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76 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Abate (verb)
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to lessen in intensity or degree
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Accolade
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an expression of praise
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Adulation
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expressive praise; intense adoration
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Aesthetic (adj)
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dealing with, appreciative of, or responsive to art or the beautiful
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Ameliorate (verb)
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to make better or more tolerable
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Ascetic (noun)
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one who practices rigid self-denial, esp as an act of religious devotion
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Avarice (noun)
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greed, esp. for weath ()
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Axiom (noun)
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a universally recognized principle
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Burgeon (verb)
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to grow rapidly or flourish
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Bucolic (adj)
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rustic and pastoral; characteristic of rural areas and their inhabitants
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Cacophony (noun)
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harsh, jarring, discordant sound; dissonance
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Canon (noun)
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an established set of principles or code of laws, often religious in nature
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Castigation (noun)
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severe criticism or punishment
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Catalyst
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a substance that accelerates the rate of a chemical reaction without itself changing; a person or thing that causes change
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Caustic (adj)
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burning or stinging; causing corrosion
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Chary (adj)
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wary; cautious; sparing
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Cogent (adj)
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appealing forcibly to the mind or reason; convincing
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Complaisance (noun)
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the willingness to comply with the wishes of others
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Contentious (adj)
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argumentative; quarrelsome; causing controversy or disagreement
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Contrite (adj)
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regretful; penitent; seeking forgiveness
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Culpable (adj)
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deserving blame
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Dearth (noun)
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smallness of quantity or number; scarcity; a lack
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Demur (verb)
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to question or oppose
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Didactic (adj)
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intended to teach or instruct
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Discretion (noun)
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cautious reserve in speech; ability to make responsible decisions
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Disinterested (adj)
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free of bias or self-interest; impartial
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Dogmatic (adj)
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expressing a rigid opinion based on unproved or improvable principles
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Ebullience (noun)
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the quality of lively or enthusiastic expression of thoughts and feelings
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Eclectic (adj)
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composed of elements drawn from various sources
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Elegy (noun)
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a mournful poem, esp. one lamenting the dead
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Emollient (noun)/(adj)
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soothing esp. to the skin; making less harsh; mollifying; an agent that softens or smoothes the skin
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Empirical (adj)
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based on observation or experiment
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Enigmatic (adj)
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mysterious; obscure; difficult to understand
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Ephemeral (adj)
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brief; fleeting
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Esoteric (adj)
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intended for or understood by a small, specific group
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Eulogy (noun)
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a speech honoring the dead
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Exonerate (verb)
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to remove blame
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Facetious (adj)
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playful; humorous
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Fallacy (noun)
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an invalid or incorrect notion; a mistaken belief (adj:
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Furtive (adj)
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marked by stealth; covert; surreptitious
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Gregarious (adj)
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sociable; outgoing; enjoying the company of other people
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Harangue (verb/noun)
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to deliver a pompous speech or tirade; a long pompous speech
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Heretical (adj)
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violating accepted dogma or convention (noun:
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Hyperbole (noun)
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an exaggerated statement, often used as a figure of speech (adj:
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Impecunious (adj)
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lacking funds; without money
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Incipient (adj)
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beginning to come into being or to become apparent
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Inert (adj)
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unmoving; lethargic; sluggish
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Innocuous (adj)
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harmless; causing no damage
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Intransigent (adj)
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refusing to compromise (noun:
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Inveigle (verb)
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to obtain by deception or flattery
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Morose (adj)
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sad; sullen; melancholy
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Odious
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evoking intense aversion or dislike
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Opaque
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impenetrable by light; not reflecting light
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Oscillation (noun)
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the act or state of swinging back and forth with a steady, uninterrupted rhythm (verb:
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Penurious (adj)
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penny-pinching; excessively thrifty; ungenerous
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Pernicious (adj)
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extremely harmful; potentially causing death
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Peruse (verb)
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to examine with great care (noun: perusal)
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Pious (adj)
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extremely reverent or devout; showing strong religious devotion (noun:
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Precursor (noun)
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one that precedes and indicates or announces another
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Preen (verb)
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to dress up; to primp; to groom oneself with elaborate care
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Prodigious (adj)
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abundant in size, force, or extent; extraordinary
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Prolific (adj)
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producing large volumes or amounts; productive
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Putrefy (verb)
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to rot; to decay and give off a foul odor (adj:
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Quaff (verb)
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to drink deeply
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Quiescence (noun)
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stillness; motionlessness; quality of being at rest (adj:
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Redoubtable (adj)
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awe-inspiring; worthy of honor
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Sanction (noun/verb)
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authoritative permission or approval; a penalty intended to enforce compliance; to give permission or authority to
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Satire (noun)
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a literary work that ridicules or criticizes a human vice through humor or derision (adj:
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Squalid (adj)
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sordid; wretched and dirty as from neglect (noun:
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Stoic (adj)
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indifferent to or unaffected by pleasure or pain; steadfast (noun:
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Supplant (verb)
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to take the place of; to supercede
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Torpid (adj)
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lethargic; sluggish; dormant (noun:
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Ubiquitous (adj)
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existing everywhere at the same time; constantly encountered; widespread
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Urbane (adj)
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sophisticated; refined; elegant (noun:
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Vilify (verb)
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to defame; to characterize harshly
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Viscous
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thick; sticky (noun:
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