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108 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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abash
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embarrass
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abate
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subside or moderate
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abdicate
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renounce; give up (position, right, or responsibility); OP. espouse
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aberration
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deviation from the normal; mental disorder; OP. regular, usual
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abhor
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detest; hate
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abject
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(of a condition) wretched; as low as possible; lacking pride; very humble; showing lack of self-respect; Ex. abject apology;honorable, felicitous
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ablution
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washing
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abnegate
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to reject; to renounce
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abortive
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unsuccessful; fruitless
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abridge
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condense or shorten
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absolute
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complete; totally unlimited; having complete power; certain; not relative; Ex. absolute honesty/ruler; CF. absolutism
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absolve
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pardon (an offense); OP. convict, indict
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abstinent
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adj. voluntarily not doing something especially something that causes pleasure
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abstract
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theoretical; not concrete; nonrepresentational
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abstruse
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obscure; profound; difficult to understand; OP. simple, easy to understand
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abysmal
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bottomless
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accolade
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award of merit; strong praise and approval
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accost
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to approach and to speak to someone
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acerbic
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bitter; sour; severe
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acquiesce
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assent; agree passively; comply without protest
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acrid
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bitter (to the taste or smell); sharp; bitterly pungent
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acrimonious
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stinging; caustic; bitter in words or manner; N. acrimony: bitter ill-natured animosity in speech or behavior
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acumen
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mental keenness; sharpness of judgment; ability to judge quickly and well; Ex. business acumen
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acute
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(of the senses) sharp; quickly perceptive; keen; penetrating; brief and severe; Ex. acute sense of smell/analysis/pain
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adamant
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hard; inflexible; OP. amenable, pliable, controlable
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address
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direct a speech to; speak to; deal with or discuss; direct one's efforts or attention to; make with a destination; N: formal speech
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adherent
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supporter; follower
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admonish
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to scold gently; to warn
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adroit
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skillful (in using mind or hand)
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adulation
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excessive admiration; flattery
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adulterate
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to contaminate; to make impure
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adverse
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adj. unfavorable; antagonistic
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aesthetic
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adj. having to do with artistic beauty
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affable
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easily approachable; easy to talk to; warmly friendly; OP. unfriendly
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affectation
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unnatural or artificial behavior, usually intended to impress
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affinity
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sympathy; attraction
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affluent
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adj. rich; prosperous
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agenda
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items of business at a meeting
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agrarian
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pertaining to land or its cultivation; Ex. agrarian reform
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aggregate
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sum total; a collection of separate things mixed together
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agnostic
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one who is skeptical of the existence or knowability of a god or any ultimate reality
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alacrity
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cheerful eagerness or readiness to respond
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allege
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state without proof
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alleviate
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to relieve; to lessen
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alloy
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mixture as of metals; something added that lowers in value or purity; V: mix; make less pure; lower in value or quality; spoil; CF. unalloyed: not in mixture with other metals; pure; complete; unqualified; Ex. unalloyed happiness
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allusion
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an indirect reference, often to a literary work
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aloof
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apart; not open in one's relationship with other people; reserved
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altruism
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selflessness; generosity
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ambience
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environment; atmosphere; Ex. restraurant with a pleasant ambience; ADJ. ambient: completely surrounding; Ex. ambient temperature
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ambiguous
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unclear or doubtful in meaning; having more than one possible interpretation
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ambivalent
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adj. undecided; neutral
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ameliorate
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improve
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amenable
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obedient; compliant; readily managed; responsive; willing to be led; answerable or accountable legally; responsible; able to be tested by; Ex. amenable to sensible suggestions; Ex. He is very amenable; Ex. amenable to the usual tests
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amenity
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convenient feature that helps to make life pleasant; social courtesy
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amiable
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agreeable; lovable; warmly friendly
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amnesty
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pardon (allowed by government to political criminals)
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amoral
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nonmoral; having no understanding of right and wrong
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amorous
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moved by sexual love; loving; of sexual love; Ex. amorous advances
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amorphous
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formless; lacking shape or definition
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anachronism
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an error involving time in a story; something or someone misplaced in time; ADJ. anachronistic
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analogy
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a comparison of one thing to another
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anarchy
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absence of governing body; state of disorder
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anguish
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acute pain; extreme suffering
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animosity
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active enmity
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anomaly
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irregularity
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antecedent
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preceding event that influence what comes later; ancestor or early background
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antipathy
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aversion; dislike or opposition
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antithesis
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contrast; direct opposite of or to; ADJ. antithetic or antithetical
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apartheid
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the abhorrent policy of racial segregation and opression in the Republic of South Africa
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apathy
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lack of caring; indifference; lack of concern or interest in important matters; Ex. He was sunk in apathy after his failure; ADJ. Apathetic; nonchalant
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aphorism
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pithy maxim or saying; ADJ. aphoristic
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apocalypse
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a prophetic revelation; especially one concerning the end of the world; adj. apocalyptic pertaining to revelations especially of disaster
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apocryphal
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(of a story) widely believed but untrue;OP. canonical
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apotheosis
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elevation to godhood; an ideal example of something. OP. denigration, decadence
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appease
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pacify or soothe; Ex. appease a crying baby; N. appeasement
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appreciate
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be thankful for; increase in worth; be thoroughly conscious of; ADJ. appreciable: enough to be felt; Ex. appreciable difference
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apprehensive
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fearful; discerning
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approbation
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approval
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appropriate
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acquire; take possession of for one's own use without permission; set aside for a particular purpose; allocate; CF. misappropriate
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aptitude
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fitness; talent
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arbiter
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person with power to decide a matter in dispute; judge who is in a position ot make influential judgments; Ex. supreme arbiter of fashion in beachware
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arbitrary
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unreasonable or capricious; random; tyrannical; Ex. arbitrary ruler
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arcane
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esoteric; secret; mysterious; known only to the initiated; Ex. arcane ritual; Ex. arcane process closed to the uninitiated listener
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archaic
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antiquated; no longer used; belonging to the past
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archetype
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prototype; primitive pattern; OP. forerunner, precursor
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ardent
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passionate
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arduous
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hard; strenuous; Ex. arduous work
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aristocratic
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adj. of nobel birth; snobbish
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artful
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adj. crafty; wily; sly
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artifice
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deception; trickery
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ascendancy
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controlling influence; position of controlling influence; CF. in the ascendant
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ascetic
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practicing self-denial; avoiding physical pleasures and comforts; austere; Ex. ascetic life of Buddhist monks; N. asceticism
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assiduous
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diligent
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assimilate
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absorb; take (food) into the body and digest it; understand (knowledge) completely and be able to use properly; cause to become homogeneous (the people of a country or race in the ways of behaving or thinking)
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assuage
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to soothe; to pacify
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astute
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wise; shrewd; keen; seeing quickly something that is to one's advantage
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attrition
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rubbing away by friction; gradual decrease in numbers or strength; reduction in the work force without firing employees; wearing away of opposition by means of harassment; Ex. a war of attrition. OP.accretion
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audacity
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boldness; reckless daring
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augment
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increase; add to
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auspicious
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favoring success; giving signs of future success; Cf. auspices
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austere
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forbiddingly stern; ascetic; without comfort or enjoyment; severely simple and unornamented; Ex. a monk's austere life; Ex. austere grandeur of the cathedral; N. austerity
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autocratic
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having absolute unchecked power; dictatorial; N. autocrat, autocracy
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autonomous
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self-governing; N. autonomy
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avarice
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greediness for wealth
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avow
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declare openly; N. avowal
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avuncular
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of or like an uncle
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awry
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distorted; crooked; bent; Ex. Our plans have gone awry.
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axiom
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self-evident truth requiring no proof
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