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69 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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aggrandize
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to increase in power, influence, reputation
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attenuate
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to reduce in force or degree
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upbraid
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reproach, reprimand
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inveterate
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old and firmly established
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adduce
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to bring forward in an argument, provide new information
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vaunt
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to speak boastfully of
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apostate
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a person who forsakes his religion, cause, party, etc.
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timorous
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fearful, timid
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sybarite
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a person devoted to luxury and pleasure
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megalomaniac
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someone who is obsessed with doing grand things, has delusions of wealth and grandeur
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sapience
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showing great wisdom or sound judgement
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fatuity
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complacency, foolishness
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diffident
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shy, lacking confidence
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indolent
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slothful
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cogitate
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to think, ponder (cog:think)
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craven
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cowardly
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sedulity
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diligence
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impudent
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not well behaved, cheeky (similar to insolent)
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insolent
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rude, disrespectful (similar to impudent)
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exigent
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urgent, pressing
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opprobrium
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public disgrace
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noisome
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bad smelling
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maudlin
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foolishly sentimental
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chicanery
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deception my means of craft or guile
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desiccate
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to dry out thoroughly
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aspersion
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a damaging or derogatory remark
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castigate
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to criticize, punish, reprimand
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excoriate
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to denounce or berate severely
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pernicious
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causing harm, injury; hurtful
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pedantic
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ostentatious with learning. overly concerned with formulas and formalisms
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restive
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impatient;stubborn
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perfidy
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deliberate breach of trust
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blandishment
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an action or speech that coaxes or flatters someone to do something
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assuage
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to make something unpleasant less severe
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capricious
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changing one's mind quickly and often
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desultory
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jumping from one thing to another; dinconnected
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disabuse
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to set right; to free from error (I was disabused of my misconceptions)
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equivocate
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to use expressions of double meaning in order to mislead
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rugose
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full of wrinkles
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mendacious
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untruthful
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churlish
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boorish, vulgar
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erudite
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learned, scholarly
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esoteric
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known or understood by only a few
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estimable
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admirable
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exculpate
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to clear from blame, prove innocent
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florid
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excessively decorated or embellished
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impugn
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to challenge, cast doubt upon
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dilatory
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used to delay (dilatory measures to delay passage of the bill)
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dilettante
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someone with an amateurish and superficial interest in a topic
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dissemble
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to present a false appearance; to disguise one's real intentions or character
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malinger
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to evade responsibility by pretending to be ill
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mollify
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mitigate, assuage (make less severe)
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accretion
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gradual accumulation
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sacrosanct
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sacred
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bowdlerize
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to remove sections of a written work considered objectionable
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anomie
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a state or condition of individuals or society characterized by a breakdown or absence of social norms and values, as in the case of uprooted people.
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innocuous
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harmless
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renege
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to go back on one's word
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dour
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sullen, severe, gloomy
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censure
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disapproval
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consternation
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a sudden, alarming amazement or dread that results in utter confusion; dismay.
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alacrity
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cheerful readiness, willingness
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rapacious
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greedy, predatory, taking by force
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obdurate
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hardened in feeling, resistant to persuasion
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occlude
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to stop up; to prevent the passage of
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manse
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stately residence
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potentate
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powerful ruler
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votary
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devout worshiper
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dotage
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senile condition, mental decline
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