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431 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Abscond
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v; to depart clandestinely; to steal off and hide
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Aberrant
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adj; deviating from the norm
(n; aberration) |
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Alacrity
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n; eager and enthusiastic willingless
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Anomaly
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n; deviation from the normal order, form, or rule; abnormality
(adj; anomalous) |
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Approbation
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n; an expression of approval or praise
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Arduous
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adj; strenuous, taxing; requiring significant effort
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Assuage
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v; to ease or lessen; to appease or pacify
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Audacious
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adj; daring and fearless; recklessly bold
(n; audacity) |
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Austere
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adj; without adornment; bare; severely simple; ascetic
(n; austerity) |
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Axiomatic
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adj; taken as a given; possessing self-evident truth
(n; axiom) |
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Canonical
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adj; following or in agreement with accepted, traditional standards
(n; canon) |
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Capricious
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adj; inclined to change one's mind impulsively; erratic, unpredictable
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Censure
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v; to criticize severely; to officially rebuke
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Chicanery
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n; trickery or subterfuge
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Connoisseur
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n; an informed and astute judge in matters of taste; expert
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Convoluted
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adj; complex or complicated
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Disabuse
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v; to undeceive; to set right
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Discordant
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adj; conflicting; dissonant or harsh in sound
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Disparate
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adj; fundamentally distinct or dissimilar
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Effrontery
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n; extreme boldness; presumptuousness
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Eloquent
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adj; well-spoken, expressive, articulate
(n; eloquence) |
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Enervate
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v; to weaken; reduce in vitality
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Ennui
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n; dissatisfaction and restlessness resulting from boredom or apathy
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Equivocate
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v; to use ambiguous language with a deceptive intent
(adj; equivocal) |
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Erudite
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adj; very learned, scholarly
(n; erudition) |
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Exculpate
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v; exonerate; to clear of blame
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Exigent
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adj; urgent, pressing; requiring immediate action or attention
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Extemporaneous
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adj; improvised; done without preparation
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Filibuster
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n; intentional obstruction, esp. using prolonged speechmaking to delay legislative action
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Fulminate
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v; to loudly attack or denounce
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Ingenuous
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adj; artless; frank and candid; lacking in sophistication
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Inured
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adj; accustomed to accepting something undesirable
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Irascible
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adj; easily angered; prone to temperamental outbursts
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Laud
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v; to praise highly
(adj; laudatory) |
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Lucid
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adj; clear; easily understood
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Magnanimity
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n; the quality of being generously noble in mind and heart, esp. in forgiving
(adj. magnanimous) |
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Martial
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adj; associated with war and the armed forces
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Mundane
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adj; of the world; typical of or concerned with the ordinary
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Nascent
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adj; coming into being; in early developmental stages
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Nebulous
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adj; vague; cloudy; lacking clearly defined form
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Neologism
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n; a new word, expression, or usage; the creation or use of new words or senses
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Noxious
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adj; harmful, injurious
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Obtuse
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adj; lacking sharpness of intellect; not clear or precise in thought or expression
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Obviate
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v; to anticipate and make unnecessary
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Onerous
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adj; troubling; burdensome
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Paean
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n; a song or hymn of praise and thanksgiving
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Parody
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n; a humorous imitation intended for ridicule or comic effect, esp. in literature and art
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Perennial
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adj; recurrent through the year or many years; happening repeatedly
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Perfidy
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n; intentional breach of faith; treachery
(adj; perfidious) |
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Perfunctory
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adj; cursory; done without care or interest
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Perspicacious
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adj; acutely perceptive; having keen discernment
(n; perspicacity) |
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Prattle
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v; to babble meaninglessly; to talk in an empty and idle manner
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Precipitate (adj)
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adj; acting with excessive haste or impulse
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Precipitate (v)
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v; to cause or happen before anticipated or required
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Predilection
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n; a disposition in favor of something; preference
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Prescience
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n; a foreknowledge of events; knowing of events prior to their occurring
(adj; prescient) |
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Prevaricate
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v; to deliberately avoid the truth; to mislead
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Qualms
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n; misgivings; reservations; causes for hesitancy
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Recant
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v; to retract, esp. a previously held belief
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Refute
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v; to disprove; to successfully argue against
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Relegate
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v; to forcibly assign, esp. to a lower place or position
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Reticent
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adj; quiet; reserved; reluctant to express thoughts or feelings
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Solicitous
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adj; concerned and attentive; eager
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Sordid
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adj; characterized by filth, grime, or squalor; foul
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Sporadic
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adj; occurring only occasionally, or in scattered instances
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Squander
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v; to waste by spending or using irresponsibly
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Static
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adj; not moving, active, or in motion; at rest
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Stupefy
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v; to stun, baffle, or amaze
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Stymie
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v; to block; thwart
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Synthesis
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n; the combination of parts to make a whole
(v; synthesize) |
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Torque
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n; a force that causes rotation
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Tortuous
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adj; winding, twisting; excessively complicated
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Truculent
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adj; fierce and cruel; eager to fight
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Veracity
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n; truthfulness, honesty
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Virulent
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adj; extremely harmful or poisonous; bitterly hostile or antagonistic
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Voracious
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adj; having an insatiable appetite for an activity or pursuit; ravenous
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Waver
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v; to move to and fro; to sway; to be unsettled in opinion
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Abate
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v; to lessen in intensity or degree
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Accolade
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n; an expression of praise
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Adulation
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n; excessive praise; intense adoration
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Aesthetic
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adj; dealing with, appreciative of, or responsive to art or the beautiful
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Ameliorate
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v; to make better or more tolerable
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Ascetic
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n; one who practices rigid self-denial, esp. as an act of religious devotion
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Avarice
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n; greed, esp. for wealth
(adj. avaricious) |
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Axiom
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n; a universally recognized principle
(adj; axiomatic) |
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Burgeon
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v; to grow rapidly or flourish
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Bucolic
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adj; rustic and pastoral; characteristic of rural areas and their inhabitants
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Cacophony
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adj; harsh, jarring, discordant sound; dissonance
(adj; cacophonous) |
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Canon
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n; an established set of principles or code of laws, often religious in nature
(adj; canonical) |
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Castigation
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n; severe criticism or punishment
(v; castigate) |
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Catalyst
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n; 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
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adj; burning or stinging; causing corrosion
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Chary
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adj; wary; cautious; sparing
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Cogent
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adj; appealing forcibly to the mind or reason; convincing
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Complaisance
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n; the willingness to comply with the wishes of others
(adj; complaisant) |
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Contentious
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adj; argumentative; quarrelsome; causing controverty or disagreement
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Contrite
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adj; regretful; pentient; seeking forgiveness
(n; contrition) |
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Culpable
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adj; deserving blame
(n; culpability) |
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Dearth
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n; smallness in quantity of number; scarcity; a lack
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Demur
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v; to question or oppose
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Didactic
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adj; intended to teach or instruct
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Discretion
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n; cautious reserve in speech; ability to make responsible decisions
(adj; discreet) |
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Disinterested
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adj; free of bias or self-interest; impartial
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Dogmatic
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adj; expressing a rigid opinion based on unproved or unprovable principles
(n; dogma) |
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Ebullience
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n; the quality of lively or enthusiastic expression of thoughts and feelings
(adj; ebullient) |
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Eclectic
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adj; composted of elements drawn from various sources
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Elegy
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n; a mournful poem, esp. one lamenting the dead
(adj; elegiac) |
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Emollient
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adj/n: soothing, esp. to the skin; making less harsh; mollifying; an agent that softens or smooths the skin
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Empirical
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adj; based on observation or experiment
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Enigmatic
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adj; mysterious; obscure; difficult to understand
(n; enigma) |
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Ephemeral
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adj; brief; fleeting
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Esoteric
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adj; intended for or understood by a small, specific group
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Eulogy
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n; a speech honoring the dead
(v; eulogize) |
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Exonerate
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v; to remove blame
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Facetious
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adj; playful; humorous
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Fallacy
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n; an invalid or incorrect notion; a mistaken belief
(adj; fallacious) |
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Furtive
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adj; marked by stealth; covert; surreptitious
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Gregarious
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adj; sociable; outgoing; enjoying the company of other people
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Harrangue
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v/n; to deliver a pompous speech or tirade; a long, pompous speech
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Heretical
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adj; violating acepted dogma or convention
(n; heresy) |
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Hyperbole
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n; an exaggerated statement, often used as a figure of speech
(adj; hyperbolic) |
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Impecunious
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adj; lacking funds; without money
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Incipient
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adj; beginning to come into being or to become apparent
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Inert
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adj; unmoving; lethargic; sluggish
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Innocuous
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adj; harmless; causing no damage
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Intransigent
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adj; refusing to compromise
(n; intransigence) |
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Inveigle
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v; to obtain by deception or flattery
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Morose
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adj; sad; sullen; melancholy
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Odious
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adj; evoking intense aversion or dislike
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Opaque
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adj; impenetrable by light; not reflecting light
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Oscillation
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n; the act of state of swinging back and forth with a steady, uninterrupted rhythm
(v; oscillate) |
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Penurious
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adj; penny-pinching; excessively thrifty; ungenerous
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Pernicious
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adj; extremely harmful; potentially causing death
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Peruse
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v; to examine with great care
(n; perusal) |
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Pious
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adj; extremely reverent or devout; showing strong religious devotion
(n; piety) |
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Precursor
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n; one that preceds and indicates or announces another
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Preen
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v; to dress up; to primp; to groom oneself with elaborate care
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Prodigious
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adj; abundant in size, force, or extent; extraordinary
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Prolific
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adj; producing large volumes or amounts; productive
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putrefy
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v; to rot; to decay and five off a foul odor
(adj; putrid) |
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Quaff
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v; to drink deeply
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Quiescence
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n; stillness; motionlessness; quality of being at rest
(adj; quiescent) |
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Redoubtable
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adj; awe-inspiring; worthy of honor
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Sanction
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n/v; authoritative permission or approval; a penalty intended to enforce compliance; to give permission or authority to
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Satire
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n; a literary work that ridicules or criticizes a human vice through humor or derision
(adj; satirical) |
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Squalid
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adj; sordid; wretched and dirty as from neglect
(n; squalor) |
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Stoic
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adj; indifferent to or unaffected by pleasure or pain; steadfast
(n; stoicism) |
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Supplant
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v; to take the place of; supersede
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Torpid
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adj; lethargic; sluggish; dormant
(n; torpor) |
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Ubiquitous
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adj; existing everywhere at the same time; constantly encountered; wide-spread
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Urbane
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adj; sophisticated; refined; elegant
(n; urbanity) |
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Vilify
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v; to defame; to characterize harshly
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Viscous
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adj; thick; sticky
(n; viscosity) |
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Acumen
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n; keen, accurate judgement or insight
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Adulterate
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v; to reduce purity by combining with inferior ingredients
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Amalgamate
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v; to combine several elements into a whole
(n; amalgamation) |
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Archaic
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adj; outdated; associated with an earlier, perhaps more primitive, time
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Aver
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v; to state as a fact; to declare or assert
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Bolster
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v; to provide support or reinforcement
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Bombastic
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adj; pompous; grandiloquent
(n; bombast) |
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Diatribe
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n; a harsh denunciation
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Dissemble
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v; to disguise or conceal; to mislead
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Eccentric
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adj; departing from norms or conventions
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Endemic
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adj; characteristic of or often found in a particular locality, region, or people
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Evanescent
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adj; tending to disappear like vapor; vanishing
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Exacerbate
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v; to make worse or more severe
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Fervent
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adj; greatly emotional or zealous
(n; fervor) |
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Fortuitous
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adj; happening by accident or chance
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Germane
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adj; relevant to the subject at hand; appropriate in subject matter
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Grandiloquence
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Pompous speech or expression
(adj; grandiloquent) |
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Hackneyed
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adj; rendered trite or commonplace by frequent usage
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Halcyon
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adj; calm and peaceful
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Hedonism
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n; devotion to pleasurable pursuits, esp. to the pleasures of the senses
(a hedonist is someone who pursues pleasure) |
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Hegemony
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n; the consistent dominance of one state or ideology over others
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Iconoclast
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n; one who attacks or undermines traditional conventions or institutions
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Idolatrous
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adj; given to intense or excessive devotion to something
(n; idolatry) |
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Impassive
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adj; revealing no emotion
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Imperturbable
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adj; marked by extreme calm, impassivity and steadiness
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Implacable
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adj; not capable of being appeased or significantly changed
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Impunity
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n; immunity from punishment or penalty
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Inchoate
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adj; in an initial stage; not fully formed
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Infelecitous
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adj; unfortunate; inappropriate
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Insipid
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adj; without taste of flavor; lacking in spirit; bland
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Loquacious
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adj; extremely talkative
(n; loquacity) |
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Luminous
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adj; characterized by brightness and the emission of light
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Malevolent
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adj; having or shoving often vicious ill will, spite, or hatred
(n; malevolence) |
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Malleable
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adj; capable of being shaped or formed; tractable; pliable
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Mendacity
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n; the condition of being untruthful; dishonesty
(adj; mendacious) |
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Meticulous
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adj; characterized by exteme care and precision; attentive to detail
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Misanthrope
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n; one who hates all other humans
(adj; misanthropic) |
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Mitigate
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v; to make or become less severe or intense; to moderate
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Obdurate
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adj; unyielding; hardhearted; intractable
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Obsequious
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adj; exhibiting a fawning attentiveness
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Occlude
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v; to obstruct or block
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Opprobrium
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n; disgrace; contempt; scorn
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Pedagogy
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n; the profession or principles of teaching, or instructing
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Pedantic
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adj; overly concerned with the trivial details of learning or education; show-offish about one's knowledge
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Penury
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n; poverty; destitution
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Pervasive
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adj; having the tendency to permeate or spread throughout
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Pine
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v; to yearn intensely; to languish; to lose vigor
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Pirate
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v; to illegally use or reproduce
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Pith
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n; the essential or central part
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Pithy
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Precise and brief
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Placate
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v; to appease; to calm by making concessions
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Platitude
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n; superficial remark, esp. one offered as meaningful
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Plummet
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n; to plunge or drop straight down
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Polemical
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adj; controversial; argumentative
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Prodigal
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adj; recklessly wasteful; extravagant; profuse; lavish
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Profuse
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adj; given or coming forth abundantly; extravagant
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Proliferate
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v; to grow or increase swiftly and abundantly
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Queries
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n; questions; inquiries; doubts in the mind; reservations
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Querulous
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adj; prone to complaining or grumbling; peevish
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Rancorous
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adj; characterized by bitter, long-lasting resentment
(n; rancor) |
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Recalcitrant
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adj; obstinately defiant of authority; difficult to manage
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Repudiate
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v; to refuse to have anything to do with; disown
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Rescind
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v; to invalidate; to repeal; to retract
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Reverent
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adj; marked by, feeling, or expressing a feeling of profound awe and respect
(n; reverence) |
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Rhetoric
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n; the art or study of the effective use of language for communication and persuasion
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Salubrious
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adj; promoting health or well-being
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Solvent
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adj; able to meet financial obligations; able to dissolve another substance
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Specious
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adj; seeming true, but actually being fallacious; misleadingly attractive; plausible but false
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Spurious
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Lacking authenticity or validity; false; counterfeit
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Subpoena
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n; a court order requiring appearance and/or testimony
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Succinct
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adj; brief; concise
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Superfluous
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adj; exceeding what is sufficient or necessary
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Surfeit
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n/v; an overabundant supply; excess; to feed or supply to excess
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Tenacity
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n; the quality of adherence or persistence to something valued; persistent determination
(adj; tenacious) |
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Tenuous
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adj; having little substance or strength; flimsy; weak
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Tirade
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n; a long and extremely critical speech; a harsh denunciation
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Transient
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adj; fleeting; passing quickly; brief
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Zealous
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adj; fervent; ardent; impassioned; devoted to a cause (a zealot is a zealous person)
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Acerbic
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adj; having a sour or bitter taste or character; sharp; biting
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Aggrandize
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v; to increase in intensity, power, influence, or prestige
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Alchemy
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n; a medieval science aimed at the transmutation of metals, esp. base metals into gold (an alchemist is one who practices alchemy)
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Amenable
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adj; agreeable; responsive to suggestion
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Anachronism
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n; something or someone out of place in terms of historical or chronological context
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Astringent
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adj/n; having a tightening effect on living tissue; harsh; severe; something with a tightening effect on tissue
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Contiguous
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adj; sharing a border; touching; adjacent
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Convention
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n; a generally agreed-upon practice or attitude
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Credulous
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adj; tending to believe too readily; gullible
(n; credulity) |
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Cynicism
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n; an attitude or quality of belief that all people are motivated by selfishness
(adj; cynical) |
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Decorum
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n; polite or appropriate conduct or behavior
(adj; decorous) |
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Derision
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n; scorn, ridicule, contemptuous treatment
(adj; derisive, v; deride) |
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Desiccate
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v; to dry out or dehydrate; to make dry or dull
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Dilettante
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n; one with an amateurish or superficial interest in the arts or a branch of knowledge
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Disparage
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v; to slight or belittle
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Divulge
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v; to disclose something secret
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Fawn
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v; to flatter or praise excessively
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Flout
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v; to show contempt for, as in a rule or convention
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Garrulous
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adj; pointlessly talkative, talking too much
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Glib
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adj; marked by ease or informality; nonchalant; lacking in depth; superficial
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Hubris
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n; overbearing presumption or pride; arrogance
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Imminent
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adj; about to happen; impending
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Immutable
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adj; not capable of change
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Impetuous
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adj; hastily or rashly energetic; impulsive and vehement
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Indifferent
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adj; having no interest or concern; showing no bias or prejudice
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Inimical
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adj; damaging; harmful; injurious
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Intractable
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adj; not easily managed or directed; stubborn; obstinate
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Intrepid
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adj; steadfast and courageous
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Laconic
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adj; using few words; terse
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Maverick
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n; an independent individual who does not go along with a group or party
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Mercurial
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adj; characterized by rapid and unpredictable change in mood
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Mollify
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v; to calm or sooth; to reduce in emotional intensity
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Neophyte
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n; a recent convert; a beginner; novice
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Obfuscate
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v; to deliberately obscure; to make confusing
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Obstinate
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adj; stubborn; hardheaded; uncompromising
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Ostentatious
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adj; characterized by or given to pretentious display; showy
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Pervade
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v; to permeate throughout
(adj; pervasive) |
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Phlegmatic
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adj; calm; sluggish; unemotional
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Plethora
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n; an overabundance; a surplus
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Pragmatic
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adj; practical rather than idealistic
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Presumptuous
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adj; overstepping due bounds (as of propriety or courtesy); taking liberties
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Pristine
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adj; pure; uncorrupted; clean
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Probity
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n; adherence to highest principles; complete and confirmed integrity; uprightness
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Proclivity
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n; a natural predisposition or inclination
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Profligate
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adj; excessively wasteful; recklessly extravagant
(n; profligacy) |
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Propensity
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n; a natural inclination or tendency, penchant
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Prosaic
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adj; dull; lacking in spirit or imagination
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Pungent
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adj; characterized by a strong, sharp smell or taste
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Quixotic
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adj; foolishly impractical; marked by lofty romantic ideals
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Quotidian
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adj; occurring or recurring daily; commonplace
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Rarefy
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v; to make or become thin, less dense; to refine
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Recondite
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adj; hidden; concealed; difficult to understand; obscure
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Refulgent
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adj; radiant; shiny; brilliant
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Renege
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v; to fail to honor a commitment; to go back on a promise
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Sedulous
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adj; diligent; persistent; hard-working
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Shard
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n; a piece of broken pottery or glass
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Soporific
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adj; causing drowsiness; tending to induce sleep
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Sparse
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adj; thin; not dense; arranged at widely spaced intervals
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Spendthrift
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n; one who spends money wastefully
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Subtle
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adj; not obvious; elusive; difficult to discern
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Tacit
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adj; implied; not explicitly stated
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Terse
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adj; brief and concise in wording
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Tout
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v; to publicly praise or promote
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Trenchant
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adj; sharply perceptive; keen; penetrating
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Unfeigned
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adj; genuine; not false or hypocritical
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Untenable
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adj; indefensible; not viable; uninhabitable
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Vacillate
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v; to waver indecisively between one course of action or opinion and another; waver
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Variegated
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adj; multicolored; characterized by a variety of patches of different color
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Vexation
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n; annoyance; irritation
(v; vex) |
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Vigilant
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adj; alertly watchful
(n; vigilance) |
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Vituperate
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v; to use harsh, condemnatory language; to abuse or censure severely or abusively; berate
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Volatile
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adj; readily changing to a vapor; changeable; fickle; explosive
(n; volatility) |
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Alloy
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v; to commingle; to debase by mixing with something inferior (unalloyed means pure)
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Appropriate
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v; to take for one's own use, confiscate
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Arrest, Arresting
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v/adj; to suspend; to engage; holding one's attention: as in arrested adolescence, an arresting portrait
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August
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adj; majestic; venerable
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Bent
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n; leaning, inclination, proclivity, tendency
(ex. he had a naturally artistic bent) |
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Broach
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v; to bring up, announce, begin to talk about
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Brook
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v; to tolerate, endure, countenance
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Cardinal
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adj; major (as in cardinal sin)
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Chauvinist
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n; a blindly devoted patriot
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Color
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v; to change as if by dyeing, i.e. to distort, gloss, or affect (usually the first, ex. yellow journalism colored the truth)
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Consequential
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adj; pompous, self-important (primary definitions are: logically following; important)
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Damp
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v; to diminish the intensity or check the vibration of a sound
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Die
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n; a tool used for shaping, as in a tool-and-die shop
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Essay
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v; to test or try; attempt, experiment: (the newly born fawn essayed a few wobbly steps)
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Exact
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v; to demand, call for, require, take (ex. even a victorious war exacts a heavy price)
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Fell
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v; to cause to fall by striking (ex. the lumberjacks felled many trees)
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Flag
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v; to sag or droop, to become spiritless, to decline.
(Think of a flag on a windless day, as in, her flagging spirits) |
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Flip
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adj; sarcastic, impertinent, as in flippant (ex. a flip remark)
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Ford
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v; to wade across the shallow part of a river or stream
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Grouse
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v; to complain or grumble
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Guy
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n/v; a rope, cord, or cable attached to something as a brace or guide; to steady of reinforce using a guy
(think guide) |
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Intimate
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v; to imply, suggest, or insinuate
(ex. are you intimating that I cannot be trusted?) |
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List
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v; to tilt or lean to one side
(ex. the ship's broken mast listed helplessly in the wind) |
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Lumber
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v; to move heavily and clumsily
(ex. Lumbering giants on land, walruses are actually graceful swimmers) |
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Meet
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adj; fitting, proper
(ex. it is altogether meet that Jackie Robinson is in the baseball hall of fame) |
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Milk
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v; to exploit; to squeeze every last ounce of
(ex. I milked it for all it was worth) |
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Mince
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v; pronounce or speak affectedly; euphemize, speak too carefully
(ex. Don't mince words). Also, to take tiny steps, tiptoe |
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Nice
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adj; exacting, fastidious, extremely precise
(ex. he made a nice distinction between the two cases) |
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Obtain
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adj; to be established, accepted, or customary
(ex. those standards no longer obtain) |
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Occult
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adj; hidden, concealed, beyond comprehension
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Pedestrian
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adj; commonplace, trite, unremarkable, quotidian
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Pied
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adj; multicolored, usually in blotches
(ex. the Pied Piper of Hamlin was so called because of his multicolored coat) |
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Pine
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v; to lose vigor (as through grief); to yearn
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Plastic
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adj; moldable, pliable, not rigid
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Pluck
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n; courage, spunk, fortitude
(ex. Churchill's speeches inspired the pluck of his countrymen during the war) |
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Prize
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v; to pry, to press or force with a lever, something taken by force, spoils
(ex. the information was prized from him) |
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Rail
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v; to complain about bitterly
(ex. early American progressives railed against the railroad barons) |
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Rent
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v/n; torn, past of rend
(ex. he rent his garments) an opening or tear caused bu such (ex. a large rent in the fabric) |
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Quail
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v; to lose courage, turn frightened
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Sap
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v; to enervate or weaken the vitality of
(ex. that race sapped my strength) |
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Sap
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n; a fool or nitwit
(ex. don't be a sap!) |
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Scurvy
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adj; contemptible, despicable
(ex. he was a scurvy old reprobate) |
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Singular
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adj; exceptional, unusual, odd
(ex. he was singularly well-suited for the job) |
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Stand
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n; a group of trees
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Steep
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v; to saturate or completely soak, as in to let a tea bag steep
(ex. she was steeped in esoteric knowledge) |
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Strut
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n; the supporting structural cross-part of a wing
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Table
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v; to remove (as a parliamentary motion) from consideration
(ex. they tabled the motion and will reconsider it again later) |
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Tender
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v; to proffer or offer
(ex. he tendered his resignation) |
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Waffle
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v; to equivocate; to change one's position
(ex. his detractors say that the President waffles too much; he can never make up his mind) |
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Wag
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n; wit, joker
(ex. Groucho Marx was a well known wag) |
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Abjure
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v; to renounce or reject solemnly; to recant; to avoid
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Adumbrate
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v; to foreshadow vaguely or intimate; to suggest or outline sketchily; to obscure or overshadow
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Anathema
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n; a solemn or ecclesiastical (religious) curse; accursed or thoroughly loathed person or thing
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Anodyne
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adj/n; soothing, something that assuages or allays pain, or comforts
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Apogee
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n; farthest or highest point; culmination; zenith
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Apostate
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n; one who abandons long-held religious or political convictions
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Apotheosis
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n; deification, glorification to godliness, an exalted example, a model of excellence or perfection
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Asperity
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n; severity, rigor; roughness, harshness; acrimony, irritability
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Asseverate
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v; to aver, allege, assert
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Assiduous
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adj; diligent, hard-working, sedulous
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Augury
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n; omen, portent
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Bellicose
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adj; belligerent, pugnacious, warlike
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Calumniate
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v; to slander, make a false accusation; calumny means slander, aspersion
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Captious
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adj; disposed to point out trivial faults, calculated to confuse or entrap in argument
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Cavil
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v; to find fault without good reason
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Celerity
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n; speed, alacrity (think accelerate)
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Chimera
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n; an illusion; originally, an imaginary fire-breathing she-monster
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Contumacious
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adj; insubordinate, rebellious (contumely means insult, scorn, aspersion)
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Debacle
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n; rout, fiasco, complete failure
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Denouement
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n; an outcome or solution; the unraveling of a plot
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Descry
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v; to discriminate or discern
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Desuetude
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n; disuse
(ex. after years of desuetude, my French skills were finally put to use) |
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Desultory
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adj; random; aimless; marked by a lack of plan or purpose
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Diaphanous
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adj; transparent, gauzy
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Diffident
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adj; reserved, shy, unassuming; lacking in self-confidence
(ex. surprisingly, the CEO of the corporation had been a diffident youth) |
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Dirge
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n; a song of grief or lamentation
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Encomium
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n; glowing and enthusiastic praise; panegyric, tribute, eulogy
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Eschew
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v; to shun or avoid
(ex. she chose to eschew the movie theater, preferring to watch DVDs at home) |
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Excoriate
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v; to censure scathingly, to upbraid
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Execrate
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v; denounce, feel loathing for, curse, declare to be evil
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Exegesis
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n; critical examination, explication
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Expiate
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v; to atone or make amends for
(ex. Pia Zadora has expiated her movie career by good works and charity) |
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Extirpate
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v; to destroy, exterminate, cut out, exscind
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Fatuous
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adj; silly, inanely foolish
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Fractious
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adj; quarrelsome, rebellious, unruly, refractory, irritable
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Gainsay
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v; to deny, dispute, contradict, oppose
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Heterodox
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adj; unorthodox, heretical, iconoclastic
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Imbroglio
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n; difficult or embarrassing situation
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Indefatigable
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adj; not easily exhaustible; tireless, dogged
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Ineluctable
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adj; certain, inevitable
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Inimitable
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adj; one of a kind, peerless
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Insouciant
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adj; unconcerned, carefree, heedless
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Inveterate
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adj; deep rooted, ingrained, habitual
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Jejune
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adj; vapid, uninteresting, nugatory, childish, immature, puerile
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Lubricious
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adj; lewd, wanton, greasy, slippery
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Mendicant
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n; a beggar, supplicant
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Meretricious
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adj; cheap, gaudy, tawdry, flashy, showy, attracting by false show
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Minatory
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adj; menacing, threatening
(think of the Minotaur) |
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Nadir
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n; low point, perigee
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Nonplussed
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adj; baffled, bewildered, at a loss for what to do or think
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Obstreperous
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adj; Noisily and stubbornly defiant, aggressively boisterous
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Ossified
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adj; tending to become more rigid, conventional, sterile, and reactionary with age; literally, turned into bone
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Palliate
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v; to make something seem less serious, to gloss over, to make less severe or intense
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Panegyric
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n; formal praise, eulogy, encomium
(panegyrical means expressing elaborate praise) |
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Parsimonious
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adj; cheap, miserly
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Pellucid
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adj; transparent, easy to understand, limpid
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Peroration
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n; the concluding part of a speech; flowery, rhetorical speech
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Plangent
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adj; pounding, thundering, resounding
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Prolix
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adj; long-winded, verbose
(prolixity means verbosity) |
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Propitiate
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v; to appease; to conciliate
(propitious means auspicious, favorable) |
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Puerile
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adj; childish, immature, jejune, nugatory
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Puissance
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n; power, strength
(pussiant means powerful, strong) |
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Pusillanimous
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adj; cowardly, craven
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Remonstrate
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v; to protest, object
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Sagacious
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adj; having sound judgment; perceptive, wise; like a sage
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Salacious
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adj; lustful, lascivious, bawdy
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Salutary
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adj; remedial, wholesome, causing improvement
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Sanguine
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adj; cheerful, confident, optimistic
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Saturnine
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adj; gloomy, dark, sullen, morose
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Sententious
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adj; aphoristic or moralistic; epigrammatic; tending to moralize excessively
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Stentorian
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adj; extremely loud and powerful
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Stygian
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adj; gloomy, dark
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Sycophant
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n; toady, servile, self-seeking flatterer; parasite
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Tendentious
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adj; biased; showing marked tendencies
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Timorous
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adj; timid, fearful, diffident
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Tyro
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n; novice, greenhorn, rank amateur
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Vitiate
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v; to corrupt, debase, spoil, make ineffective
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Voluble
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adj; fluent, verbal, having easy use of spoken language
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