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349 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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bard |
n. poet |
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baroque |
adj. highly ornate |
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barrage |
n. barrier laid down by artillery fire |
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barren |
adj. desolate; fruitless and unproductive; lacking |
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barricade |
n. hastily put together defensive barrier; obstacle |
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barterer |
n. trader |
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bask |
v. luxuriate; take pleasure in warmth |
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bastion |
n. fortress; defense |
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bate |
v. let down; restrain |
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bauble |
n. trinket; trifle |
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bawdy |
adj. indecent; obscene |
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beam |
n. ray of light; long piece of metal or wood; course of a radio signal |
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beatific |
adj. giving bliss; blissful |
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beatitude |
n. blessedness; state of bliss |
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bedraggle |
v. wet thoroughly; stain with mud |
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beeline
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n. direct, quick route
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befuddle |
v. confuse thoroughly |
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beget |
v. father; produce; give rise to |
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begrudge |
v. resent |
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beguile |
v. mislead or delude; pass time |
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behemoth |
n. huge creature; monstrous animal |
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belabor |
v. explain or go over excessively or to a ridiculous degree; attack verbally |
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belated |
adj. delayed |
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beleaguer |
v. besiege or attack; harassed |
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belie |
v. contradict; give a false impression |
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belittle |
v. disparage or depreciate; put down |
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bellicose |
adj. warlike |
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belligerent |
adj. quarrelsome |
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bemoan |
v. lament; express disapproval of |
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bemused |
adj. confused; lost in thought; preoccupied |
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benediction |
n. blessing |
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benefactor |
n. gift giver; patron |
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beneficial |
adj. helpful; useful |
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beneficiary |
n. person entitled to benefits or proceeds of an insurance policy or will |
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benevolent |
adj. generous; charitable |
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benign |
adj. kindly; favorable; not malignant |
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bent |
adj.&n. determined; natural talent or inclination |
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bequeath |
v. leave to someone by a will; hand down |
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berate |
v. scold strongly |
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bereavement |
n. state of being deprived of something valuable or beloved |
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bereft |
adj. deprived of; lacking; desolate because of a loss |
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berserk |
adv. frenzied |
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beseech |
v. beg; plead with |
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beset |
v. harass or trouble; hem in |
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besiege |
v. surround with armed forces; harass (with requests) |
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besmirch |
v. soil, defile |
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bestial |
adj. beastlike; brutal |
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bestow |
v. give |
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betoken |
v. signify; indicate |
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betray |
v. be unfaithful; reveal (unconsciously or unwillingly) |
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betroth |
v. become engaged to marry |
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bevy |
n. large group |
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biased |
adj. slanted; prejudiced |
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bicameral |
adj. two-chambered, as a legislative body |
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bicker |
v. quarrel |
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biennial |
adj. every wo years |
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bigotry |
n. stubborn intolerance |
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bilious |
adj. suffering from indigestion; irritable |
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bilk |
v. swindle; cheat |
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billowing |
adj. swelling out in waves; surging |
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bizarre |
adj. fantastic; violently contrasting |
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blanch |
v. bleach; whiten |
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bland |
adj. soothing or mild; agreeable |
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blandishment |
n. flattery |
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blare |
n. loud, harsh roar or screech; dazzling blaze of light |
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blase |
adj. bored with pleasure or dissipation |
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blasphemy |
n. irreverence; sacrilege; cursing |
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blatant |
adj. flagrant; conspicuously obvious; loudly offensive |
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bleak |
adj. cold or cheerless; unlikely to be favorable |
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belighted |
adj. suffering from a disease; destroyed |
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blithe |
adj. gay; joyous; carefree |
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bloated |
adj. swollen or puffed as with water or air |
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bludgeon |
n. club; heavy-headed weapon |
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bluff |
adj. rough but good-natured |
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bluff |
n. pretense (of strength); deception; high cliff |
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blunder |
n. error |
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blurt |
v. utter impulsively |
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bluster |
v. blow in heavy gusts; threaten emptily; bully |
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bode |
v. foreshadow; portend |
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bogus |
adj. counterfeit; not authentic |
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bohemian |
adj. unconventional (in an artistic way) |
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boisterous |
adj. violent; rough; noisy |
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bolster |
v. support; reinforce |
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bolt |
n. door bar; fastening pin or screw; length of fabric |
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bolt |
v. dash or dart off; fasten (a door); gobble down |
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bombardment |
n. attack with missiles |
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bombastic |
adj. pompous; using inflated language |
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booming |
adj. deep and resonant; flourishing, thriving |
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boon |
n. blessing; benefit |
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boorish |
adj. rude; insensitive |
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boundless |
adj. unlimited; vast |
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bountiful |
adj. abundant; graciously generous |
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bourgeois |
adj. middle class; selfishly materialistic |
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bovine |
adj. cowlike; placid and dull |
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bowdlerize |
v. expurgate |
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boycott |
v. refrain from buying or using |
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braggart |
n. boaster |
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brandish |
v. wave around; flourish |
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bravado |
n. swagger; assumed air of defiance |
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brawn |
n. muscular strength; sturdiness |
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brazen |
adj. insolent |
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breach |
n. breaking of contract or duty; fissure or gap |
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breadth |
n. width; extent |
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brevity |
n. conciseness |
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bristling |
adj. rising like bristles; showing irritation |
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brittle |
adj. easily broken; difficult |
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broach |
v. introduce; open up |
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brochure |
n. pamphlet |
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browbeat |
v. graze; skim or glance at casually |
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brunt |
n. main impact or shock |
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brusque |
adj. blunt; abrupt |
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buccaneer |
n. pirate |
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bucolic |
adj. rustic; pastroal |
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buffet |
n. table with food set out for people to serve themselves; meal at which people help themselves to food that's been set out. |
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buffet |
v. slap; batter; knock about |
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buffoonery |
n. clowning |
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bulwark |
n. earthwork or other strong defense; person who defends |
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bumptious |
adj. self-assertive |
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bungle |
v. mismanage; blunder |
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buoyant |
adj. able to float; cheerful and optimistic |
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bureaucracy |
n. over-regulated administrative system marked by red tape |
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burgeon |
v. grow forth; send out buds |
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burlesque |
v. give an imitation that ridicules |
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burly |
adj. husky; muscular |
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burnish |
v. make shiny by rubbing; polish
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bustle |
v. move about energetically; teem |
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buttress |
v. support; prop up |
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buxom |
adj. plump; full-bosomed |
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cabal |
n. small group of persons secretly united to promote their own interests |
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cache |
n. hiding place |
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cacophonous |
adj. discordant; inharmonious |
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cadaver |
n. corpse |
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cadence |
n. rhythmic rise and fall (of words or sounds); beat |
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cajole |
v. coax; wheedle |
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calamity |
n. disaster; misery |
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calculated |
adj. deliberately planned; likely |
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caldron |
n. large kettle |
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caliber |
n. ability; quality |
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calligraphy |
n. beautiful writing; excellent penmanship |
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callous |
dj. hardened; unfeeling
a |
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callow |
adj. youthful; immature; inexperienced |
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calorific |
adj. heat-producing |
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calumny |
n. malicious misrepresentation; slander |
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camaraderie |
n. good-fellowship |
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cameo |
n. shell or jewel carved in relief; star's special appearance in a minor role in a film |
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camouflage |
v. disguise; conceal |
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candor |
n. frankness; open honesty |
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canine |
adj. related to dogs; dog-like |
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canny |
adj. shrewd; thritfy |
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cant |
n. insincere expressions of piety; jargon of thieves |
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cantankerous |
adj. ill humored; irritable |
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canter |
n. slow gallop |
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canto |
n. division of a long poem |
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canvass |
v. determine votes, etc. |
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capacious |
adj. spacious |
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capacity |
n. mental or physical ability; role; ability to accomodate |
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capitulate |
v. surrender |
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capricious |
adj. unpredictable; fickle; fanciful |
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caption |
n. title; chapter heading; text under illustration |
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captivate |
v. charm or enthrall |
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cardinal |
adj. cheif |
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careen |
v. lurch; sway from side to side |
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caricature |
n. exaggerated picture or description; distortion |
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carnage |
n. destruction of life |
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carnal |
adj. fleshly |
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carnivorous |
adj. meat-eating |
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carping |
adj. finding fault |
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castigate |
v. criticize severely; punish |
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casuality |
n. serious or fatal accient |
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cataclysm |
n. violent upheaval; deluge |
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catalyst |
n. agent which brings about a chemical change while it remains unaffected and unchanged |
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catapult |
n. slingshot; a hurling machine |
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cataract |
n. great waterfall; eye abnormality |
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catastrophe |
n. calamity; disaster |
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catechism |
n. book for religious instruction; instruction by question and answer |
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categorical |
adj. without exception; unqualified; absolute |
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cater to |
v. supply something desired (whether good or bad) |
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catharsis |
n. purging or cleasning of any passage of the body |
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catholic |
adj. brodly sympathetic; liberal |
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caucus |
n. private meeting of memebers of a party to select officers or determine policy |
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caulk |
v. make watertight by filling in cracks |
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casual |
adj. implying a cuase-and-effect relationship |
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caustic |
adj. burning; sarcastically biting |
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cavalcade |
n. procession; parade |
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cavalier |
adj. offhand or casual; haughty |
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cavil |
v. make frivolous objections |
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cede |
yield (title, territory) to; surrender formally |
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celebrated |
adj. famous; well-known |
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celerity |
n. speed; rapidity |
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celestial |
adj. heavenly; relating to the sky |
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celibate |
adj. unmarried; abstaining from sexual intercourse |
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censor |
n. overseer of morals; person who reads to eliminate inappropriate remarks |
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censorious |
adj. critical |
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censure |
v. blame; criticize |
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centrifugal |
adj. radiating; departing from the center |
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cerebral |
adj. pertaining to the brain or intellect |
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cerebration |
n. tnought |
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cremonious |
adj. marked by formality |
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certitude |
n. certainty |
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cessation |
n. stoppage |
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cession |
n. yielding to another; ceding |
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chafe |
v. warm by rubbing; make sore (by rubbing) |
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chaff |
n. worthless products of an endeavor |
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chaffing |
adj. bantering; joking |
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chagrin |
n. vexation (caused by humiliation or injured pride); disappointment |
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chameleon |
n. lizard that changes color in different situations |
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champion |
v. support militarily |
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chaotic |
adj. in utter disorder |
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charisma |
n. divine gift; great popular charm or appeal of a political leader |
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charlatan |
n. quack; pretender to knowledge |
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chary |
adj. cautious; sparing or restrained about giving |
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chasm |
n. abyss |
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chaste |
adj. pure; virginal; modest |
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chasten |
v. discipline; punish in order to correct |
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chastise |
v. punish |
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chauvinist |
n. blindly devoted patriot |
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check |
v. stop motion; curb or restrain |
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checkered |
adj. marked by changes in fortune |
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cherubic |
adj. angelic; innocent-looking |
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chicanery |
n. trickery; deception |
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chide |
v. scold |
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chimerical |
adj. fantastically improbable; highly unrealistic; imaginative |
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chisel |
n. wedgelike tool for cutting |
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chisel |
v. swindle or cheat; cut with a chiesel |
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chivalrous |
adj. courteous; faithful; brave |
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choleric |
adj. hot-tempered |
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choreography |
n. art of represnting dances in writeen symbols; arrangement of dances |
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chronic |
adj. long established as a disease |
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chronicle |
v. report; record (in chronological order) |
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churlish |
adj. boorish; rude |
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cipher |
n. secret code |
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cipher |
n. nonentity; worthless person or thing |
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circuitous |
adj. roundabout |
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circumlocution |
n. indirect or roundabout expression |
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circumscribe |
v. limit; confine |
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circumspect |
adj. prudent; cautious |
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circumvent |
v. outwit; baffle |
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cite |
v. quote; command |
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civil |
adj. having to do wiht citizens or the state; courteous and polite |
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clairvoyant |
adj. & n. having foresight; fortuneteller |
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clamber |
v. climb by crawling |
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clamor |
n. noise |
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clandestine |
adj. secret |
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clangor |
n. loud, resounding noise |
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clasp |
n. fastening device; firm grip |
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cleave |
v. split or sever; cling to; remain faithful to |
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cleft |
n. split |
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clemency |
n. disposition to be lenient; mildness, as of the weather |
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clench |
v. close tightly; grasp |
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cliche |
n. phrase dulled in meaning by repetition |
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clientele |
n. body of customers |
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climactic |
adj. relating to the highest point |
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clime |
n. region; climate |
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clip |
n. section of filmed material |
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clique |
n. small exclusive group |
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cloister |
n. monastery or convent |
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clout |
n. great influence (especially political or social) |
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cloying |
adj. distasteful (because excessive); excessively sweet or sentimental |
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clump |
n. cluster or close group (of bushes, trees); mass; sound of heavy treading |
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coagulate |
v. thicken; congeal; clot |
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coalesce |
v. combine; fuse |
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coalition |
n. partnership; league; union |
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coddel |
v. to treat gently |
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codify |
v. arrange (laws, rules) as a code; classify |
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coercion |
n. use of force to get someone to obey |
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cogent |
adj. convincing |
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cogitate |
v. think over |
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cognate |
adj. related linguisitcally; allied by blood; similar or akin in nature |
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cognitive |
adj. having to do with knowing or perceving; related to the mental processes |
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cognizance |
n. knowledge |
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cohere |
v. stick together |
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cohesion |
n. tendency to keep together |
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coiffure |
n. hairstyle |
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coin |
v. make coins; invent or fabricate |
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coincidence |
n. two or more things occurring at the same time by chance |
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collaborate |
v. work together |
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collage |
n. work of art put together from fragments |
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collate |
v. examine in order to verify authenticity; arrange in order |
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collateral |
n. security given for loan |
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colloquial |
adj. pertaining to conversational or common speech |
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collusion |
n. conspriingc |
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olossal |
adj. hugea |
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comatose |
adj. in a coma; extremely sleepy |
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combustible |
adj. easily burned |
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comely |
adj. attractive; agreeable |
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comeuppance |
n. rebuke; deserts |
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commandeer |
v. to draft for military purposes; to take for public use |
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commemorate |
v. honor the memory of |
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commensurate |
adj. equal in extent |
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commiserate |
v. feel or express pity or sympathy for |
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commodious |
adj. spacious and comfortable |
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communal |
adj. held in common; of a group of people |
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compact |
n. agreement; contract |
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compact |
adj. tightly packed; firm; brief |
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comparable |
adj. similar |
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compatible |
adj. harmonious; in harmony with |
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compelling |
adj. overpowering; irresistible in effect |
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compensatory |
adj. making up for; repaying |
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compile |
v. assemble; gather; accumulate |
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complacency |
n. self-satisfaction; smugness |
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complaisant |
adj. trying to pleasure; obliging |
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complement |
v. complete; consummate; make perfect |
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complementary |
adj. serving to complete something |
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compliance |
n. readiness to yield; conformity in fulfilling requirements |
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compliant |
adj. yielding |
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complicity |
n. participation; involvement |
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component |
n. element; ingredient |
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composure |
n. mental calmness |
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compound |
v. combine; constitute; pay interest; increase |
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comprehensive |
adj. thorough; inclusive |
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compress |
v. close; squeeze; contract |
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comprise |
v. include; consist of |
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compromise |
v. adjust or settle by making mutual concessions; endanger the interests or reputation of |
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compunction |
n. remorse |
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compute |
v. reckon; calculate |
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concave |
adj. hollow |
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concede |
v. admit; yield |
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conceit |
n. vanity or self-love; whimsical idea; extravagant metaphor |
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concentric |
adj. having a common center |
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conception |
n. beginning; forming of an idea |
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concerted |
adj. mutually agreed on; done toegether |
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concession |
n. an act of yielding |
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conciliatory |
adj. reconciling; soothing |
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concise |
adj. brief and compact |
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conclusive |
adj. decisive; ending all debate |
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concoct |
v. prepare by combining; make up in concert |
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concomitant |
n. that which accompanies |
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concord |
n. harmony; agreement between people or thingsc |
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oncur |
v. agree |
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concurrent |
adj. happening at the same time |
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condemn |
v. censure; sentence; force or limit to a particular state |
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condense |
v. make more compact or dense; shorten or abridge; reduce into a denser form |
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condescend |
v. act conscious of descending to a lower level; patronize |
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condiments |
. seasning; spices
n |
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condole |
v. express sympathetic sorrow |
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condone |
v. overlook; forgive; give tacit approval; excuse |
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conducive |
adj. contributive; tending to |
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confidant |
n. trusted friend |
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onfine
c |
v. shut in; restrict |
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irm
conf |
v. corroborate; verify; support |
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confiscate |
v. seize; commandeer |
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conflagration |
n. great fire |
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confluence |
n. flowing together; crowd |
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conformity |
n. harmony; agreement |
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confound |
v. confuse; puzzle |
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confrontation |
n. act of facing someone or something; encounter, often hostile |
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congeal |
v. freeze; coagulate |
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congenial |
adj. pleasant; friendly |
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congential |
adj. existing at birth |
