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131 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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pachyderm
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n. thick skinned animal
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paean
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n. song of praise or joy
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palimpsest
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n. parchment used for a second time after writing has been erased
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pall
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v. grow tiresome
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pallet
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small, poor bed
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palliate
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v. ease pain; make less severe or offensive
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palpable
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adj. tangible; easily perceptable
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palpitate
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v. throb; flutter
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pan
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v. criticize harshly
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panegyric
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elaborate praise or laudation; an encomium
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paramour
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n. illicit lover
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parlance
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n. language; idiom
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paroxysm
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n. fit or attack of pain, laughter, or rage
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parquet
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n. floor made of wood strips inlaid in a mosiac like pattern
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parsimonious
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excessively sparing or frugal
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passe
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old-fashioned; past the prime
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patent
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adj. open for the public to read; oblivious
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pathos
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n. tender sorrow; pity quality in art or literature that produces these feelings
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patois
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n. local or provincial dialect
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patrician
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adj. noble aristrocratic
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paucity
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n. scarcity
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pedagogue
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n. teacher
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pell-mell
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adv. In confusion; disorderly
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pellucid
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adj. transparent; limpid; easy to understand
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penchant
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n. strong inclination; liking
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penitent
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adj. repentant
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penumbra
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n. partial shadow (eclipse)
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perdition
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n. damnation; complete ruin
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peregrination
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n. journey
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peremptory
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adj. demanding and leaving no choice
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perfidy
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the act or instance of treachery
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perigee
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n. point in the orbit of a heavenly body, esp. the moon, or of an artificial satellite at which it is nearest to the earth
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pernicious
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adj. very destructive
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peroration
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n. conclusion of an oration
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perquisite
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n. any gain above stipulating salary
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perspicacity
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n. Acuteness of perception, discernment, or understanding
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perspicuity
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n. clearness of expression
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perspicuous
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adj. plainly expressed
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perspicacious
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adj. having keen mental perception and understanding; discerning
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pert
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adj. impertinent; forward
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pertinent
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adj. pertaining or relating directly and significantly to the matter at hand; relevant
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pertinacious
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adj. stubborn; persistent
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pestilential
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adj. causing plague; baneful
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petulant
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adj. childish sulky or bad tempered
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philatelist
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n. stamp collector
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philology
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n. study of language
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physiognomy
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n. face
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physiological
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adj. pertaining to the science of the fucntion of living organisms
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picaresque
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involving clever rogues or adventurers
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piebald
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adj. of different colors; mottled; spotted
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pied
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adj. variegated; multicolored
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pillory
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v. punish by placing in a wooden frame; subject to criticism and ridicule
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pine
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to wither or waste away from longing or grief
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pinion
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v. restrain
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piquant
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adj. pleasantly tart-tasting; stimulating
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pique
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v. provoke or arouse; annoy; n. irritation; resentment
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piscatorial
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adj. pertaining to fishing
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pith
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the essential or central part; the heart or essence
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plaintive
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adj. mournful
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plait
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v. braid; intertwine
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platitude
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n. trite remark; commonplace statement
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plaudit
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n. enthusiastic approval; round of applause
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plenary
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adj. complete; full
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pluck
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resourceful courage and daring in the face of difficulties; spirit
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plumb
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v. examine critically in order to understand; measure by depth; adj. vertical
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plutocracy
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n. society ruled by the wealthy
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poignancy
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n. quality of being deeply moving; keenness of emotion
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polemical
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adj. aggressive in verbal attack; disputatious
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polity
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n. form of government of nation or state
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ponderous
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adj. weighty; unwieldy
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pontifical
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adj. pertaining to a bishop or pope; pompous or pretentious
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pore
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v. study industriously; ponder; scrutinize
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portend
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v. foretell; pressage
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portent
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n. sign; omen; forewarning
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poseaur
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n. person who pretends to be sophisticated, elegant to impress others
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poultice
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n. soothing application applied to sore and inflamed portions of the body\
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practicable
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adj. feasible
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prate
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v. speak foolishly; boast idly
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precipitant
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n. something that causes a substance in a chemical solution to separate out in solid form
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precipitate
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adj. rash; premature; hasty; sudden
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precipitate
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v. throw headlong; hasten
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preclude
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v. make impossible; eliminate
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precocious
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adj. advanced in development
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predilection
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n. partiality; preference
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predispose
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v. give an inclination toward; make susceptible to
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prefatory
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adj. introductory
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prelate
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n. church dignitary
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preponderance
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n. superiority of power, quality
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presage
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v. foretell
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prescience
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n. ability to foretell the future
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presentiment
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n. feeling something will happen; anticipatory fear; promonition
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preternatural
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adj. beyond that which is normal in nature
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pretext
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n. excuse
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prevaricate
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to lie, evade the truth
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prim
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adj. very precise and formal; exceedingly proper
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primogeniture
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n. seniority by birth
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prine
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v. languish, decline; long for; yearn
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privation
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n. hardship; want
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probity
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complete and confirmed integrity; uprightness
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prodigal
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adj. wasteful; reckless with money
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prodigious
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adj. marvelous; enormous
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profligate
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adj. dissipated; wasteful; wildly immoral
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profundity
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depth of intellect, feeling, or meaning
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profusion
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n. overabundance; lavish expenditure; excess
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progenitor
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n. ancestor
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prolixity
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n. tedious wordiness; verbosity
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promontory
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n. headland
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promulgate
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v. proclaim a doctrine or law; make known by official publication
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propinquity
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n. nearness; kinship
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propitiate
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v. appease
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propitious
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adj. favorable; fortunate; advantageous
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propound
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v. put forth for analysis
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prosaic
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adj. dull and unimaginative; matter of fact; factual
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proscenium
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n. part of stage in front of curtain
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proscribe
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v. ostracize; banish; outlaw
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prosody
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n. the art of versification
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protean
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adj. versatile; able to take on many forms
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provenance
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n. origin or source of something
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provender
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n. dry food; fodder
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provident
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adj. displaying foresight; thrify; preparing for emergencies
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proviso
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n. stipulation
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prurient
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adj. having or causing lustful thoughts and desires
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pugnacity
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n. combativeness; disposition to fight
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puissant
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adj. powerful; strong; potent
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pulmonary
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adj. pertaining to the lungs
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punctilious
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adj. stressing niceties of conduct or form; minutely attentive to fine points
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purport
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n. intention; meaning
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pusillanimous
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adj. cowardly; fainthearted
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putative
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adj. supposed; reputed
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putrefaction
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decomposition of organic matter
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pyre
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a heap of combustibles for burning a corpse as a funeral rite
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