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103 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
- 3rd side (hint)
abrasive
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rubbing away, tending to grind down
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i needed a brace because the running was abrasiv e
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abridge
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condense or shorten
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we needed to abridge the planned 1000 mile long bridge
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abstruse
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obscure, profound, difficult to understand
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the picture of the truley perfect abs is abstruse, for it varies from person to person
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acclaim
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applaud, announce with great approval
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The public acclaimed the scientists after he proved his claim of invisibilty
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accolade
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award of merit
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That guy deserves an accolade for getting laid by Carmen
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adherent
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supporter, follower
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In the awke of the scandal, the senator's one time adherent quietly deserted him
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adverse
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unfavorable, hostile
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the vulgar advertisement had an adverse effect on the company's public relations
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affable
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easily approachable
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Acustomed to cold, aloof supervisors, Nick was amazed at how affable his new employer was
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aloof
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apart, reserved, standoffish
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Loofy, the new kid, was considered a snob because instead of joining in our conversations, he remained silent and aloof
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altruistic
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unselfishly generous, concerned for others
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Al was a true philanthropist, giving thousands of scholarships to disadvantaged youths.
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ambivalence
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having contradictory or conflicting emotiona attitudes
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Bambi had a crucial decision to make, yet she was torn between the two options and was confused by the ambivalence of her feelings
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animosity
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active enimity, hatred
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The animal in the city was faced with animosity; Animal control officers, filled with contempt, aimed to kill
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antiquated
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old fashioned
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the antique type writer was antiquated
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antithesis
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opposite, contrast
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Good is the antithesis of evil
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apprehension
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fear, discernment, capture
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The fugitive was filled with aprehension at the thought of being aprehended
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arable
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fit for growing crops
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In the parable, Jack grew a 10000 foot high beanstalk on arable and.
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arbitrary
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unreasonable or capricious, based on instinct
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The coach claimed the team lost because the umpire made some arbitrary calls
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archaic
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antiquated
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The architecture of the tepee huts shown is archaic.
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ardor
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heat, passion, zeal
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Katya's ardor was catching, soon all her fellow deomstraters were making posters, inspired by her enthusiasm
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arid
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dry, barren
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The actus has adapted to survive in an arid environment, and environmnet rid of life.
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artisan
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manually skilled worker; crafstman
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Elderly artisans from artsy Italy trained Harlem teenagers to carve the stone figures that wold decorate the catheadral
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ascendancy
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controlling influence
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Leaders of religious cults send influential messages and maintain ascendancy over their followers by methods that can verge on brainwashing
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asetic
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self-denial, austere
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The monks are ascetic; they deny their urges
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astute
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wise/shrewd
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Expecting Miss Marple to be a woolly headed old lady, Craddock was startled by the astute observations she made
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atrophy
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waste away
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The team's lack of effort during practice atrophied their skill sets, denying them any chance at the championship trophy.
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autonomous
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self-governed
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When does the desire to expand of a country superced the autonomy of another?
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aversion
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firm dislike
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Their aversion towards eachother was so great that they found diversions just to not have to speak to one another.
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Trite
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boring, common, rep
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bane
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cause of ruin
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Lack of public transportation is bane in an urban lifestyle
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belie
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contradict, give a flase impression
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his coarse, hard-bitten exterior belied his inner sensitivity. (its a lie!)
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bequeath (bequest)
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to lease someone by a will, hand down
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Although Maud had intended to bequeath the family home to her nephew, she died before changing her will
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brawn (brawny)
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muscular strength
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It takes brawn to become a champion weight lifter
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buttress
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support, prop up
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The attorney came up with several fart fetched arguments in va
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cajole
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coax, wheedle
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Diane tried to cajole her father into letting her drive the family car
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candor
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frankness
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Endor was candor with his words, it was clear he held nothing back. (candid)
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censure (censorious)
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critical/ blame or criticize harshly
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The dictator was so censorious of the rude scene, he demanded that the playwritght censor them in the next showing.
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charlatan
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quack, pretender to knowledge
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When they realized that the Wizard didn't know how to get her back to Kansas, Dorothy and her companions were indignant that they had been duped by a charlatan
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clemency (clement)
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disposition to be lienient, mildness
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Clemens was known for her clemency toward first offenders
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coercion (coerce)
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the use of force to get someones compliance
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the extortionist coerced the store owner into paying up
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concilatory
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reconciling, apppeasing, amiable
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The conciliatory student council gave in to the sudents requests for no homework.
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condone
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overlook voluntarilly, forgive
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Although she had excused
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contagion
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infection
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Fearing contagion in Siagon, they took great steps to prevent the spread of the disease.
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Cursory
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casual, hastily done
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Harry took a cursory glance at his spell book, and so, hardly knew any of the curses they were practicing that day.
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curtail
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shorten, reduce
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The monkey asked the tailor to curtail the portion of the outfit covering the tail.
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dawdle
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loiter, waste time
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We have to meet a deadline, so stop doodling and dwadling, just get down to work
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debilitate
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weaken, enfeeble
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Micheal's severe bout of the flu debilitated him so much that he couldn't pay his bills.
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deference
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courteous regard for anothers wish
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In deference to the minister's wish, please do not take photographs during the wedding service.
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deliberate
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consider, ponder
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Offered the new job, she asked for time to deliberate before she told them her decision.
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delineate
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portray, depict, sketch
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Using only a few descriptive phrases, Austen dilineates the character. The artist used lines to dilineate the scene.
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denounce
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criticize
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The reform candidate denounced the corrupt city officers for having betrayed the public's trust.
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depravity
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corruption; wickedness
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Even Romans who had grown accustomed to immortality during Tiberius's reign were shocked by the depravity and gravity of the corruption of emporer Caligula.
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deplore
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regret strongly
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Although I deplore the disintegration of the modern family, I understand that not every marriage can be saved.
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deride
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ridiculoe
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The ride at Disney Land was so bad, the teenagers didn't only deplore it, but egged it as well.
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Despondent
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depressed, gloomy
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William the dog no longer responded to calls; he laid there all day, in a state of despondency.
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Despot
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tyrant
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How could a benevolent king turn overnight into a despot?
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didatic
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teaching, instructional
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Dad is didactic; he tries to point out a lesson in every action he performs.
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dimunition
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reduction
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Old Jack was as sharp at eighty as he had been at fifty; increasing age led to no dimnunition of his mental activity
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discursive
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digressing, rambling
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The diary, written in cursive, was jumping from incident to incident in a discursive manner.
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disparity
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difference; condition of inequality
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Cinderella and the prince were an interesting pair; the disparity between their classes made no difference in their relationship
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dissent
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disagree
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In the recent Supreme Court decision, Justice O'Connor dissented from the majority opinion.
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dissipate
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squander, waste, scatter
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He is a fine artist, but i fear he may dissipate his gifts if he keeps wasting his time on such trivial pursuits.
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dissonance
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discord
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Composer Charles Ives often used dissonance--clashing or unresolved chords--for special effects in his works.
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divergent
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differeing, deviating
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The angry couple was on the verge of breaking up and going their seperate ways, taking divergent paths.
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divulge
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reveal
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The friends were dying to know Fred's secret and pestered him to divulge it.
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dutiful
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respectful, obedient
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The dutiful child grew up to be a conscientious adult, aware of his duties and obligationis.
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ebb
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recede, lessen
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His fortunes began to ebb during the Recession.
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electic
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selective in choosing from a variety of sources
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The reviewers praised the new restaurant's electic selection of dishes, which ranged from Oriental stir fries to French ragouts and stews.
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effervescent
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exuberant, bubbly and excited
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(Ferve=passion) Nothing depressed Amy for long; she was naturally effervescent.
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embellish
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adorn; ornament
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The lady embellished her ring with an emblem.
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ephemeral
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short-lived, fleeting
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The man's phase of femininity was ephemeral - he was back to liking football and violence the day after.
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euphemism
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mild expression used in place of an unpleasant one
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Eunice didn't like being called fat-one and so requested that her nickname be changed to aerodynamically curvacious.
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euphonious
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pleasing in sound
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The symphony was euphonious.
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euphoria
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great happiness (sometimes exaggerated)
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Getting a 2400, I was filled with glee, leading to euphoria.
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evanescent
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fleeting, vanishing
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Brandon's satisfaction in his new job was evanescent for he immediately began to notice its drawbacks.
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exonerate
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aquit; exculpate
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The defense team feverishly sought fresh evidence that would exonerate their client
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extant
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still in existance
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I wished to buy the copy of Extra, unfortunately, it was no longer extant.
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extol
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praise; glorified
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The president of Exxol extolled the marvelous job his recruitment team did, having 50,000 join in a week.
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extricate
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free, distangle
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The fox could not extricate itself from the trap
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fastidious
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difficult to please
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Bobby was such a fastidious eater that he would eat a sandwhich only if his mom scraped every bit of the crust. He was fast to spot spinach and gag in disgust.
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fickle
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changeable; faithless
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The fickle pickle, upon meeting a new woman, divorced his wife immediately.
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flippant
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lacking proper seriousness
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Monica flipped out until she realized that Mark was being flippant when saying he loved her.
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florid
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ruddy, redish, flowery
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If you go to Florida and get a sunburn, your complexion will look florid
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founder
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fail completely;sink
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The Titanic, upon hitting an iceberg, flailed like a flounder and founded.
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heed
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pay attention to, consider
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We hope you heed our advice and get a good night's sleep before the test
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heyday
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time of great success
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It was payday, a heyday for jon!
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illusory
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deceptive, not real
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The illustrator drew illusory drawings of dragons and magic.
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iconoclast
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one who attacks cherised traditions
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A born iconoclast, Jean Genet deliberately set out to shock conventional theatergoers with his radical plays.
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igominy
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deep disgrace, shame or honor
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To lose the Ping-Pong match to a trained chimpanzee! How could Igor stand the ignominy?
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immaculate
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spotless, flawless, absolutely clean
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Ken and Jessica were wonderful tennants and they left the apartment immaculate.
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Immutable
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unchangeable
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It can't be mutated, its immutable.
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impeccable
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faultless
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The woodpecker had an impeccable plan: he would swoop in, grab the worm, fly out and eat his dinner in peace.
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impervious
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impenetrable
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The impervious spartan shield could not be penetrated!
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inane
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silly, senseless
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There's no point to what you're saying. Why are you bothering to make such inane remarks?
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incense
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enrage, infuriate
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Cruelty to defenseless animals incensed Kit.
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ingrate
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ungrateful person
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He isn't grateful, he's ingrate.
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inherent
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intrinisic, natural, deeply rooted
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Elaine's inherent love of justice caused her to champion people whom she thought society treated unfairly.
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innocuous
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harmless
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Letting her inside can only bring good cures, the action would be innocuous.
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insatiable
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not easily satisfied
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Lexy's passion for new clothes is insatiable; she can shop till she literally drops.
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insinuate
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hint, imply, creap in
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When you said i looked robust, were you trying to insinuate that I'm getting fat? You better not be insulting a pastor - that's a sin.
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insipid
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lacking in flavor; dull
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I was so bored that I sipped my coffee to keep me awake through the insipid presentation.
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insolvent
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bankrupt
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Lord Wigeon was insolvent, yet he had no fear of being thrown into debtor's prison for his father would pay his debt.
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insularity
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narrow-mindedness; isolation
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The insularity of the islanders manifested itself in their suspicion of anything foreign.
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insuperable
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unbeatable
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Faced by almost insuperable obstacles, the members of the underground maintained their couraged and will to resist.
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