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362 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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abjure
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to renounce or reject solemnly; to recant; to avoid
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abrogate
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to abolish or annul by authority; to put down
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abscission
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the act of cutting of or removing
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acarpous
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effete; no longer fertile; worn out
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accretion
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growth; increase by successive addition; building up
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admonish
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to reprove; to express warning or disapprova
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adroit
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adept; dexterious
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adumbrate
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to foreshadow or intimate; to suggest sketchily; to obscure
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anathema
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a solemn or ecclesiastical (religious) curse; accursed or thoroughly loathed person or thing
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anodyne
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soothing; something that comforts or assuages or allays pain
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antipathy
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aversion; dislike
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antithetical
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diametrically opposed; as in antithesis
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apocryphal
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of dubious authenticity or origin; spurious
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apogee
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farthest or highest point; culmination; zenith
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apostate
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one who abandons long held religious or political convictions
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apotheosis
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deification; glorification to godliness
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apposite
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appropriate; pertinent; relevant; apropos
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apprise
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to give notice to; to inform
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arabesque
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a complex, ornate design; also a dance position
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arcane
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mysterious; abstruse; esoteric; knowable only to initiates
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arrant
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impudent
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artless
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completely without guile; natural; without artificiality
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ascetic
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someone practicing self-denial; austere; stark
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asperity
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severity; rigor; roughness; harshness; acrimony; irritability
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aspersion
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an act of defamation or maligning; animadversion
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assay
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an analysis; examination; test; to put to a test
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asseverate
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to aver; to allege; to assert
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assiduous
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diligent; hardworking; sedulous
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attenuate
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to rarefy; to weaken or make thinner
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augury
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omen; portent
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auspice
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protection or support; patronage
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auspicious
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favorable; propitious; successful; prosperous
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aver
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to affirm; to assert; to prove; to justify; to asseverate
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baleful
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sinister; pernicious; ominous
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bane
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cause of injury; poison; source of harm
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beatify
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to bless; make happy or ascribe a virtue to; to regard as saintly
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bedizen
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to adorn, especially in a cheap, showy manner; to festoon
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belie
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to give a false impression of; to misrepresent
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bellicose
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belligerent; pugnacious; warlike
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bilge
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bulge; the protuberance of a cask
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blandish
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to toady or fawn
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blithe
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carefree; merry
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boisterous
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loud, noisy; rough; lacking in restraint
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boor
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a rude or insensitive person; lout
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burnish
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to polish; to rub to a shine
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byzantine
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labyrinthine; complex
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cabal
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a scheme or plot; a group of plotters
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cachinnate
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to laugh loudly
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cadge
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to sponge or mooch
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cajole
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to inveigle, coax, or wheedle
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calumniate
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to slander; to make a false accusation
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calumny
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slander; aspersion
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caparison
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to adorn or bedizen
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captious
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calculated to confuse or entrap in argument; hypercritical; caviling
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caret
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a insertion mark used by editors and proofreaders
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cavil
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to find fault without good reason
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celerity
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speed; alacrity
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chasten
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to chastise or correct
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chauvinist
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a blindly devoted patriot
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chimera
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an illusion; originally and imaginary fire-breathing monster
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churlish
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boorish; vulgar; loutish; difficult and intractable
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coalesce
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to come together; to fuse or unite
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coda
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concluding section of a musical or literary piece
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coeval
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of the same period; coexisting
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commensurate
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matching; corresponding or proportionate in degree, size, or amount
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contemn
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to scorn or despise
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contumacious
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insubordinate; rebellious
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corrigible
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capable of being set right; correctable; reparable
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countenance
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to approve of or to tolerate; face; composure
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cozen
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to deceive; beguile or hoodwink
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craven
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contemptibly fainthearted; lacking any courage
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curmudgeon
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a crusty, ill-tempered coot; a misanthrope
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daunt
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to cow or dismay
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debacle
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rout; fiasco; complete failure
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decorous
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correct; formal; marked by decorum
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defalcate
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to embezzle or misappropriate
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denigrate
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to blacken; to belittle; to sully; to defame; to disparage
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denouement
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an outcome or solution; the unraveling of a plot
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deposition
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accretion; depositing; building up layer by layer; official testimony
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deprecate
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to disparage or belittle; to put down
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depredate
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to plunder, pillage, ravage, or destroy; to exploit in a predatory manner
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derivative
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unoriginal; obtained from another source
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descant
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to comment at length
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descry
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to discriminate or discern
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desuetude
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disuse
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desultory
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random; thoughtlessness; marked by a lack of plan or purpose
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detraction
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slandering; verbal attack; aspersion
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diaphanous
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transparent; gauzy
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diffident
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reserved, shy, or unassuming; lacking in self-confidence
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digress
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to stray away from the point; to go off on a tangent
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dilatory
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causing delay; procrastinating
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din
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loud, sustained noise
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dirge
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a song of grief or lamentation
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disaffect
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to estrange or alienate the affection of
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discomfit
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to defeat; to put down
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discursive
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digressive; passing from one topic to another
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dissolution
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disintegration; looseness in morals
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distention
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the state or act of extending or being swollen out of of shape
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distrait
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distracted; absent-minded, especially due to anxiety
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doggerel
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trivial, poorly constructed verse
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dross
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slag, waste, or foreign matter; impurity; surface scum
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dulcet
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melodious; harmonious; mellifluous
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dynamo
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generator; forceful, energetic person
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eclectic
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culled from many sources
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edacious
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voracious; devouring
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edifying
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enlightening
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effluvia
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outflow in a stream of particles; a noxious odor or vapor
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effrontery
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boldness; impudence; arrogance
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effusive
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gushing; excessively demonstrative
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egress
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exit
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encomium
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glowing and enthusiastic praise; panegyric; tribute; eulogy
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endemic
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restricted to a peculiar or particular region; indigenous
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engender
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to cause; to prouce; to give rise to
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enormity
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excessive wickedness; evilness
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ephemeral
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evanescent; fleeting; short lived
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epicure
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one devoted to sensual pleasure, particularly in food and drink; gourmand; sybarite
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episodic
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loosely connected; not flowing logically
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epithet
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disparaging word or phrase
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epitome
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embodiment; quintessence
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equanimity
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composure; self-possession
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equipoise
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equal distribution of weight; equilibrium
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errant
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traveling; itinerant; peripatetic
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eschew
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to shun or avoid
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estimable
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worthy; formidable
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evince
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to show clearly; to indicate
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excoriate
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to censure scathingly; to upbraid
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exegesis
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critical examination; explication
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exemplar
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typical or standard specimen; paradigm; model
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expatiate
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to descant; to discourse; to discuss or write about at length
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expiate
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to atone or make amends for
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expostulate
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to argue earnestly in order to dissuade, correct, or protest
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expurgate
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to remove obscenity; to purify; to censor
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exscind
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to cut out or extirpate
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extant
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existing; not destroyed or lost
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extirpate
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to destroy; to exterminate; to cut out; to exscind
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fallow
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untilled; inactive; dormant
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fatuous
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silly; inanely foolish
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feckless
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ineffectual; irresponsible
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felicitous
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apt; suitably expressed; well-chosen; apropos
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fetid
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stinking; smelly; malodorous
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fetter
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to shackle; to put in chains
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filigree
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an ornamental work, especially of delicate, lacelike patterns
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florid
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flowery; ruddy; ornate
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foment
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to incite; to rouse
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forbearance
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patience; willingness to wait
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forestall
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to act in a way to hinder; to exclude or prevent an action; to avert
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forswear
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to renounce; to disallow; to repudiate
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fracas
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noisy quarrel; imbroglio; brawl
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fractious
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quarrelsome; rebellious; unruly; refractory; irritable
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frieze
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a semi-sculptured, raised surface ornamental facade to a building
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froward
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intractable; not willing to yield or comply; recalcitrant
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gainsay
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to deny, dispute, contradict, oppose
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gambol
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to skip about playfully
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garner
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to gather and save; to store up
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gauche
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crude; awkward; tasteless
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gossamer
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delicate; insubstantial or tenuous; insincere
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guile
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artfulness; trickery; chicanery; duplicity
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hallow
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to make holy; to consecrate
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harrow
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to distress; to create stress; to torment
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heretical
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unorthodox; iconoclastic; dissenting from established dogma
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hermetic
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sealed by fusion; airtight
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heterodox
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unorthodox; heretical; iconoclastic
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hirsute
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hairy; shaggy
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homiletics
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the art of preaching
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homily
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a sermon or morally instructive lecture
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iconoclastic
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attacking cherished beliefs; heretical; heterodox
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idyll
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a carefree; light-hearted pastoral or romantic episode; a literary or musical piece describing such
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ignominious
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shameful; dishonorable; ignoble; undignified
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imbroglio
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difficult or embarrassing situation
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impassive
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expressionless; stoic; stolid; insusceptible to emotion; apathetic; phlegmatic
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imperious
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commanding; masterful; arrogant; domineering; haughty
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importune
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to ask incessantly; to beg; to nag
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impugn
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to attack or assail verbally; to censure; to execrate
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impute
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to attribute to a cause or source; to ascribe
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indefatigable
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doggedness; tirelessness
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indolent
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lazy; listless; torpid
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ineluctable
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certain; inevitable
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ingenuous
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guileless; trusting; naive; credulous
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inherent
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ingrained within one's nature; intrinsic; innate; firmly established
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inimical
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hostile; adverse; unfriendly
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inimitable
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one of a kind; peerless
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iniquity
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gross injustice; wickedness
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innervate
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to supply with nerves; to embolden; to energize
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inscrutable
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incapable of being discovered or understood
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insensible
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unconscious; unresponsive; unaffected; numb
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insouciant
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unconcerned; carefree; heedless
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insular
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parochial; narrow-minded
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interdict
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to prohibit; to forbid; to ban; to halt
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inveigh
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to attack verbally; to denounce; to deprecate
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inveterate
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deep-rooted; ingrained; habitual
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involute
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intricate; complex; convoluted
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itinerate
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to travel from place to place; to peregrinate
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jejune
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vapid; uninteresting; immature; puerile
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jibe
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to agree; to be in accord
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jocose
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humorous; gay; blithe
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jocular
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humorous; gay; blithe
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labile
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readily open to change; unstable
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lachrymose
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causing tears; tearful
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lambaste
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to censure; to excoriate; to berate
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lassitude
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listlessness; languor; weariness
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libertine
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someone unrestrained by morality or convention
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limn
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to draw; to outline in detail; to delineate; to describe
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limpid
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transparent; serene; clear; untroubled; pellucid
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lubricious
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lewd; wanton; greasy; slippery
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luculent
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easily understood; lucid; clear
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macerate
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to waste away; to soften or wear away by excessive fasting or by excessive steeping
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maculate
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marked with spots or blotches; besmirched; impure
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malinger
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to feign illness so as to avoid work; to avoid work
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maunder
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to digress; to meander; to stray from the topic or path
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mellifluous
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sweetly flowing; usually used to describe use of words
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mendicant
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beggar; supplicant
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meretricious
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cheap; gaudy; tawdry; flashy; showy
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metamorphose
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to transform; to change utterly
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mettle
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strength of spirit; courage; stamina
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mettlesome
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courageous; high-spirited
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militate
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to have weight; to bear on; to argue (against)
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minatory
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menacing; threatening
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misogynist
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one who hates women/females
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multifarious
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varied; motley; greatly diversified
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nadir
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low point; perigee
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natty
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trimly neat and tidy; smart
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nexus
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a connection, tie, or link
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noisome
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offensive, especially to one's sense of smell; fetid
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nonplussed
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baffled; in a quandary; at a loss for what to say or do
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nostrum
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panacea; cure-all; placebo; questionable remedy; palliative
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nugatory
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trifling; inconsequential
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obloquy
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abusively detractive language; sharp criticism; vituperation; calumny
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obstreperous
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noisy; loud
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officious
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meddlesome; pushy in one's services
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ossified
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tending to become more rigid; conventional; sterile and reactionary with age; literally, turned into bone
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ostensible
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seeming; appearing as such; professed
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overweening
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presumptuously arrogant, supercilious; overbearing
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palliate
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to make something appear less serious; to gloss over
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panegyric
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formal praise; eulogy; encomium
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paradigm
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a model, example, or pattern; exemplar
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pariah
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an outcast; a rejected and despised person
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parry
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to block; to evade or ward off, as a blow
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parsimonious
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cheap; miserly
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partisan
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committed to a party; biased or prejudiced; supported; adherent
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paucity
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scarcity; a lacking of
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peccadillo
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a slight offense; literally, a minor sin
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pellucid
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transparent; easy to understand; limpid
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penchant
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strong inclination; a liking
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peregrination
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traveling about; wandering
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peremptory
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admitting of no contradiction; haughty; imperious
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perigee
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closest or lowest point in an orbit; nadir
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peripatetic
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itinerant; traveling; nomadic
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peroration
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the concluding part of a speech; grandiloquent speech
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personable
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pleasing in appearance; attractive
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petrous
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like a rock; hard; stony
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petulant
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impatient; irritable
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philistine
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a crass individual guided by material rather than by intellectual or artistic values
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phlegmatic
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impassive; stoical; lethargic; sluggish
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picaresque
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involving clever rogues or adventurers
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pillory
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to punish; to hold up to public scorn
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piquant
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agreeably pungent; stimulating
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pique
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resentment; to annoy, irritate, or offend; to excite, provoke, or arouse
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placebo
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inactive pill prescribed for mental relief rather than for physical effect; something tending to soothe
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plangent
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pounding; thundering; resounding
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plumb
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to measure to depth; to examine critically
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poignant
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distressing; pertinent; touching; stimulating; emotional
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poseur
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affected or insincere person; literally, a poser
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prate
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to chatter; to babble, as in prattle
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precarious
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uncertain; risky; dangerous
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precept
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rule establishing standards of conduct
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precis
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concise summary of essential points
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preempt
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to replace; to supersede; to appropriate
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profligate
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spendthrift; prodigal; wildly extravagant
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prolix
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long-winded; verbose
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propinquity
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nearness in time or place; affinity of nature
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propitiate
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to appease; to conciliate
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proscribe
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to ostracize; to banish; to outlaw
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provident
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frugal; looking to the future
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puerile
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childish; immature
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pugnacious
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contentious; quarrelsome; contumacious; given to fighting; belligerent
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puissance
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power; strength
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punctilious
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precise; paying attention to trivialities, especially in regard to etiquette
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pundit
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an authority on a subject; one who gives opinions
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pusillanimous
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cowardly; craven
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querulous
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habitually complaining; whining
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raffish
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tawdry; flashy; meretricious; low; vulgar; base
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ramify
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to be divided or subdivided; to branch out
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rapacious
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voracious; greedy; plundering
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rebus
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riddle; a representation or words by pictures or symbols
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recidivism
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relapse into antisocial or criminal behaviour
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recondite
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abstruse; profound; arcane
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reconnaissance
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preliminary survey to gain information, especially of an enemy
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reconnoiter
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to engage in reconnaissane
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recreant
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coward; cowardly; craven; pusillanimous
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recumbent
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leaning; resting; prone
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redolent
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fragrant; suggestive or evocative
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refractory
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stubborn; unmanageable; intractable; unruly; fractious
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regale
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to delight or entertain; to feast
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remonstrate
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to protest; to object
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repine
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to feel or express dejection or discontent; to long for
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repudiate
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to disown; to disavow; to reject as untrue
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resolute
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adamant; steadfast; determined; irresolute
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rubric
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heading; title, or category
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rue
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to regret; to feel remorse or sorrow
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runic
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mysterious; magical
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sagacious
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having sound judgment; perceptive; wise
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salacious
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obscene
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salient
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prominent; protruding; conspicuous; relevant
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salutary
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wholesome; causing improvement; favorable to health
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sanctimony
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self-righteousness
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sanguine
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cheerful; confident; optimistic
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satiate
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to surfeit; to overindulge
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saturnine
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gloomy; dark; sullen; morose
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seine
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a large net dragged to catch fish
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seminal
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like a seed; constituting a source; originative
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sententious
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aphoristic or moralistic; epigrammatic; tending to moralize excessively
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sidereal
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astral; relating to stars or constellations
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simper
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to smirk; a silly smile
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sinecure
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position requiring little or no work and usually providing an income
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sinuous
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winding; undulating; serpentine
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slake
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to satisfy or quench
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sodden
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soaked or drenched; unimaginative; dull
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solder
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to weld, fuse, or join
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sophistry
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fallacious reasoning; faulty logic
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sophomoric
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self-assured though immature; affected; bombastic; lacking maturity
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splenetic
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bad-tempered; irritable
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stanch
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to stop the flow of a fluid
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stentorian
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extremely proud and powerful
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stint
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to restrain; to be sparing or frugal
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striated
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striped; grooved; banded
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stygian
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gloomy; dark
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succor
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assistance, relief in times of distress
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sundry
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various; miscellaneous; separate
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supercilious
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disdainful; arrogant; haughty
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supine
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mentally or morally slack; literally, lying on one's back; prone
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suppliant
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supplicant; asking humbly; beseeching
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supplicant
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beggar; mendicant
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tamp
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to plug; to drive in or down by a series of blows
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tautology
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a repetition; a redundancy
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tawdry
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cheap; gaudy; showy; tacky; meretricious
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tendentious
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biased; showing marked tendencies
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timorous
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timid; fearful; diffident
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toady
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sycophant; flatterer
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torrid
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scorching; ardent; passionate
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tractable
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docile; obedient; easily led
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travesty
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mockery; caricature; parody
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tumid
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swollen
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turbid
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roiled; muddy; clouded to the point of being opaque
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turgid
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swollen; tumid; thick; pompous; bombastic
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turpitude
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depravity; prurience
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tyro
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novice; greenhorn; rank amateur
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umbrage
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offense; resentment; pique
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undulate
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to move in wavelike fashion; to fluctuate
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untoward
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perverse; unruly; unseemly
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upbraid
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to scold; to censure; to rebuke; to chastise
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usury
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the practice of charging an exorbitant or illegal rate of interest
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vaunt
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to brag or boast
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venal
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capable of being brought or bribed; mercenary; purchasable
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venerate
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to revere; to worship
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verisimilitude
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appearance or truth or reality
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veritable
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authentic; honest-to-goodness
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virago
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a loud, domineering woman; a scold or nag
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vitiate
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to pervert; to debase; to spoil; to make ineffective
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volubility
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fluency; verbosity; easy use of spoken language
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waft
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to cause to move as if by a light breeze
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welter
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to writhe; to toss about; to be in turmoil
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wend
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to go; to proceed; to walk
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