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167 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
abscond
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to depart clandestinely; to steal away and hide
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acerbic
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having a sour or bitter taste
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acumen
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quick, keen, or accurate knowledge or insight
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adulterate
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to reduce purity by combining with inferior ingredients
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alacrity
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eager and enthusiastic willingness
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ameliorate
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to make better or more tolerable
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approbation
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an expression of approval or praise
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ascetic
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one who practices rigid self-denial, especially as an act of religious devotion
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astringent
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having a tightening effect on living tissue; harsh; severe
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austere
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without adornment; bare; severely simple; ascetic
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aver
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to state as a fact; to confirm or support
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bombast/bombastic
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self-evident or pompous writing or speech; pompous; grandiloquent
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bucolic
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rustic and pastoral; characteristic of rural areas and their inhabitants
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burgeon
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to grow rapidly; to flourish
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canon
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an established set of principles or code of laws, often religious in nature
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canonical
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following or in agreement with orthodox requirements
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castigation
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severe criticism or punishment
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caustic
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burning or stinging causing corrosion
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chary
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wary; cautious
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chicanery
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trickery or subterfuge
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cogent
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appealing forcibly to the mind or reason; convincing
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complaisance
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the willingness to comply with the wishes of others
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contrite
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regretful; penitent; seeking forgiveness
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credulous
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tending to believe too readily; gullible
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culpable
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deserving blame
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dearth
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smallness of quantity or number; scarcity; a lack
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demur
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to question or oppose
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derision
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scorn; ridicule, contemptuous treatment
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desiccate
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to dry out or dehydrate; to make dry or dull
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diatribe
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a harsh denunciation
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dilettante
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one with an amateurish or superficial interest in the arts or a branch of knowledge
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disabuse
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to undeceive; to set right
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dissemble
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to disguise or conceal; to mislead
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dogmatic
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stubbornly opinionated
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effrontery
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extreme boldness; presumptuousness
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emollient
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soothing; especially to the skin; making less harsh; mollifying
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endemic
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characteristic of or often found in a particular locality, region, or people
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enervate
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to weaken; to reduce in vitality
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ennui
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dissatisfaction and restlessness resulting from boredom or apathy
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ephemeral
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brief; fleeting
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erudite
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very learned; scholarly
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esoteric
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intended for or understood by a small, specific group
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exculpate
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exonerate; to clear of blame
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exigent
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urgent; pressing; requiring immediate action or attention
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extemporaneous
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improvised; done without preparation
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facetious
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playful; humorous
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flout
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to demonstrate contempt for, as in a rule or convention
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fulminate
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to loudly attack or denounce
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furtive
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marked by stealth; covert; surreptitious
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garrulous
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pointlessly talkative, talking too much
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germane
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relevant to the subject at hand; appropriate in subject matter
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glib
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marked by ease or informality; nonchalant; lacking in depth; superficial
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grandiloquence
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pompous speech or expression
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halcyon
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calm and peaceful
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amenable
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agreeable; responsive to suggestion
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ebullience
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the quality of lively or enthusiastic expression of thoughts and feelings
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equivocate
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to use ambiguous language with a deceptive intent
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evanescent
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tending to disappear like vapor; vanishing
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hackneyed
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rendered trite or commonplace by frequent usage
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harangue
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to deliver a pompous speech or tirade
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hegemony
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the consistant dominance of one state or ideology over others
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iconoclast
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one who attacks or undermines traditional conventions or institutions
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idolatrous
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given to intense or excessive devotion to something
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impassive
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revealing no emotion
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impecunious
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lacking funds; without money
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impunity
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immunity from punishment or penalty
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inchoate
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in an initial stage; not fully formed
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incipient
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beginning to come into being or to become apparent
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infelicitious
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unfortunate; lethargic; sluggish
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ingenuous
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artless; frank and candid; lacking in sophistication
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inimical
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damaging; harmful; malevolent
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insipid
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without taste or flavor; lacking in spirit; bland
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intractable
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not easily managed or directed; stubborn, obstinate
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inured
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accustomed to accepting something undesirable
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inveigle
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to obtain by deception or flattery
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irascible
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easily angered; prone to temperamental outbursts
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laconic
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using few words; terse
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loquacious
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extremely talkative
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magnanimity
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the quality of being generously noble in mind and heart, especially in forgiving
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martial
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associated with war and the armed forces
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maverick
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an independant individual who does not go along with a group or party
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mendacity
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the condition of being untruthful; dishonesty
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mercurial
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characterized by rapid and unpredictable change in mood
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nascent
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coming into being; in early developmental stages
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neologism
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a new word, expression, or usage; the creation or use of new words or senses
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neophyte
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a recent convert; a beginner; novice
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obdurate
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unyielding; hardhearted; intractable
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obfuscate
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to deliberately obscure; to make confusing
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obsequious
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exhibiting a fawning attentiveness
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obviate
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to anticipate and make unnecessary
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occlude
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to obstruct or block
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onerous
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troubling; burdensome
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opprobrium
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disgrace; contempt; scorn
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paean
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a song of hymn or praise and thanksgiving
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oscillation
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the act or state or swinging back and forth with a steady, uninterrupted rhythm
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pedagogy
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the art or profession of training, teaching, or instruting
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pedantic
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the parading of learning; excessive attention to minutiae and formal rules
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penurious
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penny-pinching; excessively thrifty; ungenerous
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penury
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poverty; destitution
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perfidy
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intentional breach of faith; treachery
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pernicious
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extremely harmful; potentially causing death
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perspicacious
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acutely perceptive; having keen discernment
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peruse
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to examine with great care
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phlegmatic
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calm; sluggish; unemotional
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pith/pithy
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the essential or central part; precise and brief
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platitude
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a superficial remark, especially one offered as meaningful
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polemical
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controversial; argumentative
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pragmatic
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practical rather than idealistic
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precipitate
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to cause or to happen before anticipated or required; acting with excessive haste or impulse
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predilection
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a disposition in favor of something; preference
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prescience
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foreknowledge of events; knowing events prior to their occuring
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presumptious
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overstepping due bounds (as of propriety or courtesy); taking liberties
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probity
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adherence to highest principles; uprightness
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proclivity
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a natural predisposition or inclination
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prodigal
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recklessly wasteful; extravagant; profuse, lavish
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prodigious
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abundant in size, force, or extent; extraordinary
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profligate
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excessively wasteful; recklessly extravagent
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profuse
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gvien or coming forth abundantly; extravagent
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prolific
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producing large volumes or amounts; productive
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propensity
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a natural inclination or tendency; penchant
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prosaic
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dull; unimaginative
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quaff
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to drink deeply
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qualm
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misgiving; reservation; cause for hesitancy
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querulous
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prone to complaining or grumbling; quarrelsome
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quiescence
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stillness; motionlessness; quality of being at rest
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quixotic
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foolishly impractical; marked by lofty romantic ideals
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quotidian
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occuring or recurring daily; commonplace
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rancorous
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characterized by bitter, long-lasting resentment
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rarefy
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to make or become thin, less dense; to refine
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recalcitrant
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obstinately defiant of authority; difficult to manage
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recondite
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hidden; concealed; difficult to understand; obscure
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redoubtable
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awe-inspiring; worthy of honor
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refulgent
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radiant; shiny; brilliant
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relegate
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to forcibly assign, especially to a lower place or position
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repudiate
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to refuse to have anything to do with; disown
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rescind
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to invalidate; to repeal; to retract
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reverent
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marked by, feeling, or expressing profound awe or respect
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rhetoric
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the art of study of effective use of language for communication and persuasion
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salubrious
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promoting health or well being
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solicitious
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concerned and attentive; eager
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solvent
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able to meet financial obligations; able to dissolve another substance
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soporific
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causing drowsiness; tending to induce sleep
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sordid
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characterized by filth, grime, or squalor; foul
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specious
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seeming true, but actually being fallacious; misleadingly attractive
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spendthrift
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one who spends money wastefully
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spurious
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lacking authenticity or validity; false; counterfeit
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squalid
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sordid; wretched and dirty as from neglect
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stupefy
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to stun, baffle, or amaze
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stymie
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to block; thwart
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subtle
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not obvious; elusive; difficult to discern
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supplant
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to take the place of; supersede
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surfeit
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excess; overindulgence
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tacit
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implied; not explicity stated
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torpid
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lethargic; sluggish; dormant
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torque
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a force that causes rotation
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tortuous
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winding; twisting; excessively complicated
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tout
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to publicly praise or promote
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trenchant
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sharply perceptive; keen; penetrating
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truculent
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fierce and cruel; eager to fight
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variegated
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multicolored; characterized by a variety of patches of different color
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veracity
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truthfulness; honesty
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vilify
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to defame; to characterize harshly
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virulent
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extremely harmful or poisonous; bitterly hostile or antagonistic
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viscous
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thick; sticky
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vituperate
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to use harsh, condemnatory language; to abuse or censure severely or abusively; berate
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volatile
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readily changing to a vapor; changable; fickle; explosive
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urbane
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sophisticated; refined; elegant
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