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262 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Abscond
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to depart secretly
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Belie
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to contradict; misrepresent; to give a false impression
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Boorish
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rude; insensitive
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Burgeon
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to grow rapidly, flourish
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Desultory
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random; disconnected; rambling
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Diffidence
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shyness; lack of confidence
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Disparage
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to belittle
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Disparate
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dissimilar
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Dissemble
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to pretend; to disguise one’s motives
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Dissolution
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disintegration; debauchery
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Effrontery
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shameless boldness; presumptuousness
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Equanimity
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composure; calmness
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Equivocate
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to intentionally use vague language
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Eulogy
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a high praise, especially of a person who has recently died
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Fatuous
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foolishly self-satisfied
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Flout
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to treat scornfully; to show contempt for
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Foment
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to incite; arouse
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Gainsay
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to deny; dispute; oppose
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Grandiloquent
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pompous; bombastic
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Impassive
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showing no emotion
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Imperturbable
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not easily disturbed
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Inchoate
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imperfectly formed or formulated
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Indigence
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poverty
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Indolent
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habitually lazy; idle
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Ingenuous
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naïve and trusting; lacking sophistication
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Insensible
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unconscious; unresponsive
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Insipid
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lacking in flavor; dull
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Insularity
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narrow-mindedness; isolation
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Intractable
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not easily managed
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Intransigence
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stubbornness; refusal to compromise
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Inured
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hardened; accustomed; used to
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Invective
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verbal abuse
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Lassitude
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lethargy; sluggishness
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Lucid
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bright; clear; intelligible
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Mitigate
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to cause to become less harsh, severe, or painful; alleviate
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Obdurate
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stubborn
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Obsequious
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overly submissive
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Obviate
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to make unnecessary; to anticipate and prevent
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Officious
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too helpful; meddlesome
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Opprobrium
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disgrace; contempt
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Ostentatious
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showy; trying to attract attention; pretentious
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Pathological
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departing from normal condition
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Penury
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extreme poverty
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Perfunctory
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superficial; not thorough; performed really as a duty
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Phlegmatic
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calm in temperament; sluggish
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Plasticity
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condition of being able to be shaped or formed; pliability
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Presumptuous
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rude; improperly bold; overstepping due bounds; taking liberties
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Prevaricate
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to quibble; evade the truth
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Proliferate
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to increase rapidly
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Propitiate
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to win over; appease
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Proscribe
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to condemn; forbid; outlaw
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Qualified
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limited; restricted
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Quibble
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to argue over insignificant and irrelevant details
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Recalcitrant
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resisting authority or control
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Recondite
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abstruse; profound
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Repudiate
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reject as having no authority
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Rescind
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to cancel
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Solicitous
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attentive; eager; concerned
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Substantiate
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to support with proof or evidence
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Tenuous
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weak; insubstantial
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Torpor
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lethargy; dormancy; sluggishness
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Tractable
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obedient; yielding
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Truculence
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aggressiveness; ferocity
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Veracious
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truthful; accurate
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Vituperative
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containing harsh, abusive censure
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Volatile
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tending to vary frequently; fickle
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Abjure
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to reject; abandon formally
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Adumbrate
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to obscure or overshadow
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Aerate
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to cause air to circle through
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Amenable
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agreeable; cooperative; suited
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Anathema
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a religious curse; a loathed person or thing
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Apostate
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one who abandons long-held convictions
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Apotheosis
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deification, glorification to godliness, a model of perfection or excellence
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Asseverate
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to aver; allege; assert
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Augury
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omen; portent
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Bellicose
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belligerent; pugnacious; warlike
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Captious
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faultfinding; intended to entrap, as in an argument
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Catholic
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general; universal
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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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Chary
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wary; cautious; sparing
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Cogent
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clear, logical, and convincing
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Contumacious
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disobedient; rebellious
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Credulous
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tending to believe to rapidly
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Demur
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to question or oppose
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Descry
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to discriminate or discern
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Dilettante
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one with an amateurish or superficial interest in the arts or a branch of knowledge
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Encomium
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a formal expression of praise
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Ennui
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boredom
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Eschew
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to shun or avoid
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Excoriate
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to censure scathingly; to upbraid
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Execrate
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denounce; feel loathing for; curse
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Expiate
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to atone for
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Extemporaneous
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improvised; done without preparation
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Fractious
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quarrelsome; rebellious; unruly
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Fulminate
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to attack loudly or denounce
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Furtive
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marked by stealth; covert; surreptitious
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Germane
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relevant to the subject at hand; appropriate in subject matter
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Harangue
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a long pompous speech
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Hegemony
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the consistent dominance of one state or ideology over others
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Heterodox
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unorthodox; not widely accepted
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Imbroglio
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complicated situation; an entanglement
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Impecunious
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poor
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Impetuous
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impulsive; characterized by sudden or rash action or emotion
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Impunity
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immunity from punishment or penalty
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Incipient
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beginning to come into being or to become apparent
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Ineluctable
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inevitable; unavoidable
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Inimical
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damaging; harmful; injurious
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Inimitable
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one of a kind; peerless
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Insouciant
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indifferent; lacking concern or care
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Intrepid
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steadfast and courageous
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Inveigh
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to disapprove; protest vehemently
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Inveigle
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to win over by flattery or coaxing
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Inveterate
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confirmed; long-standing; deeply rooted
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Jejune
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vapid; uninteresting; childish
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Lubricious
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lewd; wanton; greasy
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Maladroit
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unskillful; awkward; clumsy
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Mendicant
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beggar
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Meretricious
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gaudy; cheap; tawdry
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Minatory
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threatening; menacing
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Nadir
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low point; perigee
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Nexus
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a means of connection; a center
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Noisome
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having a bad odor
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Nonplussed
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bewildered
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Obstreperous
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stubbornly defiant
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Paean
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a song or hymn of praise and thanksgiving
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Palliate
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to make something seem less serious; to make less severe
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Panegyric
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elaborate praise; formal hymn of praise
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Parsimonious
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cheap; miserly
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Pellucid
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transparent; translucent; easily understood
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Pernicious
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extremely harmful; potentially causing death
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Peroration
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the concluding part of a speech flowery, rhetorical speech
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Perspicacity
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keenness of mental perception and understanding
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Pith
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the essential or central part
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Pithy
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precise and brief
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Plangent
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pounding; thundering; resounding
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Polemical
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controversial; argumentative
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Prescience
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foreknowledge of events
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Profligate
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excessively wasteful; recklessly extravagant
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Prolix
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long-winded, verbose
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Prosaic
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dull; lacking in spirit or imagination
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Puerile
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childish; immature; jejune
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Puissant
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powerful
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Pusillanimous
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cowardly
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Quaff
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to drink deeply
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Quixotic
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foolishly impractical; marked by lofty romantic ideals
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Quotidian
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occurring or recurring daily; commonplace
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Rancor
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hatred; malice
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Rarefy
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to make or become thin, less dense; to refine
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Remonstrate
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to object or protest
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Salacious
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lascivious; lustful
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Salutary
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remedial; causing improvement
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Sanguine
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cheerful; optimistic
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Sedulous
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diligent; persistent; hard-working
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Sententious
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moralistic; epigrammatic; tending to moralize excessively
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Sordid
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characterized by filth, grime, or squalor; foul
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Spendthrift
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one who spends money wastefully
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Spurious
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false; counterfeit
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Stentorian
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extremely loud and powerful
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Strident
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making or having a harsh sound
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Stymie
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to block; thwart
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Surfeit
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excess; an overabundant supply
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Sycophant
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toady; servile; parasite
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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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Tout
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to publicly praise or promote
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Trenchant
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sharply perceptive; keen; penetrating
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Tyro
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novice; greenhorn; amateur
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Urbane
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sophisticated; refined; elegant
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Virulent
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extremely harmful or poisonous; bitterly hostile or antagonistic
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Vitiate
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to corrupt morally; make ineffective
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Voluble
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fluent; verbal; having easy use of spoken language
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Demonstrative
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showing feelings openly
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Effusive
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lacking reserve; pouring out
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Indemnity
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protection or security against danger or loss
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Overt
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done or shown openly
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Placid
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pleasantly calm or peaceful
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Protract
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to draw out or lengthen
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Scurrilous
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grossly or obscenely abusive
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Spate
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a sudden increase
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Superfluity
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something superfluous
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Temerity
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excessive confidence or boldness
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Wieldy
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easily controlled or handled
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Insurgency
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insurrection against an existing government
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Succor
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relief; help in time of distress or want
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Munificence
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liberal in giving; generous
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Attenuate
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to weaken
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Occlude
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to shut; block
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Banal
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commonplace; trite
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Facetious
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humorous
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Apprise
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to inform
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Approbation
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praise; approval
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Laconic
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using few words
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Exigency
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crisis; urgent requirements
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Probity
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honesty; high-mindedness
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Contention
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assertion
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Denigrate
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to slur someone’s reputation
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Enervate
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to weaken
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Supine
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lying on the back
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Turbid
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clouded; opaque; obscured
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Tenacious
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holding fast; characterized by keeping a firm hold; highly retentive
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Cleave
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to adhere closely, stick; to split or divide
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Bar
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to prevent or hinder
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Fecund
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producing or capable of producing offspring; fertile
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Dyspeptic
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gloomy, pessimistic, irritable
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Mawkish
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sentimental in a feeble or sickly way; having a faint sickly flavor
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Expurgate
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to purge of moral offensiveness
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Augment
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to make larger or greater by adding to it
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Contrived
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obviously planned or forced
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Arbitrate
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to judge a dispute between two opposing parties
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Caustic
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sarcastically biting; burning
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Chauvinist
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a person displaying aggressive or exaggerated patriotism
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Corroborate
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to provide supporting evidence
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Estimable
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admirable; possible to estimate
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Malinger
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to feign illness to escape duty
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Paragon
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model of excellence or perfection
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Diatribe
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bitter verbal attack
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Venal
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bribable; mercenary; corruptible
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Equivocal
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ambiguous; open to more than one interpretation
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Perdition
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damnation
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Restive
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restless; uneasy
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Plucky
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brave
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Vitriol
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something highly caustic or severe in effect
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Travail
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painfully difficult or burdensome
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Pejorative
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expressing contempt or disapproval
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Vindicate
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clear of blame or suspicion
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Misapprehend
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misunderstand
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Perjury
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lying in court
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Rapprochement
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an establishment of harmonious relations
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Vilify
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speak or write about in a disparaging manner
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Blandishment
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flattery
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Circumscribed
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draw a line around
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Repose
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temporary rest from activity
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Undergird
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to strengthen, secure
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Apocryphal
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of doubtful authenticity
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Imprecation
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a spoken curse
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Rejoinder
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a witty, sharp reply
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Scintilla
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a minute particle; spark; trace
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Umbrage
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offence; annoyance; displeasure
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Maudlin
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tearfully or weakly emotional
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Cupidity
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eager or excessive desire, especially to possess something
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Largess
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generous bestowal of gifts
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Cosset
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to treat as a pet; pamper; coddle
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Tacit
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silently understood; implied
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Sardonic
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mocking or cynical
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Pathogenic
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capable of producing disease
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Slake
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to ally (thirst, desire, wrath, etc.) by satisfying; to cool or refresh
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Hoary
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gray or white with age
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Unconscionable
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not guided by conscience; unscrupulous
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Tawdry
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cheap, gaudy apparel
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Glib
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fluent in an insincere way; offhand
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Wily
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crafty; cunning
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Lionize
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to treat a person as a celebrity
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Vex
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to annoy
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Vim
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lively or energetic spirit
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Euphony
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agreeableness of sound
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Cognizant
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informed; conscious; aware
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Bawdy
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indecent; lewd
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Abet
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to encourage or support
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Blanch
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turn white or pale; bleach
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Enmity
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hostile
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Charlatan
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fraud
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