Hit Parade Group 5

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aggrandize

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v. to increase in intensity, power, or prestige

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alchemy

Back 2

n. a medieval science aimed at the transmutation of metals, esp. base metals into gold

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anachronism

Back 3

n. something or someone out of place in terms of historical or chronological context

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astringent

Back 4

adj. having a tightening effect on living tissue; harsh; severe

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contiguous

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adj. sharing a border; touching; adjacent

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convention

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n. a generally agreed-upon practice or attitude

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cynicism

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n. an attitude or quality of belief that all people are motivated by selfishness

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decorum

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n. polite or appropriate conduct or behavior

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derision

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n. scorn, ridicule, contemptuous behavior

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desiccate

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v. to dry out or dehydrate; to make dry or dull

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dilettante

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n. one with an amateurish or superficial interest in the arts or a branch of knowledge

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disparage

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v. to slight or belittle

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divulge

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v. to disclose something secret

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immutable

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adj. not capable of change

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inimical

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adj. damaging; harmful; injurious

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intractable

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adj. not easily managed or directed; stubborn; obstinate

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neophyte

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n. a recent convert; a beginner; novice

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presumptuous

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adj. overstepping due bounds (as of propriety or courtesy); taking liberties

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pristine

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adj. pure; uncorrupted; clean

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probity

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adj. adherence to highest principles; uprightness

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proclivity

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n. a natural predisposition or inclination

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profligate

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adj. excessively wasteful; recklessly extravagant

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propensity

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n. a natural inclination or tendency, penchant

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prosaic

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adj. dull; unimaginative

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pungent

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adj. characterized by a strong, sharp smell or taste

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quixotic

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adj. foolishly impractical; marked by lofty romantic ideals

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quotidian

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adj. occurring or recurring daily; commonplace

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rarefy

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v. to make or become thin, less dense; to refine

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recondite

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adj. hidden; concealed; difficult to understand; obscure

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refulgent

Back 30

adj. radiant; shiny; brilliant

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renege

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v. to fail to honor a commitment; to go back on a promise

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shard

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n. a piece of broken pottery or glass

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sparse

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adj. thin; not dense; arranged at widely spaced intervals

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spendthrift

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n. one who spends money wastefully

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subtle

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adj. not obvious; elusive; difficult to discern

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tacit

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adj. implied; not explicitly stated

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terse

Back 37

adj. brief and concise in wording

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tout

Back 38

v. to publicly praise or promote

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trenchant

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adj. sharply perceptive; keen; penetrating

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unfeigned

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adj. genuine; not false or hypocritical

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untenable

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adj. indefensible; not viable; uninhabitable

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vacillate

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v. to waver indecisively between one course of action or opinion and another; waver

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variegated

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adj. multicolored; characterized by a variety of patches of different color

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vexation

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n. annoyance; irriation

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vigilant

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adj. alertly watchful

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vituperative

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v. to use harsh condemnatory language; to abuse or censure abusively; berate

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volatile

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adj. readily changing to a vapor; changeable; fickle; explosive