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75 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
ebb
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V. recede; lessen
Mrs. Dalloway sat on the beach and watched the tide ebb. |
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ebullient
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ADJ. showing excitement; overflowing with enthusiasm
Her ebullient nature could not be repressed; she was always bubbling over with exuberance. |
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eccentric
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ADJ. irregular; odd; whimsical; bizarre
The comet veered dangerously close to the earth in its eccentric orbit. |
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eclectic
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ADJ. drawn from disparate sources
His style of interior decoration was eclectic. |
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ectasy
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N. rapture; joy; any overpowering emotion
When Allison received her long-hoped-for letter of acceptance from Harvard, she was in ectasy. |
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effervescence
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N. inner excitement or exuberance; bubbling from fermentation or carbonation
Nothing depressed Sue from long; her natural effervescence soon reasserted itself. |
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effrontery
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N. arrogant boldness
Lady Bracknell was shocked taht Jack, a man of no rank or breeding, had possessed the effrontery to court the daughter of a noble family. |
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egotistical
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ADJ. excessively self-centered; self-important; conceited
Typical egotistical remark: "But enough of this chit-chat about you and your little problems. Let's talk about what's really important: "ME"! |
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egregious
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ADJ. notorious; gross; shocking
She was an egregious liar; we all knew better than to believe a word she said. |
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elicit
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V. draw out; call forth
The camp couselor's humorous remarks finally elicited a smile from the shy new camper. |
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eloquence
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N. expressiveness; persuasive speech
The crowds were stirred by Martin Luther King's eloquence. |
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elucidate
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V. explain; enlighten
He was called upon to elucidate the disputed points in his article. |
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elusive
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ADJ. evasive; baffling; hard to grasp
Trying to pin down exactly when the contractors would be done remodeling the house, Nancy was frustrated by their elusive replies. |
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emanate
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V. issue forth
A strong odor of sulfer emanated from the spring. |
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empathy
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N. ability to identify with another's feelings, ideas, etc.
What made Ann such a fine counselor was her empathy, her ability to put herself in her client's place and feel his emotions as if they were her own. |
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empirical
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ADJ. based on experience
He distrusted hunches and intuitive flashes; he placed his reliance entirely on empirical data. |
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encumber
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V. burden
Some people encumber themselves with too much luggage when they go for short trips. |
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engross
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V. occupy fully
John was so engrossed in his studies that he did not hear his mother call. |
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enterprising
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ADJ. ready to undertake ambitious projects
An enterprising young man, Matt saw business opportunities on every side and was always eager to capitalize them. |
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entice
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V. lure; attract; tempt
She always tried to entice her baby brother into mischief. |
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enumerate
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V. list; mention one by one
Huck hung his head in shame as Miss Watson enumerated his many flaws. |
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equivocal
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ADJ. ambiguous; intentionally misleading
Rejecting the candidate's equivocal comments on tax reform, the reporters pressed him to state clearly where he stood on the issue. |
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esoteric
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ADJ. hard to understand; known only to the chosen few
New Yorker short stories often included esoteric allusions to obscure people and events. |
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estranged
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ADJ. separated; alienated
The estranged wife sought a divorce. |
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ethereal
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ADJ. light; heavenly; unusually refined
In Shakespeare's The Tempest, the spirit Ariel is an ethereal creature, too airy and unearthly for our mortal world. |
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evenhanded
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ADJ. impartial; fair
Do men and women receive evenhanded treatment from their teachers, or, as recent studies suggest, do teachers pay more attention to male students than females? |
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eventuality
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N. possible occurence
The government instituted new security procedures to prepare of the eventuality of a terrorist attack. |
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exacting
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ADJ. extremel demanding
Cleaning the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel was an exacting task, one that demanded extremely meticulous care on the part of the restorers. |
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exculpate
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V. clear from blame
Though Sid came up with excuse after excuse to exculpate himself, Samantha still blamed him for his conduct. |
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exonerate
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V. acquit; exculpate
The defense team feverishly sought fresh evidence that might exonerate its client. |
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expansive
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ADJ. outgoing and sociable; able to increase in size
Mr. Fezziwig was in an expansive humor, cheerfully urging his guests to join in the Christmas feast. |
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expedient
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ADJ. suitable to achieve a particular end; practical
A pragmatic politician, he was guided by what was expedient rather than by what was ethical. |
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explicate
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V. explain; interpret; clarify
Harry Levin explicated James Joyce's often bewildering novels with such clarity that even Finnegan's Wake seemed comprehensible to his students. |
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exploit
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N. deed or action, particularly a brave deed
Raoule Wallenberg was noted for his exploits in rescuing Jews from Hitler's forces. |
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expunge
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V. wipe out; remove; destroy
If you hit the "Delete" key by mistake, you can accidentally expunge an entire block of text. |
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expurgate
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V. clean; remove offensive parts of a book
The editors felt that certain passages in the book had to be expurgated before it could be used in the classroom. |
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extraneous
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ADJ. not essential; superfluous
No wonder Ted can't think straight! His mind is so cluttered up with extraneous trivia, he can't concentrate on the essentials. |
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extrapolate
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V. infer; project from known data into the unknown; make a conjecture
Based on what they could extrapolate from the results of the primaries on Super Tuesday, the networks predicted that Bob Dole would be the Republican candidate for the presidency. |
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extricate
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V. free; disentangle
The fox could not extricate itself from the trap. |
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facile
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ADJ. easy; superficial
Words came easily to John: he was a facile speaker and prided himself on being ready to make a speech at a moment's notice. |
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fallible
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ADJ. liable to error
I know I am fallible, but I feel confident that I am right this time. |
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farce
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N. braod comedy; mockery
Nothing went right; the entire interview degenerated into a farce. |
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fastidious
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ADJ. difficult to please; squeamish
Bobby was such a fastidious eater that he would eat a sandwich only if his mother first cut off every scrap of crust. |
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fawning
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ADJ. seeking favor by cringing and flattering; obsequious
"Stop crawling around like a bootlicker! I can't stand your sweet talk and fawning ways." |
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ferment
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N. agitation; commotion
With the breakup of the Soviet Union, much of Eastern Europe was in a state of ferment. |
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Fervor
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N. glowing ardor; intensity of feeling
At the protest rally, the students cheered the strikers and booed the dean with equal fervor. |
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fester
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V. provoke keen irritation or resentment
Joe's insult festered in Anne's mind for days, and made her too angry to speak to him. |
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fetid
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ADJ. having a foul, disgusting odor
Change the kitty litter in the cat box right now! No selfrespecting cat would use a litter box with such a fetid smell. |
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fetter
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V. shackle
The prisoner was fettered to the wall. |
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fiasco
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N. total failure
Tanya's attempt to look sophisticated by smoking was a fiasco. |
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fiery
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ADJ. easily provoked; passionate; burning
By reputation, redheads have fiery tempers. |
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finesse
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N. delicate skill
The finesse and adroitness with which the surgeon wielded her scalpel impressed the observers in the operating theater. |
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firebrand
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N. hothead; troublemaker
The police tried to keep track of all the local firebrands when the president came to town. |
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fissure
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N. crevice
The mountain climbers secured footholds in tiny fissures in the rock. |
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fitful
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ADJ. spasmodic; intermittent
After several fitful attempts, he decided to postpone the start of the project until he felt more energetic. |
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flippant
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ADJ. lacking proper seriousness
When Mark told Mona he loved her, she dismissed his earnest declaration with a flippant "Oh, you say that to all the girls!" |
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flout
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V. reject; mock
The headstrong youth flouted all authority; he refused to be curbed. |
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foible
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N. weakness; slight fault
We can overlook the foibles of our friends; no one is perfect. |
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foliage
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N. masses of leaves
Every autumn before the leaves fell he promised himself he would drive through New England to admire the colorful fall foliage. |
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forbearance
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N. patience
We must use forbearance in dealing with him because he is still weak from his illness. |
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foreboding
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N. premonition of evil
Suspecting no conspiracies against him, Caesar gently riduculed his wife's forebodings about the Ides of March. |
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forestall
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V. prevent by taking action in advance
By setting up a prenuptial agreement, the prospective bride and groom hoped to forestall any potential arguments about money in the event of a divorce. |
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formidable
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ADJ. inspiring fear or apprehension; difficult; awe-inspiring
In the film Meet the Parents, the hero is understandably nervous about meeting his fiancee's father, a former CIA agent. |
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forthright
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ADJ. outspoken; frank
Never aftraid to call a spade a spade, she was perhaps too forthright to be a successful party politician. |
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fortuitous
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ADJ. accidental; by chance
Though he pretended their encounter was fortuitous, he'd actually been hanging around her usual haunts for the past two weeks, hoping she'd turn up. |
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foster
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V. rear; encourage
According to the legend, Romulus and Remus were fostered by a she-wolf who raised the abandoned infants as her own. |
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fraudulent
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ADJ. cheating; deceitful
The government seeks to prevent fraudulent and misleading advertising. |
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frivolous
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ADJ. lacking in seriousness; self-indulgently carefree; unimportant
Though Nancy enjoyed Bill's frivolous, lighthearted companionship, she sometimes wondered wheter he could ever be serious. |
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furtive
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ADJ. stealthy; sneaky
Noticing the furtive glance the customer gave the diamond bracelet on the counter, the jeweler wondered whether he had a potential shoplifter on his hands. |
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futile
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ADJ. useless; hopeless; ineffectual
It is futile for me to try to get any work done around here while the telephone is ringing every thirty seconds. |
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gale
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N. windstorm; gust of winds; emotional outburst
The Weather Channel warned viewers about a rising gale. |
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galvanize
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V. stimulate by shock; stir up; revitalize
News that the prince was almost at their door galvanized the ugly stepsisters into a frenzy of combing and primping. |
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garble
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V. mix up; distort
A favorite party game involves passing a whispered message from one person to another, till, by the time it reaches the last player, everyone has totally garbled the message. |
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garish
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ADJ. over-bright in color; gaudy
She wore a gaudy rhinestone necklace with an excessively garish gold lame dress. |
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garrulous
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ADJ. loquacious; wordy; talkative
My Uncle Henry can out-talk any three people I know.l He is the most garrulous person in the village. |