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104 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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macabre
ex Police discovered a macabre scene inside the house. |
gruesome;grisly
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mace (n)
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ceremonial staff; clublike medieval weapon
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mace (v)
ex She maced the man who attacked her. |
to attack with the liquid Mace
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macerate
ex the tissue macerated in the water |
soften by soaking in liquid;waste away
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Machiavellian
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crafty;double-dealing
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machinations
ex incredibly complicated machinations to assassinate the president that inevitably failed |
evil schemes or plots
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maculated
ex The silver was maculated by the long exposure to the air |
spotted;stained
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mardrigal
ex he group was madrigaling beautifully |
pastoral song
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maelstrom
ex The ship was drawn into the maelstrom. |
whirlpool
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magisterial
ex He spoke with a magisterial tone. |
authoritative;imperious
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imperious
ex an imperious little boy who liked to tell the other scouts what to do |
authoritative
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magnate
ex a studio magnate who had the biggest stars in Hollywood at his beck and call |
person of prominence or influence
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magniloquent
ex he engages in so much magniloquent talk, one never really realizes what he is saying |
boastful,pompous
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maim
ex people were maimed by the explosion |
mutilate, injure
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maladroit
ex a maladroit movement of his hand caused the car to swerve |
clumsy,bungling
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swerve
ex The motorbike swerved to the right |
turn sharply
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malady
ex in the olden days people were always suffering from some unknown malady |
illness
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malaise
ex The symptoms include headache, malaise, and fatigue. |
uneasiness;vague feeling of ill health
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malapropism
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comic misuse of a word
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malcontent
ex This work offers ideas on an innovative curriculum for malcontent and disadvantaged young people |
person dissatisfied with existing state of affairs
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malediction
ex he suffered the maledictions of the mob |
curse
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malefactor
ex the victim was able to give a clear description of the malefactor to the police |
evildoer;criminal
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malevolent
ex the novel grossly oversimplified the conflict as a struggle between relentlessly malevolent villains on one side and faultless saints on the other |
wishing evil
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malfeasance
ex The investigation has uncovered evidence of corporate malfeasance. |
wrongdoing
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malicious
ex the neighborhood chatterbox has again been spreading malicious gossip |
hateful;spiteful
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malign
ex a malign force |
speak evil of; bad-mouth; defame
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malignant
ex a highly malignant form of cancer |
injurious; tending to cause death
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malingerer
ex His boss suspected him of malingering because of his frequent absences from work. |
one who feigns illness to escape duty
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feign
ex I would never feign illness just to get out of a test |
to give a false appearance of
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malleable
ex malleable metals such as gold |
capable of being shaped by pounding
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pound
ex The metal is heated and then pounded into shape. |
to strike heavily or repeatedly
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malodorous
ex malodorous gases |
foul-smelling
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manacle
ex manacles prevented the bear from roaming beyond a very small area |
restrain; handcuff
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mangy
ex "a mangy old fur coat" |
shabby;wretched
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fur
ex ex "a mangy old fur coat" |
The dressed hairy coat of a mammal
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maniacal
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raging mad; insane
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manifest
ex The buildings in Rome manifest a high level of architectural sophistication |
evident;visible;obvious
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manifesto
ex. the Conservative manifesto is a model of vagueness |
declaration; statement of policy
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manifold
ex the manifold attractions of that state make it an ideal destination for a family vacation |
numerous;varied
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mannered
ex well-mannered |
affected; not natural
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manumit
ex though he was an outspoken defender of liberty, this son of Virginia did not manumit his own slaves until he was on his deathbed |
emancipate;free from bondage(slavery)
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maritime
ex maritime law |
bordering on the sea;nautical
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marred
ex walls marred by graffiti |
damaged;disfigured
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graffiti
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A rude decoration inscribed on rocks or walls
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marshal
ex marshal the troops |
put in order
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marsupial
ex marsupial animals |
mammals that nurse their offspring in a pouch
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martial
ex martial law |
warlike
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martinet
ex The prison's warden was a cruel martinet |
a strict disciplinarian
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martyr
ex Saint Sebastian was martyred |
one who voluntarily suffers for his or her religion or cause
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masochist
ex The motivation is likened to sexual masochism, and hypnosis serves to elaborate and maintain the false memories. |
person who enjoys his own pain
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masticate
ex masticate rubber |
chew
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materialism
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preoccupation with physical comforts and things
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matriarch
ex Our grandmother was the family's matriarch. |
woman who rules a family or larger social group
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matriculate
ex the college matriculated 1000 students for the fall semester |
enroll in college or graduate school
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maudlin
ex maudlin expressions of sympathy |
effusively sentimental
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effusive
ex the critics praised her effusively |
Uttered with unrestrained enthusiasm
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maul
ex A bear killed one hiker and badly mauled the other. |
handle roughly
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mausoleum
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monumental tomb
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mauve
ex mauve body color. |
pale purple
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maverick
ex <there's always one maverick who has to go his own way |
rebel,nonconformist
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mawkish
ex <a mawkish plea for donations to the charity |
mushy and gushy; maudlin
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maxim
ex it's a common maxim that “a watched pot never boils,” but that's not literally true |
proverb; a truth pithily stated
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mayhem
ex movies filled with murder and mayhem |
injury to body
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mealymouthed
ex a mealymouthed compliment from a jealous competitor |
indirect in speech;hypocritical;evasive
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meander
ex he path meanders through the vineyards (a planting of grapevines) |
wind or turn in its course
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meddlesome
ex Her neighbors saw her as a meddlesome nuisance. |
interfering
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medley
ex a medley of snack foods available on the buffet table |
mixture
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meek
ex a meek child dominated by his brothers |
submissive;patient and long suffering
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megalomania
ex Their CEO has an arrogance that borders on megalomania. |
mania for doing grandiose thing
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melee
ex a verbal disagreement at the football game soon turned into a general melee involving scores of spectators |
fight
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mellifluous
ex a rich, mellifluous voice that gets her a lot of work in radio and TV commercials |
sweetly or smoothly flowing; melodious
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memento
ex It was a memento of our trip. |
token;reminder
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menagerie
ex a menagerie of rare creatures |
collection of wild animals
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mendacious
ex The newspaper story was mendacious and hurtful. |
lying; habitually dishonest
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mendicant
ex those wretched mendicants on the streets of Calcutta |
beggar
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menial
ex immigrants to that country faced fierce prejudice and could expect to find work only as menials |
suitable for servants; lowly; mean
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mercantile
ex mercantile system |
concerning trade
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mercenary
ex an army of foreign mercenaries |
motivated solely by money or gain
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mercurial
ex the boss's mood is so mercurial that we never know how he's going to react to anything |
capricious; changing; fickle
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meretricious
ex meretricious relationships |
flashy; tawdry
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mesmerize
ex discovered that the children were mesmerized by a television show |
hypnotize
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metaphysical
ex a work that deals with such metaphysical questions as the very nature of knowledge |
pertaining to speculative philosophy
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mete
ex mete out punishment |
measure;distribute
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meteoric
ex a meteoric rise to fame |
swift;momentarily brilliant
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metropolis
ex a big, teeming metropolis where ambitious people from all over come to make their mark |
large city
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mettle
ex The competition will test her mettle. |
courage;spirit
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miasma
ex a miasma of tobacco smoke |
swamp gas;heavy, pervasive corrupting influence
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microcosm
ex The village is a microcosm of the whole country. |
small world;the world in miniature
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migrant
ex Not all birds are migrants. |
changing its habitat; wandering
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migratory
ex most of the apple crop is picked by migratory workers |
wandering
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milieu
ex young, innovative artists thrive in the freewheeling milieu that a big city offers |
environment; means of expression
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militate
ex his boyish appearance militated against his getting an early promotion |
work against
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mimicry
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imitation
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minatory
ex the novel's protagonist is haunted by a minatory black specter |
menacing; threatening
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mincing
ex She minced down the street |
affected danity
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minion
ex one of the boss's minions |
a servile(had always maintained a servile attitude around people with money) dependent
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minutiae
ex he had memorized the many minutiae of the legal code |
petty details
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mirage
ex A peaceful solution proved to be a mirage. |
unreal reflection; optical illusion
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mire
ex The troops marched onward through the muck and the mire. |
entangle; stick in swampy ground
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mirth
ex Her clumsy attempt to cut the cake was the cause of much mirth. |
merriment; laughter
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misadventure
ex His vacation turned into a series of misadventures. |
mischance; ill luck
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misanthrope
ex a former misanthrope who now professes a newly discovered love of mankind |
one who hates mankind
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monumental
ex It's more than a mistake; it's a case of monumental stupidity |
Of outstanding significance
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tomb
ex he put flowers on his mother's tomb" |
A place for the burial of a corpse (
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