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35 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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rivet (N)
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a metal pin used for pinning metal plates together
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overture (N)
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first offer or a proposal in reaching an agreement
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solecism (N)
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A grammatical mistake in speech or writing.
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jaunty (ADJ)
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cheerful and full of life
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factotum (N)
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An employee who does all kinds of work, handyman
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voluble (ADJ)
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Speaking or spoken incessantly and fluently
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implore (V)
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to beg
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nettle (V)
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to irritate
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blackball (V)
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Reject (someone), typically by means of a secret ballot: "her husband was blackballed".
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bilious (ADJ)
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suffering from indigestion
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rococo (ADJ)
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highly decorated
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verbiage (N)
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a pompus display of words
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truncate (V)
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to cut off the top
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allay (V)
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Diminish or put at rest (fear, suspicion, or worry).
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phlegmatic (ADJ)
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(of a person) Having an unemotional and stolidly calm disposition
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fractious (ADJ)
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Easily irritated; bad-tempered: "they fight and squabble like fractious children".
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trappings (N)
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The outward signs, features, or objects associated with a particular situation, role, or thing: "I had the trappings of success"
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ascendancy (N)
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Occupation of a position of dominant power or influence: "the ascendancy of good over evil".
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plenary (ADJ)
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Unqualified; absolute
- crusaders were offered a plenary indulgence by the pope (of a meeting) To be attended by all participants at a conference or assembly, who otherwise meet in smaller groups |
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portend (V)
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Be a sign or warning that (something, esp. something momentous or calamitous) is likely to happen
- the eclipses portend some major event |
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vaunt (V)
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Boast about or praise (something), esp. excessively
- the much vaunted information superhighway |
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gibe (N)
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An insulting or mocking remark; a taunt
- a gibe at his old rivals |
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dowdy (ADJ)
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(of a person, typically a woman, or their clothes) Unfashionable and without style in appearance
- she could achieve the kind of casual chic that made every other woman around her look dowdy |
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congeal (V)
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Solidify or coagulate, esp. by cooling
- the blood had congealed into blobs |
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dynamo (N)
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A machine for converting mechanical energy into electrical energy; a generator
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legato (ADJ)
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played smoothly
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modicum (N)
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A small quantity of a particular thing, esp. something considered desirable or valuable
- his statement had more than a modicum of truth |
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tacit (ADJ)
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Understood or implied without being stated
- your silence may be taken to mean tacit agreement |
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nicety (ADJ)
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Accuracy or precision
- she prided herself on her nicety of pronunciation |
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obfuscate (V)
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Render obscure, unclear, or unintelligible
- the spelling changes will deform some familiar words and obfuscate their etymological origins |
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sentient (ADJ)
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Able to perceive or feel things
- she had been instructed from birth in the equality of all sentient life forms |
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sanctimonious (ADJ)
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derogatory. Making a show of being morally superior to other people- what happened to all the sanctimonious talk about putting his family first?
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addle (V)
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Make unable to think clearly; confuse
- being in love must have addled your brain |
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imbroglio (N)
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An extremely confused, complicated, or embarrassing situation
- the Watergate imbroglio |
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stentorian (ADJ)
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(of a person's voice) Loud and powerful
- he introduced me to the staff with a stentorian announcement |
