Princeton Hit Parade

Front 1

nebulous

Back 1

adj. vagues; cloudy; lacking clearly defined form

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astringent

Back 2

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

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axiom

Back 3

n. a universally recognized principle

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axiomatic

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adj. taken as a given; possessing self-evident truth

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bucolic

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adj. rustic and pastoral; characteristic of rural areas and their inhabitants

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canon

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n. an established set of principles or code of laws, often religious in nature

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canonical

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adj. following or in agreement with accepted, traditiona standards

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catalyst

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n. a person or thing that causes change

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censure

Back 9

v. to criticize severely; to officially rebuke

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chary

Back 10

adj. wary; cautious; sparing

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contiguous

Back 11

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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credulous

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adj. tending to believe too readily; gullible

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culpable

Back 14

adj. deserving blame

Front 15

dearth

Back 15

n. smallness of quantity or number; scarcity; a lack

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demur

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v. to question or oppose

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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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discretion

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n. cautious reserve in speech; ability to make responsible decisions

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divulge

Back 19

v. to disclose something secret

Front 20

eccentric

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adj. departing from norms or conventions

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eloquent

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adj. well-spoken; expressive; articulate

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emollient

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adj. soothing, especially to the skin; making less harsh; mollifying

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enigmatic

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adj. mysterious; obscure; difficult to understand

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ennui

Back 24

n. dissatisfaction and restlessness resulting from boredom or apathy

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evanescent

Back 25

adj. tending to disappear like vapor; vanishing

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exonerate

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v. to remove blame

Front 27

fervent

Back 27

adj. greatly emotional or zealous

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filibuster

Back 28

n. intentional obstruction, especialy using prolonged speechmaking to delay legislative action

Front 29

flout

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v. to demonstrate contempt for, as in a rule or convention

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fulminate

Back 30

v. to loudly attack or denounce

Front 31

furtive

Back 31

adj. marked by stealth; covert; surreptitious

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germane

Back 32

adj. relevant to the subject at hand; appropriate in subject manner

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glib

Back 33

adj. marked by ease or informality; nonchalant; lacking in depth; superficial

Front 34

halcyon

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adj. calm and peaceful

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hegemony

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n. the consistent dominance of one state or ideology over others

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hubris

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n. arrogant presumption or pride

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imminent

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adj. about to happen; impending

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impecunious

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adj. lacking funds; without money

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impetuous

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adj. hastily or rashly energetic; impulsive and vehement

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impunity

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n. immunity from punishment or penalty

Front 41

incipient

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adj. beginning to come into being or to become apparent

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infelicitous

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adj. unfortunate; inappropriate

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inimical

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adj. damaging; harmful; injurious

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intrepid

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adj. steadfast and courageous

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inveigle

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v. to obtrain by deception or flattery

Front 46

malevolent

Back 46

adj. having or showing often vicious ill will, spite, or hatred

Front 47

mercurial

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adj. characterized by rapid and unpredictabe change in mood

Front 48

nascent

Back 48

adj. coming into being; in early developmental stages

Front 49

noxious

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adj. harmful; injurious

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obfuscate

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v. to deliberately obscure; to make confusing

Front 51

obtuse

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adj. lacking sharpness of intellect; not clear or precise in thought or expression

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odious

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adj. evoke intense aversion or dislike

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paean

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n. a song or hymn of praise and thanksgiving

Front 54

pedagogy

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n. the art or profession of training, teaching or instructing

Front 55

perfidy

Back 55

n. intentional breach of faith; treachery

Front 56

pernicious

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adj. extremely harmful; potentially causing death

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pernurious

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adj. penny-pinching; excessively thrifty; ungenerous

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perspicacious

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adj. acutely perceptive; having keen discernment

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peruse

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v. to examine with great care

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pervade

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v. to permeate throughout

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pith

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n. the essential or central part

Front 62

pithy

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adj. precise and brief

Front 63

polemical

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adj. controversial; argumentative

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prattle

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v. to babble meaninglessly; to talk in an empty and idle manner

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predilection

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n. a disposition in favor of something; preference

Front 66

preen

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v. to dress up; to primp; to groom oneself with elaborate care

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prescience

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n. foreknowledge of events; knowing of events prior to their occurring

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proclivity

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n. a natural predisposition or inclination

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prodigious

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adj. abundant in size, force, or extent; extraordinary

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profligate

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adj. excessively wasteful; recklessly extravagant

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profuse

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adj. given or coming forth abundantly; extravagant

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prosaic

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adj. dull; unimaginative

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putrefy

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v. to rot; to decay and give off a foul odor

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quaff

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v. to drink deeply

Front 75

qualms

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n. misgivings; reservations; causes for hesitancy

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querulous

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adj. prone to complaining or grumbling; quarrelsome

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quixotic

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adj. foolishly impractical; marked by lofty romantic ideas

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quotididan

Back 78

adj. occurring or recurring daily; commonplace

Front 79

rancorous

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adj. characterized by bitter, long-lasting resentment

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redoubtable

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adj. awe-inspiring; worthy of honor

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refulgent

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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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rhetoric

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n. the art or study of effective use of language for communication and persuasion

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sedulous

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adj. diligent; persistent; hard-working

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solvent

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adj. able to meet financial obligations; able to dissolve another substance

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sordid

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adj. characterize by filth, grime or squalor; foul

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spendthrift

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n. one who spends money wastefully

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squalid

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adj. sordid; wretched and dirty as from neglect

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stoic

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adj. indifferent to or unaffected by pleaure or pain; steadfast

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stupefy

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v. to stun, baffle or amaze

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stymie

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v. to block; thwart

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succinct

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adj. brief; concise

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superfluous

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adj. exceeding what is sufficient or necessary

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supplant

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v. to take the place of; supercede

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surfeit

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v. excess; iverindulgence

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tenacity

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n. the quality of adherence or persistence to something valued

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terse

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adj. brief and concise in wording

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torque

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n. a force that causes rotation

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tout

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v. to publicly praise or promote

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transient

Back 100

adj. fleeting; passing quickly; brief

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trenchant

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adj. sharply perceptive; keen; penetrating

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ubiquitous

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adj. existing everywhere at the same time; constantly encountered; widespread

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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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urbane

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adj. sophisticated;; refined; elegant

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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

Back 107

n. annoyance; irritation

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vigilant

Back 108

adj. alertly watchful

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vilify

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v. to defame; to characterize harshly

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virulent

Back 110

adj. extremely harmful or poisonous; bitterly hostile or antagonistic