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178 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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rule, ruler
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possession or control of authority and/or of physical force sufficient to compel or dominate 'subject' persons to perform certain tasks
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reign
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the exercise and/or duration of the rule of a monarch/sovereign
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governance, governor, government
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in a political context, systematic direction or management of various institutions according to some kind of principle or philosophy
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monarch, monarchical
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a usually hereditary ruler or "king"/ sovereign who is either the figurehead or the actual primary leader over an extensive geographic region and its people
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regal
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king-like, demonstrating "stately" pace, style, mannerisms associated with royal authority
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imperious, imperial
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demonstrating the personal manner characteristic of an emperor, culture of an empire
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partisan
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loyal to a political pary
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proponent
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one who argues in support of something, an advocate
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autocracy
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rule by one, or that is concentrated in or focused upon the authority of a single person
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oligarchy
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rule by a small elite stratum of a population
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bureaucracy
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administration of work, power, and money by means of a system of "offices"
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tyranny
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mode of authority associated with power-hungry solitary ruler who governs arbitrarily, primarily to maintain his own power, and taking a pleasure in the domination of his subjects
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despotism
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close synonym to "tyrant" and "autocrat" connotes a kind of pettiness
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feudalism, feudal
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mode of rule associated with medieval Europe whereby economic and political authority was borne by a land-holding, hereditary, hierarchical aristocracy
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authoritarian
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style of rule or governance that emphasizes strict laws and obedience and discipline as a core value
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absolutism
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mode of centralized rule associated with 17th and 18th century France where extent of royal power eclipsed that which was held by monarchs in feudal times
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demagoguery
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the use of popular prejudices and false claims and promises in order to gain power
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dictatorship, dictatorial, dictator
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style of governance that is authoritarian and autocratic, usually a military usurper who relishes public verbal and visual displays of power
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totalitarian, totalitarianism
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mode of rule in 20th century that unites military dictatorship, mechanized urban industry and bureaucracy, communications expertise, corrupted populist political ideology
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mandate
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an authoritative, forceful order or command
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manifesto
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a written document that delivers a forceful declaration of intentions, opinions, or purposes
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usurp
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take over wrongfully by force
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oust
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to eject from a position or place, force out
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sedition
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conduct or language inciting rebellion against authority of a state
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jingoism
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extreme nationalism characterized by a belligerent foreign policy
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philanthropic
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benevolent, generous, humane, making contributions to benefit the human condition
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misanthropy
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skepticism about or hostility towards humanity or human behavior
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misogyny
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a pejorative dislike of women
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sensibility
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the capacity for being affected at once emotionally and intellectually, pleasantly or unpleasantly
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countenance
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appearance especially the expression of the face
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appropriate
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to borrow or mimic or adapt to some pre-existing design or concept for use in a new setting without permission (POSITIVE CONNOTATION)
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co-opt
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to borrow or mimic or adapt to some pre existing design or concept for use in a new setting without permission (NEGATIVE CONNOTATION)
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hegemony
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preponderating social, cultural, or economic influence exerted by dominant group
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mores
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social and cultural practices, practically develop the force of law whether or not they are part of the explicit legal code
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plebiscite
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the direct vote of all electors of a state or other civic community on an important public question
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prurient
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given to the indulgence of lewd ideas, impure-minded
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concupiscence
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strong desire or appetite, esp. sexual desire, lust
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lassitude
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weariness of body or mind from strain, oppressive climate
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discomfit
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to make uneasy, uncomfortable, embarrassed by facing others or an uncomfortable subject
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detritus
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loose fragments or particles separated from masses of rock by erosion or glacial action
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galvanized
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startled into sudden activity
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jihad
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a holy war undertaken as a sacred duty of muslims
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junta
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a newly established gov't directed by a small group of military leaders
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recondite
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characteristic of profound or abtruse
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propitious
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presenting favorable conditions in an immediate circumstance
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salient
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prominent or conspicuous, projecting or pointing outward
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vicissitude
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changeability, mutability, a sudden or unexpected change or shift
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addle
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to muddle the brain
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aggrandize
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to demand attention for or promote relative to size, scope, intensity, reputation
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raillery
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light, good-natured ridicule, teasing, banter
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rail
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to speak bitterly or reproachfully, complain violently
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calumny
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a false and malicious statement meant to hurt someone's reputation
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coruscate
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to give off flashes of light, glitter, sparkle, vibrate
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invective
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vehement denunciation, censure, reproach
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perspicacious
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having or showing penetrating mental discernment, clear-sighted
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perspicuity
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clearness and lucidity
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decry
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to condemn openly, to depreciate
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palliate
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to lessen in pain or severity, alleviate
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emphatic
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with emphasis or urgency
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diminution
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a diminishing or lessening, decrease, a word formed from another by addition of suffix expressing smallness in size
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discursive
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wandering from one topic to another, skimming over many apparently unconnected subjects, rambling
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assimilate
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to make similar, absorb another into culture of a population or group
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belligerent
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seeking conflict or warfare
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bellicose
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loud and explosively aggressive or warlike in manner
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morose
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gloomily or sullenly ill humored as a person or mood
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poise
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a state of easily-maintained, calm yet elegant physical demeanor, composure
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gravitas
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high seriousness
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alacrity
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cheerful willingness, eagerness
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beguile
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to lead by deception
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peruse
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to read or examine with great care
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endemic
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naturally prevalent in or peculiar to a particular locality, region, or people
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intrinsic
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of essential characteristics of the thing, people or cultural phenomena
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indigenous
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born, growing, or produced naturally in a region or country
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indigent
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a person experiencing want or need
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innate
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a born characteristic not cultivated or acquired through education
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holistic
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emphasizing the importance of the whole and interdependence of its parts
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maverick
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one who refuses to abide by the dictates of a group
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consortium
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a legal and open association or combination of groups or institutions in order to engage in joint venture
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cartel
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an association of industrialists business firms or other powerful institutions
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caste
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negatively charged term for any rigid social class distinction or class based behavior
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finesse
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ability to handle delicate or difficult situations skillfully and gracefully
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opaque
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not letting light pass through, not transparent
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chimera
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a fanciful mental illusion or fabrication, created as if by a wildly fanciful imagination, highly improbable
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diaphanous
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of such fine texture as to be transparent or translucent
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phantasm
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a perception of something that has no physical reality, figment of the mind, ghost
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panacea
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a remedy for all diseases, evils, or dificulties
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espionage
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the act or practice of spying
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atrophy
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to waste away or to cause to waste away
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potable
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fit for drinking
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leaven
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to spread through, causing a gradual, enlivening change
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circumscribe
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to draw or construct a line around
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circumspect
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carefully attentive to all circumstances that may relate to an action or judgment or conduct
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scruple
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a feeling of hesitancy, doubt, or uneasiness arising from difficulty in deciding what is right or proper
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construe
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to make sense of or mentally process the meaning or intention of a statement
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medium
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means of communication with wide reach and influence such as internet, radio, TV
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mediate
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to come between, to serve as a means of communication or representation of reality, ideas, images
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coerce
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to compel by force or intimidation
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crocodile tears
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tears that are not real
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avuncular
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to do with an uncle
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libido
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sexual drive, biological urges
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ellipsis
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to achieve an effect of rhetorical compression/elegance, the omission from a sentence of one or more words that can be understood from context
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ellipse
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characterized by a roundabout, indirect way of writing or speaking
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meteoric
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resembling a meteor in extreme speed or in sudden and temporary brilliance
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enmity
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a feeling or condition of hostility, hatred, ill will
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exorbitant
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exceeding the bounds of custom, reason
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salubrious
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conducive to good health
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enthrall
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to enslave, hold under strong influence
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rueful
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causing sorrow or pity
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cower
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to crouch or huddle up from fear or cold
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coddle
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to treat indulgently, to baby
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dole
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giving out money or food in charity, anything given out sparingly
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doleful
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sad, sorrowful, melancholy, dismal
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morbid
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of, having, or caused by disease or diseased state of mind
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fraudulent
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fake, illegitimate, misleading
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distended
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stretched, swollen, or bulging out
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extrapolate
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incorporating admittedly incomplete or unconfirmed evidence or knowledge, to draw inferences provisionally
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putative
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commonly regarded as such, reputed, supposed
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facetious
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characteristic of behaviors or statements that are intended as humorous or gently teasing
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pugnacious
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combative in nature, belligerent
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fallacy
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unsound, misleading, illogical
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pertinent
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very specifically relevant and helpful
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feign
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to make up, fabricate, make a false show of, pretend
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flagrant
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glaringly bad, notorious, outrageous
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conduce
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to naturally or easily lead or contribute to predictable outcome
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traduce
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to lead someone along so as exhibit him/her as a spectacle for ridicule and disgrace
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doppelganger
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a supposed likeness or double of a living person
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engraft
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to join or fasten as by grafting
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graft
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corrupt and illicit gain, enabled through privileged access to information
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sinuous
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bending, winding, or curving in and out
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roil
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to make cloudy, muddy, unsettled by stirring up the sediment
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jeremiad
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a literary work or speech expressing a bitter lament or prophecy of doom
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solecism
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a violation of the conventional usage, grammar of the language
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solipsism
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the philosophical theory that the self can be aware of nothing but its own states, that nothing exists or is real besides the self, selfishness
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inveterate
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firmly established over a long period
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intransigent
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refusing to moderate a position, an extreme one
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tendentious
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having or showing the tendency to raise a particular issue or promote a particular point of view
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fulsome
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disgusting or offensive due to excess or insincerity
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ennui
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a self-indulgent feeling or a pose of utter weariness and boredom resulting from spoiled satiety with one's easy access abundance
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sojourn
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to live somewhere temporarily, as on a visit
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eschatology
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branch of theology dealing with death, judgment, hell, heaven, final destiny of soul
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millennium
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a period of a thousand years
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corrugate
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to shape or become shaped into folds or parallel and alternating ridges and grooves
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fissure
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a narrow opening produced by cleavage or separation of parts
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dapple
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spotted, mottled, variegated
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lubricious
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sexually stimulating, salacious, shifty, tricky
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portmanteau
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a large leather suitcase with two hinged compartments
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munificent
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characterized by or displaying great generousity
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mutable
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liable or subject to change or alteration
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obfuscate
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to darken, bewilder
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obsequious
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compliant to excess, fawning
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rapacious
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greedy, voracious, ravenous
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proxy
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the agency, function, or power of a person authorized to act as deputy or substitute for another
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rancor
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bitter, rankling resentment or ill will, hatred, malice
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surrogate
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a person appointed to act for another, deputy, the state of being a surrogate mother
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spurious
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not genuine, authentic, or true, counterfeit
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portentous
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foreboding, full of unspecifiable significance marked by pompousness
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sophistry
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clever-sounding, but misleading speech, plausible but untenable rhetoric or reasoning
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tentative
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not definite, or positive or confident, proceeding with nervous caution
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leery
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decidedly doubtful, wary, suspicious, holding back from
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transient
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not lasting, enduring, or permanent
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neurotic
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a psychological disorder in which anxiety, obsessional thoughts, compulsive acts dominate the personality
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mercenary
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working or acting merely for money or material reward
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cursory
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hasty and superficial
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remiss
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negligent or careless in performing a duty or task
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fortuitous
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accidental or coincidental yet fortunate
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assiduous
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acting with close focus and constant, careful attention, diligent, persevering
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sedulous
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persevering and constant in effort and application
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gratuitous
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given or received without charge or payment, uncalled for
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ponderous
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physically, intellectually, or aesthetically bulky, heavy, dense, difficult to work with
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prodigious
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marvelous, impressive, or appalling due to great size, extent, power
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disparate
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comprised of varying or incongruous elements
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discretion
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separate and distinct unrelated, made up of distinct parts
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discreet
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careful about what one says or does, prudent
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endowment
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money or property given for the permanent use of an institution, person, or object
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gregarious
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inclined to associate with others, fond of company
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auspicious
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of good omen, boding well for future success and prosperity
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serendipitous
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fortunate but apparently accidental
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surreptitious
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obtained, done or made by stealthy means
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