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34 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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fecund
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\FEE-kuhnd; FEK-uhnd\, adjective:
1. Capable of producing offspring or vegetation; fruitful; prolific. 2. Intellectually productive or inventive. |
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redound
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\\rih-DOWND\\, intransitive verb:
1. To have a consequence or effect. 2. To return; to rebound; to reflect. 3. To become added or transferred; to accrue. deeds that redound to one's discredit. |
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internecine
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\in-tuhr-NES-een; -NEE-syn; -NEE-sin\, adjective:
1. Of or relating to conflict within a nation, an organization, or a group. 2. Mutually destructive; involving or accompanied by mutual slaughter. 3. Deadly; destructive; marked by slaughter. |
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nonpareil
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\non-puh-REL\, adjective:
1. Having no equal; peerless. noun: 1. Something of unequaled excellence; a peerless thing or person. 2. A flat disk of chocolate covered with beads of colored sugar. |
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vitiate
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\VISH-ee-ayt\, transitive verb:
1. To make faulty or imperfect; to render defective; to impair; as, "exaggeration vitiates a style of writing." 2. To corrupt morally; to debase. 3. To render ineffective; as, "fraud vitiates a contract." |
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bon vivant
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\bon-vee-VONT\, noun:
A person with refined and sociable tastes, especially one who enjoys fine food and drink. |
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polymath
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\POL-ee-math\, noun:
A person of great or varied learning; one acquainted with various subjects of study. |
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celerity
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\suh-LAIR-uh-tee\, noun:
Rapidity of motion or action; quickness; swiftness. |
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pastiche
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\pas-TEESH; pahs-\, noun:
1. A work of art that imitates the style of some previous work. 2. A musical, literary, or artistic composition consisting of selections from various works. 3. A hodgepodge; an incongruous combination of different styles and ingredients. |
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arriviste
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\a-ree-VEEST\, noun:
A person who has recently attained success, wealth, or high status but not general acceptance or respect; an upstart. |
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apostasy
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Pronunciation[uh-pos-tuh-see]
–noun, plural -sies. a total desertion of or departure from one's religion, principles, party, cause, etc. |
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palaver
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[puh-lav-er, ‑lah-ver] pə-lāv'ər noun, verb, -ered, -er·ing.
–noun 1. a conference or discussion. 2. a long parley, esp. one between primitive natives and European traders, explorers, colonial officials, etc. 3. profuse and idle talk; chatter. 4. persuasive talk; flattery; cajolery. –verb (used without object) 5. to talk profusely and idly. 6. to parley or confer. –verb (used with object) 7. to cajole or persuade. |
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folderol
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(fŏl'də-rŏl')
n. 1. Foolishness; nonsense. 2. A trifle; a gewgaw. |
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imprimatur
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[im-pri-mah-ter, -mey-, -prahy-] (ĭm'prə-mä'tŏŏr, -mā'tər)
–noun 1. an official license to print or publish a book, pamphlet, etc., esp. a license issued by a censor of the Roman Catholic Church. Compare nihil obstat. 2. sanction or approval; support: Our plan has the company president's imprimatur. |
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enfamille
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[ahn fa-mee-yuh]
French. in or with the family; at home: to dine en famille. |
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propitious
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\pruh-PISH-uhs\, adjective:
1. Presenting favorable circumstances or conditions. 2. Favorably inclined; gracious; benevolent |
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mordant
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\MOR-d'nt\, adjective:
Biting; caustic; sarcastic. |
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bête noire
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(bet nwär)
n. One that is particularly disliked or that is to be avoided: "Tax shelters had long been the bête noire of reformers" Irwin Ross. |
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braggadocio
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brag-uh-doh-shee-oh
n. pl. brag·ga·do·ci·os 1. A braggart. 2. a. Empty or pretentious bragging. b. A swaggering, cocky manner. |
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proforma
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[proh fawr-muh]
–noun 1. according to form; as a matter of form; for the sake of form. 2. Commerce. provided in advance of shipment and merely showing the description and quantity of goods shipped without terms of payment: a pro forma invoice. 3. Accounting. indicating hypothetical financial figures based on previous business operations for estimate purposes: a pro forma balance sheet. |
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haut monde
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oh mond
noun high society. |
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supercilious
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adj.
Feeling or showing haughty disdain. |
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anodyne
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[an-uh-dahyn]
–noun 1. a medicine that relieves or allays pain. 2. anything that relieves distress or pain: The music was an anodyne to his grief. –adjective 3. relieving pain. 4. soothing to the mind or feelings. |
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interlocutor
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[in-ter-lok-yuh-ter]
–noun 1. a person who takes part in a conversation or dialogue. 2. the man in the middle of the line of performers in a minstrel troupe, who acts as the announcer and banters with the end men. 3. a person who questions; interrogator. |
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précis
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prey-see
–noun 1. a concise summary. –verb (used with object) 2. to make a précis of. |
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beatific
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[bee-uh-tif-ik]
–adjective 1. bestowing bliss, blessings, happiness, or the like: beatific peace. 2. blissful; saintly: a beatific smile. |
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vertiginous
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[ver-tij-uh-nuhs]
–adjective 1. whirling; spinning; rotary: vertiginous currents of air. 2. affected with vertigo; dizzy. 3. liable or threatening to cause vertigo: a vertiginous climb. 4. apt to change quickly; unstable: a vertiginous economy. |
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fractious
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frak-shuhs
1. Inclined to make trouble; unruly. 2. Having a peevish nature; cranky |
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apotheosis
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uh-poth-ee-oh-sis
1. Exaltation to divine rank or stature; deification. 2. Elevation to a preeminent or transcendent position; glorification: "Many observers have tried to attribute Warhol's current apotheosis to the subversive power of artistic vision" Michiko Kakutani. 3. An exalted or glorified example: Their leader was the apotheosis of courage. |
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soliloquy
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[suh-lil-uh-kwee]
–noun, plural -quies. 1. an utterance or discourse by a person who is talking to himself or herself or is disregardful of or oblivious to any hearers present (often used as a device in drama to disclose a character's innermost thoughts): Hamlet's soliloquy begins with “To be or not to be.” 2. the act of talking while or as if alone. |
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unctuous
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(ŭngk'chōō-əs)
adj. 1. Characterized by affected, exaggerated, or insincere earnestness: "the unctuous, complacent court composer who is consumed with envy and self-loathing" (Rhoda Koenig). 2. Having the quality or characteristics of oil or ointment; slippery. 3. Containing or composed of oil or fat. 4. Abundant in organic materials; soft and rich: unctuous soil. |
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bellicose
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bel-i-kohs
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lackadaisical
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lak-uh-dey-zi-kuhl
1. without interest, vigor, or determination; listless; lethargic: a lackadaisical attempt. 2. lazy; indolent: a lackadaisical fellow |
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mendacious
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men-DAY-shuhs, adjective:
1. Given to deception or falsehood; lying; untruthful; as, a mendacious person. 2. False; untrue; as, a mendacious statement. |
