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310 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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aberrant
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Markedly different from an accepted norm
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Aberration
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deviation from a right, customary, or prescribed course
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Abet
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to help, promote, encourage someone (in doing something wrong)
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Abjure
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Promise, swear to give up
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Ablution
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A washing or cleansing (esp. of the body)
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Abate
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to reduce or lessen
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abeyance
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temporary inactivity or suspension
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abjure
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to forswear or abstain from
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abrade
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to wear down or rub away the surface of something
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abridge
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to reduce the length of or diminish in scope
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abrogate
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to end or do away with something
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abscond
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to withdraw and hide
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accretion
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a gradual increase in the amount or size of something
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acquisitive
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characterized by a strong desire to gain or retain information or objects
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adroit
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showing skill and experience
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ambivalent
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characterized by uncertainty
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amenable
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responsive to suggestion
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anachronism
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something existing or happening out of its time in historical order
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annotate
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to provide with extra notes or comments
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ardor
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intense feeling
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ascribe
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to assign a characteristic
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asperity
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roughness or severity
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assuage
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to lessen or ease
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assiduous
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characteristic of careful and persistent effort
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aver
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to declare as true
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aversion
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strong dislike
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abet
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To aid, promote, or encourage the commission of (an offense)
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abstemious
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Characterized by self denial or abstinence, as in the use of drink, food
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abstruse
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Dealing with matters difficult to be understood
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abut
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To touch at the end or boundary line
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accede
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To agree
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acquiesce
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To comply
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acumen
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Quickness of intellectual insight, or discernment
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adage
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An old saying
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adumbrate
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To represent beforehand in outline or by emblem
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affable
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Easy to approach
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aggrandize
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To cause to appear greatly
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agile
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Able to move or act quickly, physically, or mentally
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agog
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In eager desire
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alacrity
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Cheerful willingness
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alcove
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A covered recess connected with or at the side of a larger room.
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aloof
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Not in sympathy with or desiring to associate with others
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amalgamate
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To mix or blend together in a homogeneous body
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ameliorate
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To relieve, as from pain or hardship
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anathema
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Anything forbidden, as by social usage
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animadversion
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The utterance of criticism or censure
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antideluvian
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Of or pertaining to the times, things, events before the great flood in the days of Noah
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aplomb
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Confidence
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apocryphal
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Of doubtful authority or authenticity
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apogee
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The climax
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apostate
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False
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apotheosis
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Deification
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appease
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To soothe by quieting anger or indignation
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apposite
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Appropriate
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apprise
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To give notice to
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approbation
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to sanction
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argot
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A specialized vocabulary peculiar to a particular group
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arrant
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Notoriously bad
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ascetic
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Given to severe self-denial and practicing excessive abstinence and devotion
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atonement
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Amends, reparation, or expiation made from wrong or injury
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audacious
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fearless
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augury
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omen
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auspicious
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Favorable omen
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austere
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Severely simple
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avow
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To declare openly
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bequest
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the act of passing on
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bereft
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deprived or despondent (you can feel bereft if someone took something you had expected/wanted)
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blithe
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careful or joyous
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bolster
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(n) a narrow cushion
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brazen
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bold or shameless
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burgeoning
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thriving or growing rapidly
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baleful
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malignant
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banal
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Commonplace
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bedaub
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To smear over, as with something oily or sticky
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bellicose
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warlike
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belligerent
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Manifesting a warlike spirit
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benefactor
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A doer of kindly and charitable acts
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berate
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To scold severely
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bewilder
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To confuse the perceptions or judgment of
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blandishment
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Flattery intended to persuade
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blatant
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Noisily or offensively loud or clamorous
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Bombast
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Inflated or extravagant language, especially on unimportant subjects
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boorish
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rude
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breach
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The violation of official duty, lawful right, or a legal obligation
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broach
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To mention, for the first time
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bumptious
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Full of offensive and aggressive self-conceit
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burnish
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To make brilliant or shining
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cadge
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to beg
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capricious
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impulsive
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castigate
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to punish or criticize severely
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censure
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a formal criticism or intense disproval
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circumspect
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mindful of potential consequences
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coalesce
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to unite or come together
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cogent
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convincing and reasonable
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commensurate
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corresponding in size, degree, or duration
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complaisant
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showing a willingness to please
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concede
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to admit or reluctantly yield
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consternation
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alarm or fear
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convivial
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festive and sociable
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corroborate
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to confirm
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countenance
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facial features or expression
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credulous
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easily deceived
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culmination
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completion or climax
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culpable
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deserving of blame
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cabal
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A number of persons secretly united for effecting by intrigue some private purpose
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cacophony
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A disagreeable, harsh, or discordant sound or combination of sounds or tones
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cajole
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To impose on or dupe by flattering speech
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callow
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Without experience of the world.
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calumny
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slander
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cant
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To talk in a singsong, preaching tone with affected solemnity
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capacious
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Roomy
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capitulate
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To surrender or stipulate terms
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captious
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Hypercritical
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caustic
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Sarcastic and severe
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chagrin
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Keen vexation, annoyance, or mortification, as at one's failures or errors.
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chary
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Careful
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chicanery
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The use of trickery to deceive
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circumlocution
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Indirect or roundabout expression
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coddle
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To treat as a baby or an invalid.
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coeval
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Existing during the same period of time
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cogitate
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Consider carefully and deeply
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collution
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A secret agreement for a wrongful purpose.
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comestible
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Fit to be eaten
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comport
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To conduct or behave (oneself).
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compunction
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Remorseful feeling.
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conflagration
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A great fire, as of many buildings, a forest, or the like.
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conspicious
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Clearly visible
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consternation
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panic
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contrite
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Broken in spirit because of a sense of sin
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contumacious
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rebellious
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corporeal
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Of a material nature
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countervail
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To offset.
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covert
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Concealed, especially for an evil purpose
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cupidity
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avarice
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cursory
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Rapid and superficial.
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curtail
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to cut off or cut short
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cynosure
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That to which general interest or attention is directed
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decimate
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to destroy large numbers of
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decry
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to denounce, criticize
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defamation
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a malicious or abusive attack on one's character
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delve
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to deeply search through
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denigrate
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to speak ill of
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deplore
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to condemn
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derision
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use of ridicule to show contempt
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desultory
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inconsistent and irregular
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diatribe
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an abusive, insulting verbal attack
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didactic
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intended for the purposes of moral teaching or instructing, even when instruction is not necessary or welcome
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disabuse
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to free someone of believing something that is untrue
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dissemble
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to disguise or conceal
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divest
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to get rid of
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docile
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easy to train or teach
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dearth
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Scarcity, as of something customary, essential,or desirable
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deign
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To deem worthy of notice or account
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deleterious
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Hurtful, morally or physically
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delineate
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To represent by sketch or diagram
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demagogue
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An unprincipled politician
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denizen
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Inhabitant.
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denouement
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That part of a play or story in which the mystery is cleared up
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deprave
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To render bad, especially morally bad
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deprecate
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To express disapproval or regret for, with hope for the opposite
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deride
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To ridicule
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decry
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To discern
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desiccant
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Any remedy which, when applied externally, dries up or absorbs moisture, as that of wounds
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Demulcent
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a medicine that soothes
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Gibbous
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protuberant / humpbacked
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Decrepit
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weakened / worn out
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Puissant
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power
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Rugose
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wrinkled
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Abjuration
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to renounce
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Berate
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to rebuke / scole
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Stenosis
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a type of constriction
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Hegira
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a flight to escape danger
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Trope
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a literay device used to embellish
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Obfuscate
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to confuse
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Louche
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someone disreputable
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Conterminous
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contiguous (having a boundary in common, like Michigan and Ohio)
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Friable
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fragile
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Opaline
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gemstone
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Caudal
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posterior
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Soothsayer
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someone who divines the future
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Pedagogue
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a teacher
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Amanuensis
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a scribe / secretary
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Poltroon
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a coward
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Ignominious
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contemptible (<- not deserving any respect) / discreditable/ humiliating
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Asperse
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to slander
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Cachinnate
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to laugh loudly
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Promulgate
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to announce
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Ablate
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to remove
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Lambent
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softly radiant
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Redolent
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fragrant
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Avaricious
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greedy
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Refulgence
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radiant
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Inscrutable
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difficult to understand
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Truss
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a frame/brace made to support something
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Confluence
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a joining
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Bombast
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pompous
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Hubris
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arrogance
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Inexorable
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unstoppable
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unflappable
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calm / not easily excited
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inapposite
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irrelevant
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Abstruse
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difficult to understand
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Deliquesce
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to become liquid
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Coagulate
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to clot / congeal
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Acquiesce
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to comply / consent
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Ponderous
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slow, careful, heavy
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Factitious
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artificial
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Infernal
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annoying / connected to Hell, underworld
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Axiom
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postulate
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Dirge
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Funeral hymn / mournful speech
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Dither
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to act confusedly / w/o clear purpose
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Ethos
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beliefs / character of a group the Boy Scout's ethos is that one should always be prepared
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Fallow
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dormant / unused
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Hegemony
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the domination of one state or group over its allies Stalin was outraged when Germany claimed hegemony over Russia
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Hermetic
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tighly sealed
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Imbue
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to infuse
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Ingenuous
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innocent / childlike
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Ingrate
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ungrateful person
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Ingratiate
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to curry favor
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Inquest
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an investigation
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Insurrection
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rebellion
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Intractable
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stubborn Intractable for hours, the wild horse eventually allowed the rider to mount.
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Invective
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abusive language a stream of invectives poured from her mouth
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Vituperation
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abusive language Cinderella reieved much vituperation from her step sisters
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Listless
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lacking energy / enthusiasm
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Palatial
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relating to a palace
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Pariah
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an outcast aka. derelict
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Pejorative
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insulting the teacher scolded Mark for his pejorative comments abou this classmate's work
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Phalanx
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a legion / mass a phalanx of guards stood outside the prime minister's home day and night
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Polemic
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argument / verbal attack the candidate's polemic against his opponent was vicious
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Quotidian
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commonplace
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Repast
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meal
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Repose
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relaxation / leisure Jups finds his repose laying next to me on the couch
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Repudiate
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to reject the validity of
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Sentient
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conscious
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Slake
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quench
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Stratagem
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trick designed to deceive an enemy
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Supplant
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to replace
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Surly
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rude / bad-tempered
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Unequivocal
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absolute / certain
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Accretion
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accumulation / growth in size
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Ameliorate
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to make better the doc was able to ameliorate the patient's suffering
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Analgesia
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a lessening of pain
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Apostate
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one who renounces a religious faith
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Ardor
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passion
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Cloying
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sickly sweet
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Dictum
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authoritative statement
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Fecund
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fertile
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Inexorable
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unyielding the inexorable force of the tornado swept away their house
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Inter
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to bury someone
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Lampoon
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to ridicule w/ satire
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Languid
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lacking energy
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Lassitude
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a state of diminished energy --one of the primary symptoms of anemia
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Maudlin
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overly sentimental
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Militate
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to work against Lenin militated against the tsar
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Nominal
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existing in name only
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Oblique
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evasive
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Obsequious
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overly submissive and eager to please
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Perspicacious
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intelligent
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Pithy
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concise / to the point Martha's pithy comments during the interview must have been impressive b/c she got the job.
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Plebeian
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crude / characteristic of commoners After five weeks of studying, the graduate settled in for a weekend of plebeian socializing and TV watching.
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Politic
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shrewd and tactful in dealing with things
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Prattle
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meaningless, foolish talk
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Prescient
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having foresight His decision to sell the house seemed to be a prescient one, as its value soon dropped by half.
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syn: augural
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mantic
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Puerile
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child-like
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Pugilism
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boxing
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Quixotic
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overly idealistic, impractical He had quixotic plans to build a roller coaster in their yard.
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Raconteur
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storyteller
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Rejoinder
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a response He tried to think of a clever rejoinder to her joke, but he couldn't.
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Ribald
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humorous in a vulgar way The court jester's ribald brand of humor delighted the rather uncouth king.
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Sacrosanct
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extremely sacred
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Salient
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prominent
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Sanguine
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ruddy / rosy / cheerfully optimistic
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Sardonic
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cynical / scornfully mocking She was offended by the sardonic way that her date made fun of her ideas.
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Sedition
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behavior that promotes rebellion. She was arrested for sedition after giving a fiery speech in main square.
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Seraphic
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angelic
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Spartan
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highly self-disciplined
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Specious
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seemingly plausible, but fallicious
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Stentorian
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very noisy / loud It was hard to hear him over the stentorian din of the game on TV
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Sycophant
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a yes-man Dreading criticism, the actor surrounded himself with sycophants.
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Syncopation
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temporary irregularity in musical rhythm
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Tacit
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done without using words
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Toady
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a sycophant
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Torpor
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extreme mental & physical sluggishness
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Trenchant
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keen Tyrone's trenchant observations in class made him the professor's favorite student.
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Turgid
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bloated, distended In the process of osmosis, water passes through the walls of turgid celss, ensuring that they never contain too much water.
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Umbrage
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offense. The businessman took umbrage at the security guard's accusation that he had shoplifted a pack of gum.
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syn: asperity
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dudgeon
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Upbraid
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to scold sharply
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Usury
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loan-sharking The moneylender was convicted of usury when it was discovered that he charged 50% interest on all his loans.
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Verdant
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green w/ vegetation
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Wan
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sickly pale
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Wanton
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licentious, lewd, reckless The townspeople were outraged by the wanton display of disrespect when they found the statue of the town founder covered in graffiti
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Xenophobia
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fear/hatred of foreigners/strangers
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Yoke
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to join together As soon as the farmer had yoked his oxen together, he began to plow the fields.
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Abjure
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to reject
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the spy abjured his allegiance to the US when he defected to Russia Alacrity
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speed / quickness
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Amortize
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to diminish by installment payments
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Anodyne
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something that calms / soothes pain the anodyne massage
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Approbation
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approval / praise
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Arrogate
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to claim without right / justification Her boss arrogated the credit for her work.
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Augury
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prophecy Troy hoped the rainbow was an augury of good things to come.
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Capricious
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changing one's mind quickly and often
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Contumacious
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rebellious
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Coterie
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a clique
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Sybarite
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pleasuremonger
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Tawdry
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gaudy, cheap The performer changed into her tawdry outfit and onto the stage to do her show
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Vicissitude
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ups and downs Investors must be prepared for vicissitudes of the stock market
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Voluble
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talkative
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Zephyr
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a gentle breeze The zephyr from the ocean made the heat bearable
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