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71 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Abate |
To lessen in intensity or degree |
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Accolade |
An expression of praise |
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Adulation |
Excessive praise; intense adoration |
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Ameliorate |
To make better or more tolerable |
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Ascetic |
One who practices rigid self-denial (religious devotion) |
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Avarice |
Greed for wealth |
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Axiom |
A universally recognized principle |
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Burgeon |
To grow rapidly or flourish |
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Bucolic |
Rustic and pastoral. Rural |
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Cacophony |
Harsh, jarring, discordant in sound |
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Canon |
An established set of principles or code of laws (religious) |
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Castigation |
Severe criticism or punishment |
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Catalyst |
A substance that accelerates chemical reaction without itself changing; person or thing that causes change |
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Caustic |
Burning or stinging; causing corrosion |
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Chary |
Wary, cautious, sparing |
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Cogent |
Appealing forcibly to the mind or reason; convincing |
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Complaisance |
The willingness to comply with the wishes of others |
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Contentious |
Argumentative; quarrelsome; causing controversy or disagreement |
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Contrite |
Regretful, penitent, seeking forgiveness |
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Dearth |
Smallness of quantity or number; scarcity; a lack |
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Demur |
To question or oppose |
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Didactic |
Intend to teach or instruct |
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Discretion |
Cautious reserve in speech; ability to make responsible decisions |
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Disinterested |
Free of bias or self-interest; impartial |
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Dogmatic |
Expressing a rigid opinion based in unproved or improvable principles |
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Ebullience |
The quality of lively or enthusiastic expression of thoughts and feelings |
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Eclectic |
Composed of elements drawn from various sources |
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Elegy |
A mournful poem lamenting the dead |
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Emollient |
Soothing to the skin |
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Empirical |
Based on observation or experiment |
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Enigmatic |
Mysterious; obscure; difficult to understand |
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Ephemeral |
Brief; fleeting |
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Esoteric |
Intended for or understood by a small, specific group |
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Eulogy |
A speech honoring the dead |
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Exonerate |
To remove blame |
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Facetious |
Playful; humorous |
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Fallacy |
An invalid or incorrect notion; a mistaken belief |
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Furtive |
Marked by stealth |
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Gregarious |
Sociable; outgoing |
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Harangue |
To deliver a forceful or angry speech; ranting speech or writing |
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Heretical |
Violating accepted dogma or convention |
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Hyperbole |
An exaggerated statement |
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Impecunious |
Lacking funds; without money |
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Incipient |
Beginning to come into being or to become apparent |
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Inert |
Unmoving; lethargic; sluggish |
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Innocuous |
Harmless |
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Intransigent |
Refusing to compromise |
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Inveigle |
To obtain by deception or flattery |
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Morose |
Sad; sullen; melancholy |
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Odious |
Evoking intense aversion or dislike |
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Opaque |
Impenetrable by light; not reflecting light |
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Oscillation |
Swinging back and forth; uninterrupted rhythm |
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Penurious |
Ungenerous |
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Pernicious |
Extremely harmful in a way that is not easily seen or noticed |
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Peruse |
To examine with great care |
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Precursor |
Precedes and indicates another |
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Preen |
To dress up |
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Prodigious |
Abundant in size, force or extent; extraordinary |
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Prolific |
Productive |
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Putrefy |
To rot |
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Quaff |
To drink deeply |
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Quiescence |
Stillness; motionless; |
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Redoubtable |
Worthy of honor |
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Sanction |
Permission or approval; penalty to enforce compliance; to give permission or authority |
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Squalid |
Sordid; dirty |
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Supplant |
To take the place of |
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Torpid |
Lethargic; sluggish; dormant |
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Ubiquitous |
Existing everywhere in the same time; constantly encountered |
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Urbane |
Sophisticated; refined; elegant |
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Vilify |
To defame |
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Viscous |
Thick, sticky |
