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10 Cards in this Set
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aggrandize |
v. to make larger or greater One of the concerns of the framers of the U.S. Constitution was that one branch of government would try to aggrandize itself at the expense of the others |
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aggregate |
adj. amounting to a whole, total The aggregate wealth of a country includes private as well as public resources and possessions v. to collect into a mass n. collective mass or sum |
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alacrity |
n. cheerful willingness; eagerness; speed The football coach was pleased to see the team get to work on the task of improving its tackling skills with alacrity |
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alchemy |
n. medieval chemical philosophy based on changing metal into gold; a seemingly magical power or process of transmutation None of their friends could understand the mysterious alchemy that caused two people as different from one another as Rob and Barbara to fall in love. |
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allay |
v. to lessen; ease; soothe Improvements in antivirus software have allayed many people's fears of having their computers "infected" with malicious software. |
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alleviate |
v. to relieve; improve partially According to some commentators, one of the weaknesses of capitalism is that, although it is very efficient at increasing absolute wealth, it is not as successful at alleviating relative poverty; thus, a person living in a slum in America may be reasonably well off by historical standards, but he might perceive himself to be poor compared to members of the bourgeoisie, whom he sees regularly buying luxury goods that he is not able to afford. |
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alloy |
n. a combination; a mixture of two or more metals Scientists formulate alloys to create properties that are not possessed by natural metals or other substances. |
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allure |
n. the power to entice by charm Political groups in the United States often lobby Congress to use the allure of America's vast market as an incentive for countries to pursue policies in accordance with American policies. v. to entice by charm |
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amalgamate |
v. to combine into a unified whole In early 1999, six municipalities were amalgamated into an enlarged city of Toronto, Canada. |
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ambiguous |
adj. unclear or doubtful in meaning The gender of the Mahayana Buddhist deity Avalokitesuara, the god of infinite mercy, is ambiguous in both China and Japan, where the god is sometimes called a goddess. |
