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88 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
- 3rd side (hint)
abase
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v. lower; humiliate
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Defeated, Queen Zenobia was forced to abase herself before the conquering Romans.
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abash
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v. embarrass
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He was not at all abashed by her open admiration.
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abate
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v. subside; decrease, lessen
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They waited for the storm to abat before leaving their house.
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abbreviate
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v. shorten
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The lecture had to be abbreviated because of the shortened time.
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abduction
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n. kidnapping
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The movie Ransom describes the attempts to rescue a multimillionaires's son after the child's abduction by kidnappers.
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aberrant
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adj. abnormal or deviant
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Given the aberrant nature of the data, we doubted the validity of the entire experiment.
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abet
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v. aid, usually in doing something wrong; encourage
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She was unwilling to abet him in his plan to swindle his co-workers.
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abhor
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v. detest; hate
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She abhorred all forms of bigotry.
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abject
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adj. wretched; lacking pride
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The homeless on the streets of New York live in abject poverty.
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abjure
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v. renounce upon oath
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He abjured his allegiance to the king.
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abdicate
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v. renounce; give up
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The world was shocked when Edward VIII abdicated the British throne for the woman he loved.
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abnegation
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n. repudiation; self-sacrifice
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Though the man and woman loved each other, their love was doomed, for she had to marry the king; their act of abnegation was nessecary to preserve the kingdom.
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abolish
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v. put an end to; cancel
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The president of the college refused to abolish the physical education program requirement.
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abominable
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adj. detestable; extremely unpleasant; very bad
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Mary liked John until she learned he was dating Susan; then she called him an abominable young man.
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aboriginal
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adj. being the first of its kind in a region; primitive; native
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Her reports on the primitive art forms of the aboriginal Indians were widely reported.
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abortive
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adj. unsuccessful; fruitless
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Attacked by armed troops, the students had to abandon their abortive attempt to democratize their country peacefully.
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abrade
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v. wear away by friction; scrape; erode
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The sharp rocks abraded the skin on her leg.
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abrasive
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adj. rubbing away; tending to grind down
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Abrasive remarks can wear away a listener's patience.
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abridge
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v. condense or shorten
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Because publishers wanted a shorted version on War and Peace, they proceeded to abridge the novel.
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abscond
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v. depart secretly and hide
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The teller who absconded with the bonds went uncaptured until later when he was caught.
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absolute
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adj. complete; totally unlimited; certain
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Although the King of Siam was an absolute monarch, he did not want to behead his unfaithful wife without absolute evidence.
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absolve
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v. pardon (an offense)
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The father confessor absolved him of his sins.
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absorb
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v. assimilate or incorporate; suck or drink up; wholly engage
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During the 19th century, America absorbed hordes of immigrants.
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abstain
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v. refrain; hold oneself back voluntarily from action or practice
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He decided to abstain from drinking before his big athletic race.
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abstemious
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adj. sparing in eating and drinking
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The mother worried about her son's abstemious diet from meat.
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abstinence
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n. restraint from eating or drinking
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The doctor recommended complete abstinence from salty foods.
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abstract
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adj. theoretical; not concrete; nonrepresentational
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To him, eating was an abstract concept; he had never missed a meal.
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abstruse
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adj. obscure; profound; difficult to inderstand
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The boy was baffled by the abstruse philosophical texts assigned in class.
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abundant
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adj. plentiful; possessing riches or resources
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The man listed his abundant amount of reasons to come to come have an abundant life in the new lands.
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abusive
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adj. coarsely insulting; physically harmful
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An abusive parents damages a child both mentally and physically.
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abut
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v. border upon; adjoin
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Where our estates abut, we must build a fence.
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abysmal
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adj. bottomless
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His arrogance is exceeded only by his abysmal ignorance.
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abyss
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n. enormous chasm; vast bottomless pit
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The man pushed his enemy in the deep abyss
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academic
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adj. related to school; not practical or directly useful
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The dean's talk about reform was only an academic discussion; we knew nothing would change.
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accede
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v. agree
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If i accede the blackmail, then I'm afraid I will be the victim of future demands.
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accelerate
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v. move faster
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In our science class, we learn how falling bodies accelerate.
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accentuate
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v. emphasize; stress
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You should accentuate the positive over the negatives, you could be more optimistic.
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accessible
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adj. easy to approach; obtainable
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We asked the guide if the ruins were accessible by foot.
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accessory
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n. additional object; useful but not essential thing
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She brought her bag as an accessory for her dress.
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acclaim
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v. applaud; announce with great approval
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The sports reporter acclaimed all the goals of his hometown team.
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acclimate
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v. adjust to the climate
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One difficulty of traveling is to acclimate to the local weather.
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acclivity
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n. sharp upslope of a hill
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The car would not go up the acclivity in high gear.
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accolade
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n. award of merit
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In Hollywood, an "Oscar" is the highest accolade.
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accommodate
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v. oblige or help someone; adjust or bring into harmony; adapt
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Mitch always did everything to accommodate his grandparents.
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accomplice
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n. partner in crime
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Because he provided the crimial with the lethal weapon, he was arrested as an accomplice in the murder.
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accord
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n. agreement
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She was in complete accord with the verdict.
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accost
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v. approach and speak first to a person
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When the two young men accosted me, I was frightened that they were going to attack me.
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accoutre
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v. equip
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The fisherman was accoutred with the best sporting goods the store could offer.
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acerbity
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n. bitterness in speech and temper
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The meeting was marked with such acerbity that informed sources held out little hope of reaching any useful settlement of the problem.
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acetic
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adj. vinegary
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The salad had an exceedingly acetic flavor.
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acidulous
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adj. slightly sour; sharp, caustic
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James was unpopular because of his sarcastic and acidulous remarks.
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acknowledge
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v. recognize; admit
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Although Iris acknowledged that the Beatles' tunes sounded pretty dated nowadays, she still preferred them to hip-hop song that her brothers played.
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acme
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n. top; pinnacle
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His success in this role marked the acme of his career as an actor.
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acoustics
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n. science of sound; quality that makes a room easy or hard to hear in
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Carnegie Hall is liked by music lovers because of its fine acoustics.
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acquiesce
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v. assent; agree without protesting
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Although she appeared to acquiesce to her employer's suggestions, I could tell she had reservations about the changes he wanted to make.
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acquire
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v. obtain; get
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Federick Douglass was determined to acquire an education despite his master's efforts to prevent him.
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acquittal
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n. deliverance from a charge
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His acquittal by the jury surprised those who though he was guilty.
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acrid
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adj. sharp, bitterly pungent
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The acrid odor of burnt gunpowder filled the room after the pistol was fired.
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acrimonious
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adj. bitter in words or manner
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The candidate attacked his opponent in highly acrimonious terms.
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acrophobia
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n. fear of heights
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A born salesman, he could convince someone with a bad case of acrophobia to sign up for a life membership of sky-diving club.
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actuarial
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adj. calculating; pertaining to insurance statistics
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Accordin to recent actuarial tables, life expectancy is greater today than it was century ago.
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acuity
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n. sharpness
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In time his youthful acuity of vision failed him, he needed glasses.
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acumen
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n. mental keeness
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His business acumen helped him to succeed where others had failed.
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acute
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adj. quickly perceptive; keen; brief and severe
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The acute young doctore realized immediately that the illness was due to a chronic illness, not an acute one.
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adage
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n. wise saying; proverb
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There is much truth in the old adage about fools and their money.
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adamant
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adj. hard; inflexible
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The man played the role of the hero adamant in his determination to punish the criminals.
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adapt
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v. alter; modify
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Some species of animals became extinct because they could not adapt to the environment.
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addiction
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n. compulsive, habitual need
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His addiction to drugs caused his friends much grief.
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addle
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v. muddle; drive crazy; become
rotten |
The idiotic plan is confusing enough to addle anyone.
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address
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v. direct a speech to; deal with or
discuss |
Due to address at the convention in July, Brown planned to address the low-income housing in his speech.
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adept
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adj. expert at
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She was adept at the art of irritating people.
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adhere
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v. stick fast
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I will adhere to this opinion until proof that I am wrong is presented.
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adherent
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n. supporter; follower
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In the wake of the scandal, the senator's one-time adherents quickly deserted him.
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adjacent
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adj. adjoining; neighboring; close by
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Phillip's friend lives four houses down the street, close but not adjacent.
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adjunct
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n. something (generally
nonessential or inferior) added or attached |
I plan to buy a laptop to serve as an adjunct for my desktop even though I do not need it.
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admonition
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n. warning
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The student protesters disregarded the dean's admonitions until the police were called in.
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adorn
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v. decorate
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Wall paintings and carved statues adorned the temple.
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adroit
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adj. skillful
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His adroit handling of the delicate situation pleased his employers.
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adulation
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n. flattery; admiration
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adulterate
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v. make impure by adding
inferior or tainted substances |
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advent
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n. arrival
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adversary
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n. opponent
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adverse
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adj. unfavorable; hostile
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adversity
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n. unfavorable fortune; hardship; a calamitous event
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advocacy
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n. support; active pleading on
behalf of someone or something |
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advocate
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v. urge; plead for
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aerie
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n. nest of a large bird of prey
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aesthetic
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adj. artistic; dealing with or
capable of appreciating the beautiful |
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