verse) loosely styled and irregular in measure especially for burlesque or comic effect; marked by triviality or inferiority
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draconian
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relating to, or characteristic of Draco or the severe code of laws held to have been framed by him
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dregs
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the most undesirable part -- usually used in plural
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dross
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waste or foreign matter; something that is base, trivial, or inferior
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ebullience
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the quality of lively or enthusiastic expression of thoughts or feelings
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edacious
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of or relating to eating; voracious, devouring
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effete
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having lost character, vitality, or strength
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effluvia
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an invisible emanation; especially : an offensive exhalation or smell
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elegy
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a lament, a melancholy composition
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encomium
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glowing and warmly enthusiastic praise
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enfranchise
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to admit to the privileges of a citizen and especially to the right of suffrage
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enjoin
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forbid, prohibit; to direct or impose by authoritative order or with urgent admonition
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enormity
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the quality or state of being immoderate, monstrous, or outrageous, a quality of momentous importance
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epigram
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a terse, sage, or witty and often paradoxical saying
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eponym
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one for whom or which something is or is believed to be named
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equable
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marked by lack of variation or change, uniform
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equanimity
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evenness of mind especially under stress
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equipoise
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a state of equilibrium
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equivocal
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subject to two or more interpretations and usually used to mislead or confuse
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equivocate
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to use equivocal language especially with intent to deceive; to avoid committing oneself in what one says
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eremite
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One who has retired into solitude from religious motives; a recluse, hermit
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etiology
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a branch of knowledge concerned with causes; specifically : a branch of medical science concerned with the causes and origins of diseases
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euhemerism
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interpretation of myths as traditional accounts of historical persons and events
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evince
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to constitute outward evidence of; to display clearly, reveal
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exhume
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disinter; to bring back from neglect or obscurity
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exigent
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requiring immediate aid or action; requiring or calling for much, demanding
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exonerate
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to relieve of a responsibility, obligation, or hardship; to clear from accusation or blame
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expurgate
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to cleanse of something morally harmful, offensive, or erroneous
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expunge
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to strike out, obliterate, or mark for deletion
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excind
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to cut off or out
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exsert
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to thrust out
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extirpate
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to destroy completely
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fatuous
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complacently or inanely foolish
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feckless
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weak, ineffective; worthless, irresponsible
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felicitious
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very well suited or expressed, apt; pleasant, delightful
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feral
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of, relating to, or suggestive of a wild beast; not domesticated or cultivated
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finical
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finicky
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foment
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to promote the growth or development of; rouse, incite
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foppish
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like a man who pays too much attention to his clothes
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forbearance
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a refraining from the enforcement of something, patience, leniency
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froward
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habitually disposed to disobedience and opposition
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fulminate
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to send forth censures or invectives; berate, explode
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vituperate
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to abuse or censure severely or abusively; berate, scold
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fulsome
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aesthetically, morally, or generally offensive; exceeding the bounds of good taste
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gainsay
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to declare to be untrue or invalid
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gambol
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to skip about in play; frisk, frolic
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garner
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to gather into storage; to acquire by effort; earn, accumulate, collect
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gaucherie
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a tactless or awkward act
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germane
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being at once relevant and appropriate; fitting
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gull
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to take advantage of (one who is foolish or unwary)
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harangue
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a ranting speech or writing
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harrow
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to distress, create stress or torment
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hermetic
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impervious to external influence; relating to or characterized by occultism or abstruseness
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hirsute
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covered with coarse stiff hairs
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iconoclast
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one who attacks settled beliefs or institutions
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imbroglio
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an intricate or complicated situation; acutely painful or embarrassing misunderstanding
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impecunious
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having very little or no money habitually
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importune
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to beg, urge, or solicit persistently or troublesomely
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imprecation
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an invocation of evil; a curse
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impugn
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to assail by words or arguments : oppose or attack as false or lacking integrity
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impute
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to attribute to a cause or source, ascribe
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inchoate
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being only partly in existence or operation; especially : imperfectly formed or formulated; formless
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incumbent
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imposed as a duty, obligatory
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indigent
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impoverished
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indulgent
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lenient
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infintesimal
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immeasurably or incalculably small
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insouciance
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lighthearted unconcern; nonchalance
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instantiate
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to represent (an abstraction) by a concrete instance
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insularity
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characteristic of an isolated people; especially : being, having, or reflecting a narrow provincial viewpoint
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inter
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: to deposit (a dead body) in the earth or in a tomb
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intransigent
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refusing to compromise or to abandon an extreme position or attitude; uncompromising
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inur
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to accustom to accept something undesirable
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inveigh
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to attach verbally, denounce, deprecate
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intransigent
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refusing to compromise or to abandon an extreme position or attitude; uncompromising
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involute
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involved, intricate
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irascible
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marked by hot temper and easily provoked anger
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irresolute
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uncertain how to act or proceed; vacillating
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irruption
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to rush in forcibly or violently; to undergo a sudden upsurge in numbers; erupt
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jibe
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to deride or tease with taunting words
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jocular
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meant as a joke
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juggernaut
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a massive inexorable force, campaign, movement, or object that crushes whatever is in its path
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lassitude
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weariness or debility; listlessness
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lien
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a charge upon real or personal property for the satisfaction of some debt or duty ordinarily arising by operation of law
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liminal
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barely perceptible, relating to a sensory threshold
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limn
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to outline in clear sharp detail, delineate; to draw or paint on a surface; describe
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lithe
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characterized by easy flexibility and grace; easily bent
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lucubration
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laborious or intensive study; also : the product of such study -- usually used in plural
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luculent
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clear in thought or expression; lucid
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macerate
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to cause to waste away by or as if by excessive fasting
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magnate
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person of rank, power, influence, or distinction often in a specified area
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malapropism
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the usually unintentionally humorous misuse or distortion of a word or phrase
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malinger
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to pretend incapacity (as illness) so as to avoid duty or work
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manumit
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to release from slavery
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mimetic
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relating to, characterized by, or exhibiting mimicry
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mellifluous
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having a smooth rich flow; filled with something that sweetens
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mereology
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The formal study of the relations between parts and wholes
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meretricious
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tawdrily and falsely attractive, of or relating to a prostitute; superficially significant, pretentious
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metonymy
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a figure of speech consisting of the use of the name of one thing for that of another of which it is an attribute or with which it is associated
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mettlesome
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full of mettle, spirited
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minatory
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having a menacing quality, threatening
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modicum
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A small quantity or portion; a moderate or limited amount
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modish
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fashionable; stylish
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monolithic
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exhibiting or characterized by often rigidly fixed uniformity; huge
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nascent
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coming or having recently come into existence
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nonchalant
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having an air of easy unconcern or indifference
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nonplussed
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to cause to be at a loss as to what to say, think, or do; perplexed
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nostrum
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medicine of secret composition recommended by its preparer but usually without scientific proof of its effectiveness
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obfuscate
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darken, to make obscure; confuse
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obloquy
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a strongly condemnatory utterance, abusive language; the condition of one that is discredited : bad repute
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obsequious
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marked by or exhibiting a fawning attentiveness
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obstreperous
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marked by unruly or aggressive noisiness; stubbornly resistant to control
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odium
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the state or fact of being subjected to hatred and contempt as a result of a despicable act or blameworthy circumstance; hatred and condemnation accompanied by loathing or contempt
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officious
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volunteering one's services where they are neither asked nor needed, meddlesome
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opprobium
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public disgrace or ill fame that follows from conduct considered grossly wrong or vicious; something that brings disgrace
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orthogenisis
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variation of organisms in successive generations that in some evolutionary theories takes place in some predestined direction and results in progressive evolutionary trends independent of external factors
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ossify
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to change into bone; to become hardened or conventional and opposed to change
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paean
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a joyous song or hymn of praise, tribute, thanksgiving, or triumph
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palatial
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suitable to a palace, magnificent
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palliate
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to moderate the intensity of; to reduce the violence of (a disease); to cover by excuses and apologies
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palpitate
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to beat rapidly and strongly, throb
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panegyric
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a eulogistic oration or writing; also : formal or elaborate praise
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panoply
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a magnificent or impressive array; a display of all appropriate appurtenances
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pariah
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outcast; a member of a low caste of southern India
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patent
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readily visible or intelligible, obvious
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peccadillo
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a slight offense
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pellucid
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easy to understand; admitting maximum passage of light without diffusion or distortion
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percipient
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one that perceives; capable of or characterized by perception; a person on whose mind a telepathic impulse or message is held to fall
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peregrinate
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to travel especially on foot
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peremptory
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demanding or leaving no choice
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perquisite
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a privilege, gain, or profit incidental to regular salary or wages
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perspicuous
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plain to the understanding especially because of clarity and precision of presentation
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petrous
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Of the nature of, or as hard as, stone or rock; stony, rocky; of, relating to, or constituting the exceptionally hard and dense portion of the human temporal bone that contains the internal auditory organs
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petulant
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insolent or rude in speech or behavior; characterized by temporary or capricious ill humor, peevish
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phantasmagoric
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an exhibition or display of optical effects and illusions; a scene that constantly changes; a bizarre or fantastic combination, collection, or assemblage
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philistine
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a person who is guided by materialism and is usually disdainful of intellectual or artistic values; one uninformed in a special area of knowledge
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picaresque
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of or relating to rogues or rascals
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pi (pied)
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to spill or throw into disorder
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plebiscite
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vote by which the people of an entire country or district express an opinion for or against a proposal, especially on a choice of government or ruler
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pliant
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easily influenced; pliable (literally)
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polyglot
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a mixture or confusion of languages or nomenclatures
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preternatural
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existing outside of nature; exceeding what is natural or regular; inexplicable by ordinary means
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prevaricate
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to deviate from the truth; equivocate
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probity
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adherence to the highest principles and ideals; uprightness
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prodigious
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exciting amazement or wonder; extraordinary in bulk, quantity, or degree
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profligate
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completely given up to dissipation and licentiousness
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propitious
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favorably disposed, tending to favor, benevolent, advantageous, auspicious
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punctilious
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marked by or concerned about precise accordance with the details of codes or conventions
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purvey
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to supply (as provisions) usually as a matter of business
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pusillanimous
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lacking courage and resolution : marked by contemptible timidity
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quaff
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to drink (a beverage) deeply
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quail
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to recoil in dread or terror; wither, decline, falter
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quiescent
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marked by inactivity or repose : tranquilly at rest
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raconteur
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a person who excels in telling anecdotes
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raffish
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marked by or suggestive of flashy vulgarity or crudeness
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rapacious
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excessively grasping or covetous; voracious
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recalcitrant
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obstinately defiant of authority or restraint; difficult to manage or operate
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recidivism
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a tendency to relapse into a previous condition or mode of behavior; especially : relapse into criminal behavior
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recondite
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hidden from sight; difficult or impossible for one of ordinary understanding or knowledge to comprehend
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redolent
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exuding fragrance, aromatic; evocative, suggestive
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redoubtable
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causing fear or alarm, formidable; worthy of respect, illustrious, eminent
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refractory
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resisting control or authority; stubborn, unmanageable
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refulgence
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a radiant or resplendent quality or state, brilliance
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regale
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to entertain sumptuously : feast with delicacies; to give pleasure or amusement to
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remonstrate
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to say or plead in protest, reproof, or opposition; to present and urge reasons in opposition
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repine
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to feel or express dejection or discontent; long for something
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reprisal
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the regaining of something; something (as a sum of money) given or paid in restitution; a retaliatory act
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reprobate
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foreordained to damnation, morally corrupt; to condemn strongly as unworthy, unacceptable, or evil
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requite
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to make return for : repay : to make retaliation for : avenge
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restitution
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an act of restoring or a condition of being restored; a making good of or giving an equivalent for some injury
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testive
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testy
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salacious
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arousing or appealing to sexual desire or imagination; lecherous, lustful
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salubrious
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favorable to or promoting health or well-being
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