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245 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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auspicious
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favorable, successful, prosperous
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aver
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affirm, assert, prove, justify
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baleful
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harmful, ominous, causing evil
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bellicose
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belligerent, pugnacious, warlike
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boisterous
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loud, noisy, rough, lacking restraint
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boorish
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crude, offensive, rude
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burgeon
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grow forth, send out buds
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cabal
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a scheme or plot, a group of plotters
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castigate
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to chastise, correct by punishing
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complaisance
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tending to comply, obliging, willingness to please
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consequential
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pompous, self important
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contentious
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quarrelsome, competitive, quick to fight, pugnacious
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contumacious
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insubordinate, rebellious
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conundrum
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a riddle, dilemma, enigma
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countenance
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(n) mien, face (v) approve of
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craven
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cowardly
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credulous
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gullible, too willing to believe
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daunt
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intimidate, make fearful
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decorum
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propriety, properness.
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delineate
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to portray, depict, sketch out
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demur
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to hesitate, raise objections
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denouement
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an outcome or solution; the unraveling of a plot
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desiccate
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to dry up, dehydrate
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desuetude
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cessation of use; disuse
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diaphanous
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transparent, gauzy
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diffidence
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shyness
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dilatory
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causing delay, procrastinating
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disabuse
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to undeceive, correct a false impression
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discomfit
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to defeat, put down
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disingenuous
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sophisticated, artful, trying to deceive, cunning
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dissemble
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present false appearance; deceive
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dogmatic
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positive, certain, arbitrary, without room for discussion
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dross
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waste product, sludge; something worthless, common, or trivial
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dulcet
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melodious, harmonious
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dynamo
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a generator, something that produces electric current; an energetic person
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edacious
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voracious, devouring
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effete
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infertile, worn out, weak
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enervate
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weaken, deprive of strength, attenuate.
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epitome
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representative, a summary or abstract, a typical example
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equipoise
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equal distribution of weight; equilibrium
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equivocate
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lie, mislead, conceal the truth.
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erudite
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learned, scholarly
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expostulate
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argue earnestly to dissuade, correct, or protest
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exscind
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to cut out, cut away
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extirpate
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to destroy, exterminate, cut out, exscind
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feckless
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lacking purpose or vitality; ineffective; careless
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felicitous
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apt; suitably expressed, well chosen, apropos
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fervid
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intense, zealous
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forswear
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renounce, disallow, repudiate
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fulminate
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berate, vituperate, to thunder out, to explode,
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gainsay
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deny
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garner
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to gather and save; to store up
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garrulity
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talkativeness. Adjective is garrulous
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guileless
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without deceit, honest
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hallow
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to make holy; consecrate
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hapless
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unlucky, unfortunate
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harrow
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to distress, create stress or torment
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hirsute
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hairy, shaggy
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ignoble
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dishonorable, common, undignified
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illusory
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deceptive; an illusion
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imbroglio
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difficult or embarrassing situation
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impair
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worsen, diminish in value
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impassive
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without feeling, not affected by pain
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impetuous
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impulsive, forceful, with energy
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implacable
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incapable of being placated, unpleasable
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imprecation
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an invocation of evil; a curse
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impute
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to attribute to a cause or source, ascribe
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indefatigability
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not easily exhaustible; tirelessness
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inimitable
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defying imitation, unmatchable
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insensible
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unconscious, unresponsive, unaffected
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insouciant
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unconcerned, carefree
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intractable
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unruly, refractory, stubborn
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intrepid
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fearless, brave, undaunted
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inveigh
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to attack verbally, denounce, deprecate
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inveigle
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wheedle, led astray
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inveterate
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deep rooted, ingrained, habitual
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irresolute
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unresolved, indecisive
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lachrymose
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causing tears, tearful
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laconic
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brief, to the point, terse
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lassitude
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weariness, tiredness
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libertine
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immoral person
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loquacious
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talkative, garrulous
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lucubrate
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write in scholarly fashion
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luculent
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easily understood, lucid, clear
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lugubrious
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mournful, excessively sad
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malinger
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to fake illness or injury, in order to shirk a duty.
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mellifluous
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sweetly flowing; usually used to describe use of words.
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mince
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pronounce or speak affectedly, euphemize, speak too carefully.
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misanthrope
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one who hates mankind
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misogynist
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one who hates women/females
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morose
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gloomy, sullen
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multifarious
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varied, motley, greatly diversified
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nascent
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coming into existence, emerging
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nice
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precise, sensitive to subtleness
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nostrum
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a quack remedy, an untested cure
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obdurate
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stubborn, inflexible, adamant
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obstreperous
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noisy, loud
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ossify
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to turn to bone; to settle rigidly into an idea or practice, become closed-minded
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ostensible
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seeming, appearing as such, professed
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overweening
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presumptuously arrogant, overbearing, immoderate, being a jerk
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pariah
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an outcast, a rejected and despised person
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partisan
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one-sided, committed to a party, biased or prejudiced.
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paucity
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scarcity, a lacking of
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pellucid
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transparent, easy to understand
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penchant
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strong inclination, a liking.
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perfidious
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violating good faith, treacherous, dishonest
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perfunctory
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superficial, listless, not thorough
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personable
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pleasing in appearance, attractive
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phlegmatic
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calm, sluggish temperament; unemotional
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piquant
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agreeably pungent, stimulating
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pique
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resentment at being slighted
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pith
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heart of the matter, basic trait. Also force, strength, or vigor
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polemical
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controversial, argued
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pragmatic
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practical, favoring utility.
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precarious
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uncertain, risky, dangerous.
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precepts
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rules establishing standards of conduct
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prevaricate
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stray from or avoid the truth; equivocate
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prodigal
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wasteful, reckless with money
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provident
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frugal; looking to the future
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punctilious
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precise, paying attention to trivialities, especially in regard to etiquette
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pungency
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sharpness; stinging quality
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pusillanimous
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cowardly, craven
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quaff
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drink large quantities
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quail
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lose courage, turn frightened
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qualify
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to limit
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quiescent
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at rest, dormant, torpid
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raffish
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low, vulgar, base, tawdry
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raffish
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disreputable; tawdry
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recreancy
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cowardice, a cowardly giving up
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refractory
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stubborn, unmanageable, intractable
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remonstrate
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to protest, object
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render
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deliver, provide, represent
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reprobate
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person hardened in sin; one devoid of decency
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resigned
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unresisting, submissive
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salacious
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obscene
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salient
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conspicuous, highly relevant, prominent
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salutary
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remedial, wholesome, causing improvement
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saturnine
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gloomy, dark, sullen, morose
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seminal
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like a seed; constituting a source, originative.
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sodden
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soaked, saturated
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sophistry
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fallacious reasoning, faulty logic
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squalid
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foul, filthy
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stolid
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showing no emotion; impassive
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striated
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striped, grooved, or banded. Having stripes.
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strut
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a supporting bar
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sublime
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lofty, noble
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supine
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lying on the back. Also slow to act, passive.
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sycophant
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flatterer, parasite; a suck-up
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taciturn
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untalkative, silent
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tawdry
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cheap, gaudy, showy, tacky
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tenacity
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firmness, persistency, adhesiveness, tending to hang on
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torpor
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lethargy, sluggishness, dormancy
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tractable
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easily influenced, obedient, docile
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transient
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temporary, fleeting
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turbid
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muddy, having the sediment stirred up
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turgid
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excessively ornate; swollen or bloated
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tyro
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novice, amateur
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umbrage
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offense, resentment
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upbraid
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reprove, reproach
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urbane
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elegant, refined in manners
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venal
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corruptible, bribable, unprincipled
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verisimilitude
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appearing true or real
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veritable
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unquestionable, true.
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vituperate
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berate, rail against, attack verbally
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volubility
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fluency, verbosity, easy use of spoken language
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wag
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to be incessantly active, to waddle; also a mischievous person
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welter
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turmoil; a bewildering jumble
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wend
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to go, proceed
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abate
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to lessen in intensity or degree
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aberrant
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deviating from the norm
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abscond
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to depart clandestinely; to steal off and hide
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accolade
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an expression of praise
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acerbic
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having a sour or bitter taste or character
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acumen
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quick, keen or accurate knowledge or insight
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adulation
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excessive praise; intense adoration
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adulterate
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to reduce purity by combining with inferior ingredients
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aesthetic
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dealing with, appreciative of, or responsive to art or the beautiful
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aggrandize
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to increase in intensity, power or prestige
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alacrity
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eager and enthusiastic willingness
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alchemy
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a medieval science aimed at the transmutation of metals, especially base metals into gold
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amalgamate
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to combine several elements into a whole
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ameliorate
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to make better or more tolerable
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anachronism
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something or someone out of place in terms of historical or chronological context
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anomaly
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deviation from the normal order, form or rule; abnormally
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approbation
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an expression of approval or praise
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archaic
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outdated; associated with an earlier, perhaps more primitive, time
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arduous
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strenuous, taxing, requiring significant effort
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ascetic
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one who practices rigid self-denial, especially as an act of religious devotion
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assuage
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to ease or lessen; to appease or pacify
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astringent
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having a tightening effect on living tissue; harsh; severe
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audacious
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daring and fearless; recklessly bold
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austere
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without adornment; bare; severely simple; ascetic
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avarice
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greed, especially for wealth
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aver
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to state as a fact; to confirm or support
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axiom
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a universally recognized principle
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axiomatic
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taken as a given; possessing self-evident truth
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bolster
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to provide support or reinforcement
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bombast
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self important or pompous in writing or speech
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bombastic
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pompous; grandiloquent
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bucolic
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rustic and pastoral; characteristic of rural areas and their inhabitants
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burgeon
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to grow rapidly or flourish
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cacophony
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harsh, jarring, discordant sound; dissonance
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canon
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an established set of principles or code of laws, often religious in nature
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canonical
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following or in agreement with accepted, traditional standards
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capricious
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inclined to change one's mind impulsively; erratic; unpredictable
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castigation
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severe criticism or punishment
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catalyst
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a person or thing that causes change
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caustic
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burning or stinging; causing corrosion
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censure
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to criticize severely; to officially rebuke
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chary
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wary; cautious; sparing
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chicanery
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trickery or subterfuge
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cogent
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appealing forcibly to the mind or reason; convincing
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complaisance
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the willingness to comply with the wishes of others
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connoisseur
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an informed and astute judge in matters of taste; expert
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contentious
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argumentative; quarrelsome; causing controversy or disagreement
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contiguous
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sharing a border; touching; adjacent
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contrite
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regretful; penitent; seeking forgiveness
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convention
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a generally agreed-upon practice or attitude
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convoluted
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complex or complicated
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credulous
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tending to believe too readily; gullible
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culpable
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deserving blame
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cynicism
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an attitude or quality of belief that all people are motivated by selfishness
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dearth
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smallness of quantity or number; scarcity; a lack
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decorum
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polite or appropriate conduct or behavior
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demur
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to question or oppose
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derision
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scorn, ridicule, contemptuous treatment
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desiccate
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to dry out or dehydrate; to make dry or dull
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diatribe
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a harsh denunciation
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didactic
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intended to teach or instruct
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dilettante
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one with an amateurish or superficial interest in the arts or a branch of knowledge
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disabuse
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to deceive; to set right
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discordant
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conflicting; dissonant or harsh in sound
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discretion
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cautious reserve in speech; ability to make responsible decisions
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disinterested
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indifferent; free from self-interest
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disparage
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to slight or belittle
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disparate
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fundamentally distinct or dissimilar
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dissemble
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to disguise or conceal; to mislead
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divulge
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to disclose something secret
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dogmatic
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stubbornly opinionated
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ebullience
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the quality of lively or enthusiastic expression of thoughts and feelings
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eccentric
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departing from norms or conventions
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eclectic
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composed of elements drawn from various sources
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effrontery
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extreme boldness; presumptuousness
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elegy
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a mournful poem, especially one lamenting the dead
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eloquent
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well-spoken; expressive; articulate
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