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54 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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transient
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(noun) (physics) a short-lived oscillation in a system caused by a sudden change of voltage or current or load
(noun) one who stays for only a short time; "transient laborers" (adjective) of a mental act; causing effects outside the mind (adjective satellite) enduring a very short time; "the ephemeral joys of childhood"; "a passing fancy"; "youth's transient beauty"; "love is transitory but at is eternal"; "fugacious blossoms" |
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squalid
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(adjective satellite) foul and run-down and repulsive; "a flyblown bar on the edge of town"; "a squalid overcrowded apartment in the poorest part of town"; "squalid living conditions"; "sordid shantytowns"
(adjective satellite) morally degraded; "a seedy district"; "the seamy side of life"; "sleazy characters hanging around casinos"; "sleazy storefronts with...dirt on the walls"- Seattle Weekly; "the sordid details of his orgies stank under his very nostrils"- James Joyce; "the |
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innate
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(adjective satellite) present at birth but not necessarily hereditary; acquired during fetal development
(adjective) not established by conditioning or learning; "an unconditioned reflex" |
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fertilize
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(verb) introduce semen into (a female)
(verb) provide with fertilizers or add nutrients to; "We should fertilize soil if we want to grow healthy plants" (verb) make fertile or productive; "The course fertilized her imagination" |
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aggrandizement
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(noun) the act of increasing the wealth or prestige or power or scope of something; "the aggrandizement of the king"; "his elevation to cardinal"
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pied
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(adjective satellite) having sections or patches colored differently and usually brightly; "a jester dressed in motley"; "the painted desert"; "a particolored dress"; "a piebald horse"; "pied daisies"
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eloquence
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(noun) powerful and effective language
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descry
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(verb) catch sight of
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fanaticism
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(noun) excessive intolerance of opposing views
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lucid
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(adjective satellite) (of language) transparently clear; easily understandable; "writes in a limpid style"; "lucid directions"; "a luculent oration"- Robert Burton; "pellucid prose"; "a crystal clear explanation"; "a perspicuous argument"
(adjective satellite) transmitting light; able to be seen through with clarity; "the cold crystalline water of melted snow"; "crystal clear skies"; "could see the sand on the bottom of the limpid pool"; "lucid air"; "a pellucid brook"; "transparent cristal" (adjective satellite) capable of thinking and expressing yourself in a clear and consistent manner; "a lucid thinker"; "she was more coherent than she had been just after the accident" (adjective satellite) having a clear mind; "a lucid moment in his madness" |
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shoddy
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(noun) reclaimed wool fiber
(adjective satellite) of inferior workmanship and materials; "mean little jerry-built houses" (adjective satellite) cheap and shoddy; "cheapjack moviemaking...that feeds on the low taste of the mob"- Judith Crist |
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steadfast
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(adjective satellite) firm and dependable especially in loyalty; "a steadfast ally"; "a staunch defender of free speech"; "unswerving devotion"; "unswerving allegiance"
(adjective satellite) marked by firm determination or resolution; not shakable; "firm convictions"; "a firm mouth"; "steadfast resolve"; "a man of unbendable perseverence"; "unwavering loyalty" |
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infamous
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(adjective satellite) having an exceedingly bad reputation; "a notorious gangster"; "the tenderloin district was notorious for vice"
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soporific
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(noun) a drug that induces sleep
(adjective satellite) inducing mental lethargy; "a narcotic speech" (adjective satellite) sleep inducing |
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embezzle
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(verb) appropriate (as property entrusted to one's care) fraudulently to one's own use; "The accountant embezzled thousands of dollars while working for the wealthy family"
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vapid
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(adjective satellite) lacking significance or liveliness or spirit or zest; "a vapid conversation"; "a vapid smile"; "a bunch of vapid schoolgirls"
(adjective satellite) lacking taste or flavor or tang; "a bland diet"; "insipid hospital food"; "flavorless supermarket tomatoes"; "vapid beer"; "vapid tea" |
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derision
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(noun) the act of deriding or treating with contempt
(noun) contemptuous laughter |
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erode
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(verb) remove soil or rock; "Rain eroded the terraces"
(verb) become ground down or deteriorate; "Her confidence eroded" |
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vacillation
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(noun) changing location by moving back and forth
(noun) indecision in speech or action |
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haggard
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(noun) British writer noted for romantic adventure novels (1856-1925)
(adjective satellite) very thin especially from disease or hunger or cold; "emaciated bony hands"; "a nightmare population of gaunt men and skeletal boys"; "eyes were haggard and cavernous"; "small pinched faces"; "kept life in his wasted frame only by grim concentration" (adjective satellite) showing the wearing effects of overwork or care or suffering; "looking careworn as she bent over her mending"; "her face was drawn and haggard from sleeplessness"; "that raddled but still noble face"; "shocked to see the worn look of his handsome young fa |
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affirmation
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(noun) a judgment by a higher court that the judgment of a lower court was correct and should stand
(noun) (religion) a solemn declaration that serves the same purpose as an oath (if an oath is objectionable to the person on religious or ethical grounds) (noun) a statement asserting the existence or the truth of something (noun) the act of affirming or asserting or stating something |
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ratify
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(verb) approve and express assent, responsibility, or obligation; "All parties ratified the peace treaty"; "Have you signed your contract yet?"
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austerity
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(noun) the trait of great self-denial (especially refraining from worldly pleasures)
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rancor
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(noun) a feeling of deep and bitter anger and ill-will
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prosaic
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(adjective satellite) not challenging; dull and lacking excitement; "an unglamorous job greasing engines"
(adjective satellite) lacking wit or imagination; "a pedestrian movie plot" (adjective satellite) not fanciful or imaginative; "local guides describe the history of various places in matter-of-fact tones"; "a prosaic and unimaginative essay" |
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terse
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(adjective satellite) brief and to the point; effectively cut short; "a crisp retort"; "a response so curt as to be almost rude"; "the laconic reply; `yes'"; "short and terse and easy to understand"
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cryptic
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(adjective satellite) having a puzzling terseness; "a cryptic note"
(adjective satellite) having a secret or hidden meaning; "cabalistic symbols engraved in stone"; "cryptic writings"; "thoroughly sibylline in most of his pronouncements"- John Gunther (adjective satellite) of an obscure nature; "the new insurance policy is written without cryptic or mysterious terms"; "a deep dark secret"; "the inscrutible workings of Providence"; "in its mysterious past it encompasses all the dim origins of life"- Rachel Carson; "rituals t |
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dereliction
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(noun) willful negligence
(noun) a tendency to be negligent and uncaring; "he inherited his delinquency from his father"; "his derelictions were not really intended as crimes"; "his adolescent protest consisted of willful neglect of all his responsibilities" |
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condone
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(verb) excuse, overlook, or make allowances for; be lenient with; "excuse someone's behavior"; "She condoned her husband's occasional infidelities"
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equivocate
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(verb) be deliberately ambiguous or unclear in order to mislead or withhold information
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endemic
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(noun) a plant that is native to a certain limited area; "it is an endemic found only this island"
(noun) a disease that is constantly present to a greater or lesser degree in people of a certain class or in people living in a particular location (adjective satellite) originating where it is found; "the autochthonal fauna of Australia includes the kangaroo"; "autochthonous rocks and people and folktales"; "endemic folkways"; "the Ainu are indigenous to the northernmost islands of Japan" (adjective) native to or confined to a certain region; "the islands have a number of interesting endemic species" (adjective) of or relating to a disease (or anything resembling a disease) constantly present to greater or lesser extent in a particular locality; "diseases endemic to the tropics"; "endemic malaria"; "food shortages and starvation are endemic in certain parts of th |
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inconsequential
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(adjective satellite) lacking worth or importance; "his work seems trivial and inconsequential"; "the quite inconsequent fellow was managed like a puppet"
(adjective satellite) not following logically as a consequence |
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placid
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(adjective satellite) free from disturbance; "a ribbon of sand between the angry sea and the placid bay"; "the quiet waters of a lagoon"; "a lake of tranquil blue water reflecting a tranquil blue sky"; "a smooth channel crossing"; "scarcely a ripple on the still water"; "unruf
(adjective satellite) taking life easy; "an easygoing man rarely stirred to anger"; "an air of placid sufficiency" (adjective satellite) without untoward incident or disruption; "a placid existence"; "quiet times" (adjective satellite) not easily irritated; "an equable temper"; "not everyone shared his placid temperament"; "remained placid despite the repeated delays" |
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rampart
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(noun) an embankment built around a space for defensive purposes; "they stormed the ramparts of the city"; "they blew the trumpet and the walls came tumbling down"
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portend
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(verb) indicate by signs; "These signs bode bad news"
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finesse
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(noun) subtly skillful handling of a situation
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subtle
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(adjective satellite) faint and difficult to analyze; "subtle aromas"
(adjective satellite) working or spreading in a hidden and usually injurious way; "glaucoma is an insidious disease"; "a subtle poison" (adjective satellite) be difficult to detect or grasp by the mind; "his whole attitude had undergone a subtle change"; "a subtle difference"; "that elusive thing the soul" (adjective satellite) able to make fine distinctions; "a subtle mind" |
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percussion
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(noun) the act of exploding a percussion cap
(noun) the act of playing a percussion instrument (noun) tapping a part of the body for diagnostic purposes (noun) the section of a band or orchestra that plays percussion instruments |
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archaic
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(adjective satellite) little evolved from or characteristic of an earlier ancestral type; "archaic forms of life"; "primitive mammals"; "the okapi is a short-necked primitive cousin of the giraffe"
(adjective satellite) so extremely old as seeming to belong to an earlier period; "a ramshackle antediluvian tenement"; "antediluvian ideas"; "archaic laws" |
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solace
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(noun) the act of consoling; giving relief in affliction; "his presence was a consolation to her"
(noun) the comfort you feel when consoled in times of disappointment; "second place was no consolation to him" (noun) comfort in disappointment or misery (verb) give moral or emotional strength to |
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shady
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(adjective satellite) filled with shade; "the shady side of the street"; "the surface of the pond is dark and shadowed"; "we sat on rocks in a shadowy cove"; "cool umbrageous woodlands"
(adjective satellite) not as expected; "there was something fishy about the accident"; "up to some funny business"; "some definitely queer goings-on"; "a shady deal"; "her motives were suspect"; "suspicious behavior" (adjective satellite) of questionable taste or morality; "a louche nightclub"; "a louche painting" (adjective satellite) of businesses and businessmen; "a fly-by-night operation" |
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evanescent
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(adjective satellite) tending to vanish like vapor; "evanescent beauty"
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sloth
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(noun) apathy and inactivity in the practice of virtue (personified as one of the deadly sins)
(noun) any of several slow-moving arboreal mammals of South America and Central America; they hang from branches back downward and feed on leaves and fruits (noun) a disinclination to work or exert yourself |
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poignant
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(adjective satellite) arousing affect; "the homecoming of the released hostages was an affecting scene"; "poignant grief cannot endure forever"; "his gratitude was simple and touching"
(adjective satellite) keenly distressing to the mind or feelings; "poignant anxiety" |
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encomium
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(noun) a formal expression of praise
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stigma
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(noun) a skin lesion that is a diagnostic sign of some disease
(noun) an external tracheal aperture in a terrestrial arthropod (noun) a symbol of disgrace or infamy; "And the Lord set a mark upon Cain"--Genesis (noun) the apical end of the style where deposited pollen enters the pistil |
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raucous
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(adjective satellite) unpleasantly loud and harsh
(adjective satellite) disturbing the public peace; loud and rough; "a raucous party"; "rowdy teenagers" |
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pittance
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(noun) an inadequate payment; "they work all day for a mere pittance"
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precept
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(noun) a doctrine that is taught; "the teachings of religion"; "he believed all the Christian precepts"
(noun) rule of personal conduct |
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perfunctory
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(adjective satellite) hasty and without attention to detail; not thorough; "a casual (or cursory) inspection failed to reveal the house's structural flaws"; "a passing glance"; "perfunctory courtesy"
(adjective satellite) as a formality only; "a one-candidate pro forma election" |
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slander
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(noun) an abusive attack on a person's character or good name
(noun) words falsely spoken that damage the reputation of another (verb) charge falsely or with malicious intent; attack the good name and reputation of someone; "The journalists have defamed me!" "The article in the paper sullied my reputation" |
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reprobate
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(noun) a person without moral scruples
(verb) reject (documents) as invalid (verb) express strong disapproval of; "We condemn the racism in South Africa"; "These ideas were reprobated" (verb) abandon to eternal damnation; "God reprobated the unrepenting sinner" (adjective satellite) marked by immorality; deviating from what is considered right or proper or good; "depraved criminals"; "a perverted sense of loyalty"; "the reprobate conduct of a gambling aristocrat" |
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pertinent
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(adjective satellite) being of striking appropriateness and pertinence; "the successful copywriter is a master of apposite and evocative verbal images"; "an apt reply"
(adjective satellite) having precise or logical relevance to the matter at hand; "a list of articles pertinent to the discussion"; "remarks that were to the point" |
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stoke
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(verb) stir up or tend; of a fire
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