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20 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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adj. failing to accomplish an intended aim or purpose; only partially or imperfectly developed
syn: miscarried, fruitless, premature ant: successful, realized, consummated. |
abortive
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v. to spread news, reports, or unsubstantiated rumors
syn: noise abroad, broadcast, blazon ant: cover up, conceal, hush up |
bruit
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adj. insolent or rude in speech or behavior; insultingly abusive; humiliating
syn: vituperative, scurrilous, excoriating ant: laudoratory, commendatory, deferential |
contumelious
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n. a short saying; an authoritative statement
syn: maxim, precept, aphorism, axiom |
dictum
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v. to settle comfortably and firmly in position; to put or hide in a safe place
syn: nestle, lodge, entrench ant: unseat, displace, oust |
ensconce
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adj. mutually destructive; characterized by great slaughter and bloodshed
syn: murderous, savage, ruinous ant: peaceful, harmonious, constructive |
internecine
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adj. lacking skill or dexterity; lacking tact, perception, or judgment
syn: inept, awkward, clumsy, gauche ant: skillful, dexterous, deft, tactful |
maladroit
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adj. excessively or effusively sentimental
syn: mushy, mawkish |
maudlin
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v. to change or vary the intensity of pitch; to temper or soften; to regulate, adjust
syn: adapt, moderate |
modulate
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adj. foreshadowing an event to come; causing wonder or self-consciously weighty, pompous
syn: foreboding, ominous, pretentious ant: auspicious, propitious, encouraging |
portentous
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n. knowledge of events or actions before they happen; foresight
syn: foreknowledge ant: hindsight |
prescience
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n. something given in exchange or return for something else
syn: swap, trade |
quid pro quo
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adj. conductive to health or well-being; wholesome
syn: beneficial, healthy, invigorating ant: harmful, unhealthy, deleterious, noxious |
saubrious
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adj. characterized by riotous or unrestrained revelry or licentiousness
syn: dissipated, debauched, orgiastic ant: sedate, prim, decorous, seemly |
saturnalian
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n. a means of testing worth or genuineness
syn: criterion, yardstick, benchmark |
touchstone
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adj. so shocking to the emotions as to cause lasting and substantial psychological damage
syn: jolting ant: soothing, comforting, agreeable, pleasant |
traumatic
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v. to weaken, debase, or corrupt; to impair the quality or value of
syn: degrade, undermine ant: purify, fortify, strengthen, enhance |
vitiate
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adj. fond of making jokes; characteristic of a joker; playfully humorous or droll
syn: whimsical, jocular ant: serious, grave, grim, dour, humorless |
waggish
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adv. in or into the middle of a plot; into the middle of things
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in medias res
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adj. attacking or seeking to overthrow popular or traditional beliefs, ideas, or institutions
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iconoclastic
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