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165 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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anonymous
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unknown authorship or agency
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cognomen
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family name; nickname
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denomination
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name of class or group
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homonym
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sound the same, differ in spelling or meaning
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ignominy
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personal dishonor or humiliation; shameful action
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metonymy
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named or designated by associated feature
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misnomer
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name or wrongly placed or given
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nomenclature
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system of names in arts and sciences
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nominal
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existing in name not in actuality
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renown
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widely honored or acclaimed
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convivial
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sociable; fond of good company
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ebullience
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expressing feelings in lively manner
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felicitous
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well chosen; yielding great delight
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irascible
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prone to angry outbursts
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placid
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undisturbed; calm; self-satisfied
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querulous
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given to complaining
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sardonic
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scornfully mocking
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surly
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sullenly ill-humored
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truculent
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savage and cruel; fierce
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unctuous
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exaggerated earnestness; greasy
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audacious
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fearlessly bold; daring
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contumacy
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stubborn rebelliousness
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dour
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stubborn harshness
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eclat
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great brilliance in performance
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indefatigable
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incapable of being fatigued
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irresolute
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undecided
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obdurate
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not giving in to persuasion
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obsequious
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excessively eager to serve; fawning
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pertinacity
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holding firmly to a belief
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stoic
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seemingly indifferent to pleasure or pain
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benediction
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a blessing; expression of good wishes
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colloquium
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academic seminar on a field of study; conference
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edict
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formal proclamtion
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elocution
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art of public speaking
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grandiloquence
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pompous or bombastic speech
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indict
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to accuse of a crime
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interdict
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to prohibit or forbid
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interlocutor
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someone who takes part in a conversation
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loquacious
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very talkative
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soliloquy
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literary or dramatic speech
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deleterious
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having a harmful effect
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despoil
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to deprive of possessions by force; rob
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effectual
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producing the desired result
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jettison
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to discard as unwanted
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obviate
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to prevent by anticipation
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pinnacle
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the highest point
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raze
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to tear down or scrape off
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stultify
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to render useless; cripple
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surmount
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to overcome or conquer
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wrest
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to obtain by violent, twisting movements
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avarice
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an extreme desire for wealth; greed
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insatiable
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incapable of being satisfied
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inundate
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to overwhelm or flood
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myriad
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constituting a very large, indefinite number
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parsimony
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unusual or excessive stinginess
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prodigal
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unusual or excessive stinginess
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replete
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plentifully supplied
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surfeit
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an excessive amount
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tumult
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a disorderly, noisy movement of people
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voluminous
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having great volume, size or number
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extenuation
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to attempt to lessen the seriousness by excuses
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portent
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an indication of something calamitous about to occur
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pretentious
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making an extravagant show
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retentive
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having the ability to remember or store
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retinue
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attendants of a high-ranking person
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sustenance
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something, especially food, that supports life
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tenable
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capable of being defended; logical
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tenacious
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holding firmly; persistent
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tenuous
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having little substance
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tenure
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the period of holding an office or property
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adduce
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to cite as an example or means of proof
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confound
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to cause to become confused
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construe
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to interpret
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conundrum
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a problem with no satisfactory solution
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cryptic
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having an ambiguous or hidden meaning
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equivocate
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to use misleading language
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paradox
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seemingly contradictory but true statement
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patent
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obvious; plain
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perspicacity
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acuteness of perception or understanding
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rudimentary
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of basic facts or principles that must be learned
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commodious
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spacious; roomy
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finite
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limited; has boundaries
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gamut
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complete range or extent of something
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incalculable
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not capable of being determined
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iota
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an extremely small amount; bit
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lofty
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of great height; towering
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magnitude
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greatness in size or extent
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miniscule
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very small; tiny
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picayune
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of little value or importance
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vestige
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a visible trace of something that used to exist
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bedlam
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a place or situation of noisy confusion
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chauvinism
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a prejudiced belief in superiority of one's group
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draconian
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exceedingly harsh; rigorous
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herculean
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of or requiring unusual size, power, or difficulty
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martinet
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a rigid military disciplinarian
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maudlin
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weakly and excessively tearful
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mesmerize
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to capture and charm; enthrall
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silhouette
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an outline of something that appears dark; shadow
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stentorian
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extremely loud
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titanic
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having great stature or strength
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concomitant
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existing or occurring at the same time
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eon
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an indefinite amount of time; eternity
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extant
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still in existence; not destroyed
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hiatus
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a gap in space, time, or continuity
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inure
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to make use of something undesirable
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irrevocable
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incapable of being changed, undone, or retracted
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millenium
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span of one thousand years
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perpetuity
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quality of being everlasting
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pristine
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of, pertaining to the earliest time or condition; original
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transcience
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quality of passing into and out of existence
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deplore
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to feel or express strong disapproval
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disconsolate
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beyond comfort; hopelessly sad
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distraught
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agitated with anxiety; worried
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halcyon
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calm and peaceful; tranquil; prosperous
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lachrymose
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weeping or inclined to weep
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mercurial
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being quick and changeable in character; fickled
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revel
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to take pleasure or delight in
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tirade
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a long, angry, or violent speech
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trauma
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an emotional shock having a lasting effect
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vex
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to irritate or annoy; to puzzle
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coup d'etat
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a sudden overthrow of a government
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elan
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enthusiastic vigor or liveliness
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entree
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admittance; main course
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espirit de corps
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team spirit; comradery
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laissez faire
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doctrine that opposes gov. control of economy
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nouveau riche
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a person recently becoming rich; flauntingly rich
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par excellence
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superior; outstanding
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potpourri
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a combination of diverse elements
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savoir-faire
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the ability to do appropritate things all the time
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tete a tete
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private conversation between two people
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abstract
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concerned with designs that do not represent anything
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aesthetic
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of the sense of the beautiful
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avant-garde
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a group who invent unconventional art styles
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eclectic
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choosing the best from diverse sources
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grotesque
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ludicrous or incongruous distortion; bizzare
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coup d'etat
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a sudden overthrow of a government
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elan
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enthusiastic vigor or liveliness
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entree
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admittance; main course
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espirit de corps
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team spirit; comradery
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laissez faire
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doctrine that opposes gov. control of economy
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nouveau riche
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a person recently becoming rich; flauntingly rich
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par excellence
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superior; outstanding
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potpourri
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a combination of diverse elements
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savoir-faire
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the ability to do appropritate things all the time
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tete a tete
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private conversation between two people
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abstract
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concerned with designs that do not represent anything
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aesthetic
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of the sense of the beautiful
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avant-garde
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a group who invent unconventional art styles
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eclectic
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choosing the best from diverse sources
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grotesque
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ludicrous or incongruous distortion; bizzare
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hackneyed
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lacking in freshness b/c of overuse
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perspective
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view; point of view; type of art
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representational
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realistic or graphic portrayal in art
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surrealistic
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20th century dream-like imagery
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versimilitude
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appearing to be true or real
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buffoon
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a clown; a person who makes rude jokes
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farce
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a comic play with ludicrous exaggerations
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irony
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use of words to convey the opposite of literal meaning
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jocular
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characterized by joking; fun-loving
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lampoon
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broad comic piece used to ridicule someone
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levity
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light manner or attitude, especially when inappropriate
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parody
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comic imitation of a person or style that exaggerates
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raillery
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good-natured teasing; banter
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regale
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to delight or entertain
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satirical
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witty attack on human vice
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