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263 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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abdicate
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to give up a position, right or power
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abjure
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to reject, abandon formally
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ablution
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act of cleansing
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abnegate
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to deny, renounce
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abrogate
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to abolish or invalidate by authority
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abate
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to reduce in amount, degree, or severity
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aberrant
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abnormal or deviant
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abstemious
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consuming moderately
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abstruse
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difficult to comprehend; opaque
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abut
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to touch, be in contact with
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acerbic
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bitter, sharp in taste or temper
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acme
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highest point, summet
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aver
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state formally as a fact
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acquiesce
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to agree or comply in silence
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adroit
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skillful, accomplished, highly competent
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adumbrate
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to sketch, outline in a shadowy way
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admonish
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to rebuke or advise someone
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aerie
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nook or nest built high in the air
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altruism
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unselfish concerns for others' welfare
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ambulatory
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itinerant; walking around
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amortize
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to diminish by installment payments
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ancillary
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accessory, subordinate; helping
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antediluvian
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prehistoric, ancient beyond measure; coming before the biblical flood
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anthropomorphic
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attributing human qualities to nonhumans; having human qualities
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aplomb
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poise, confidence
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apostate
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one who renounces a religious faith
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approbation
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approval
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apprise
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inform
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apothegm
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a short, instructive saying
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apotheosis
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deification; glorified ideal
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arboreal
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relating to trees; living in trees
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assiduous
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diligent, persistent, hardworking
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accretion
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growth in size; increase in amount
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bacchanalian
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drunkenly festive
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balk
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to refuse, shirk; prevent
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beatific
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saintly, angelic
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behemoth
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huge creature
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belie
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to misrepresent; expose as false
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benison
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blessing
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bifurcate
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divide into two parts
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bilious
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easily irritated, relating to bile
(irascible) |
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bonhomie
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good-natured geniality; atmosphere of good cheer
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bulwark
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defense wall; anything serving as a defense
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blithe
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carefree, joyful
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burgeon
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grow forth; send out bulbs
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cajole
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to flatter, coax, persuade
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calamitous
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disastrous, catastrophic
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calumny
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false and malicious accusation, misrepresentation, slander
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canard
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a lie
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carom
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to strike and rebound
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cavalcade
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a procession
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chagrin
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shame, embarrassment, humiliation
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charlatan
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quack, fake
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miscegenation
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interbreeding of races
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chattel
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piece of personal property
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conjecture
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formation of an opinion on incomplete information
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junta
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(usually military) clique taking power after a coup d'etat
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adjure
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beg or command
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compunction
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feeling of uneasiness for doing wrong; anxiety caused by regret
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contentious
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quarrelsome, belligerent
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verisimilitude
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the appearance or semblance of truth
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chimerical
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fanciful, imaginary; impossible
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cabal
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a secret group hoping to overturn something
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collusion
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collaboration
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credulous
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too trusting; gullible
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credence
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belief in the truth of something
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coda
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something that summarizes or concludes
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choleric
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easily angered; short-tempered
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churlish
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rude
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cistern
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tank for rainwater
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coalesce
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to grow together; cause to unite as one
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coffer
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strongbox; chest for money
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cogent
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convincing and well-reasoned
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coagulate
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clot; thicken
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cognomen
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family name; any name, especially a nickname
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comeliness
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physical grace or beauty
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commodious
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roomy, spacious
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compunctious
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feeling guilty or having misgivings
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conciliatory
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overcoming distrust or hostility
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conflagration
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big, destructive fire
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congenial
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similar in tastes or habits
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contentious
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quarrelsome, belligerent
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contumacious
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rebellious
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corpulence
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obesity, fatness, bulkiness
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cloying
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sickly sweet; excessive
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contrite
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repentant; arising from a sense of guilt
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declivity
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downward slope
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delineate
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portray, depict
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denigrate
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to slur or blacken someone's reputation
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descry
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to discover or reveal
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dictum
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authoritative statement; popular saying
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discomfit
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to cause perplexity and embarassment
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desultory
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aimless, digressing at random
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disingenuous
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insincere
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distaff
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the female branch of a family
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doctrinaire
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rigidly devoted to theories
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dolor
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sadness
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doughty
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courageous, audacious
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distend
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to swell; to inflate
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demur
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to express doubts or objections
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ebullient
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exhilarated, full of enthusiasm and high spirits
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effluvia
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outpouring of gases and vapors
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effulgent
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brilliantly shining
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egregious
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conspicuously bad
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emend
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to correct a text
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emollient
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having soothing qualities, esp for skin
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encomium
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warm praise
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ennui
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lack of interest or energy
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ersatz
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fake
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evince
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to show clearly, display, signify
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expiate
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to atone for, make amends for
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expatiate
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to wander; to discuss at length
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fealty
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intense loyalty
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fetid
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foul smelling, putrid, noisome
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fey
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irrational; supernatural; doomed
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filch
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steal
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filial
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appropriate for a child
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felicitous
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appropriate or highly suitable
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forswear
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renounce, disclaim
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fracas
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noisy dispute
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fractious
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unruly, rebellious, intransigent
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fulminate
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to explode with anger
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fulsome
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excessive, overdone, sickeningly abundant
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gainsay
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to deny
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gambol
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to dance or skip around playfully
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gibe
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to make heckling, taunting remarks
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glower
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to stare angrily and intensely
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germane
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closely related; relevant
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hackneyed
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worn out by over-use
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harangue
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a pompous speech
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heretical
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opposed to an established religious orthodoxy
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ignominious
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disgraceful and dishonorable
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ilk
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type or kind
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inter
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to bury
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impecunious
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poor, having no money
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impolitic
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unwise
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incendiary
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combustible, flammable
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ingress
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entrance
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indignant
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very poor
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inculcate
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to teach
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insuperable
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insurmountable, unconquerable
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interdict
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to forbid, prohibit
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interlocutor
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someone taking part in a dialogue
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interloper
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trespasser
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internecine
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deadly to both sides
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interpolate
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to insert, change by adding new words or material
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interstice
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a space between things
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intimation
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clue, suggestion
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invidious
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likely to provoke ill will, offensive
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jibe
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to shift suddenly from one side to the other
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jingoism
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belligerent nationalism
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jocular
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jovial, playful, humorous
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jejune
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immature or sophomoric
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kismet
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fate
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lambaste
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disapprove angrily
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lapidary
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relating to precious stones
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lexicon
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dictionary, list of words
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libidinous
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lustful
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limpid
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clear and simple in style
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lissome
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easily flexed, limber, agile
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lugubrious
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sorrowful, mournful
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macabre
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gruesome
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machination
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plot or scheme
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malapropism
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humorous misuse of a word
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martinet
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strict disciplinarian; one who rigidly follows rules
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mendicant
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beggar
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minatory
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menacing, threatening
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mordacious
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caustic, biting
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mote
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small particle, scintilla
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munificent
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generous
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nadir
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lowest point
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nebulous
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vague, cloudy
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necromancy
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black magic
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nefarious
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vicious, evil
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nihilism
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belief that existence and all traditional values are meaningless
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obstreperous
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troublesome, boisterous, unruly
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ouster
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expulsion, ejection
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paean
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a song of praise or thanksgiving
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panacea
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cure-all
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parley
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discussion, esp. between enemies
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parsimony
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stinginess
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pastiche
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piece of literature or music imitating other words
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propinquity
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kinship, nearness in time or place
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profligate
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recklessly extravagant, superfluous
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peregrination
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the act of walking
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peccadillo
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minor sin or offense
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peculation
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theft of money or goods
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penchant
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liking; inclination
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plait
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braid
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popinjay
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a strutting, supercilious person
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precept
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principle; law
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predilection
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preference, liking
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privation
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lack of usual necessities
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probity
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honesty, high-mindedness
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propinquity
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nearness
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propitious
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favorable, advantageous
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proselytize
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to induce someone to convert to a particular belief or religion
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prostrate
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lying flat on the ground
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provident
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frugal
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prurient
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lustful, exhibiting lewd desires
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puerile
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childish, immature
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pulchritude
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beauty
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pundit
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an authority or critic
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potentate
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powerful ruler
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punctilious
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careful about proper behavior
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querulous
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inclined to complain, irritable
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raillery
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lighthearted jesting
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rapacious
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greedy; predatory
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rapprochement
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reestablishing a cordial relationship
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raze
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tear down; demolish
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recidivism
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tendency to repeat previous behavior; typically undesirable behavior
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recondite
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related to obscure learning; known only to a few
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redress
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relief from wrong or injury
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renitent
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resisting pressure, obstinate
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reprobate
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morally unprincipled person
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respite
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interval of relief
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retinue
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group of attendants with an important person
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ribald
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humorous in a vulgar way
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rococo
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very highly ornamented
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riposte
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a retort
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rotund
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round in shape; fat
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seminal
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very original and influential
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sacrosanct
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extremely sacred; beyond criticism
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sagacious
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shrewd, wise
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salacious
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lustful
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scabbard
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sheath for sword or dagger
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scintillate
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to sparkle, flash
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scurrilous
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vulgar, low, indecent
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sedition
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behavior promoting rebellion
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senescent
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aging, growing old
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shirk
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to avoid a task due to laziness or fear
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simper
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to smirk, smile foolishly
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sinecure
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well-paying job that requires little to no work
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sinuous
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winding; intricate
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solicitous
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worried, concerned
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sojourn
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visit, stay
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solecism
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grammatical mistake
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solipsism
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belief that the self is the only reality
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sonorous
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producing a full, rich sound
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sophist
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person good at arguing deviously
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staid
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self-restrained
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subterfuge
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trick or tactic used to avoid something
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surreptitious
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characterized by secrecy
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sycophant
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self-serving flatterer; yes-man
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tableau
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vivid description
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temerity
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reckless confidence that might be offensive
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tenable
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defensible, reasonable
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tenet
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belief, doctrine
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tenuous
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weak, insubstantial
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threnody
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a sad poem or song
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trammel
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to impede or hamper
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truculent
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savage and cruel; aggressively defiant
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turpitude
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inherent vileness, foulness, depravity
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unctuous
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greasy, oily; smug and falsely earnest
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unfettered
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free, unrestrained
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untoward
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not favorable; unruly
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usury
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lending money at exorbitant rates
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variegated
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varied; marked with different colors
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vitiate
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reduce in value or effectiveness
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waspish
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easily irritated
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waspish
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easily irritated
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wizened
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withered, shriveled, wrinkled
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wraith
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a ghost
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