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76 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Abate
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to lessen in intensity or degree
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Accolade
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an expression of praise
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Adulation
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excessive praise; intense adoration
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Aesthetic
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dealing with, appreciative of, or responsive to art or the beautiful
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Ameliorate
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to make better or more tolerable
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Ascetic
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one who practices rigid self-denial, esp. as an act of religious devotion
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Avarice
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greed, esp. for wealth
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Axiom
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a universally recognized principle
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Burgeon
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to grow rapidly or flourish
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Bucolic
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rustic and pastoral; characteristic of rural areas and their inhabitants
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Cacophony
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harsh, jarring, discordant sound; dissonance
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Canon
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an established set of principles or code of laws, often religious in nature
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Castigation
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severe criticism or punishment
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Catalyst
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a substance that accelerates the rate of a chemical reaction without itself changing; a person or thing that causes change
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Caustic
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burning or stinging; causing corrosion
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Chary
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wary; cautious; sparing
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Cogent
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appealing forcibly to the mind or reason; convincing
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Complaisance
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the willingness to comply with the wishes of others
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Contentious
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argumentative; quarrelsome; causing controversy or disagreement
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Contrite
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regretful; penitent; seeking forgiveness
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Culpable
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deserving blame
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Dearth
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smallness or quantity or number; scarcity; a lack
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Demur
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to question or oppose
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Didactic
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intended to teach or instruct
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Discretion
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cautious reserve in speech; ability to make responsible decisions
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Disinterested
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free of bias or self-interest; impartial
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Dogmatic
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expressing a rigid opinion based on unproved or improvable principles
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Ebullience
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the quality of lively or enthusiastic expression of thoughts and feelings
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Eclectic
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composed of elements drawn from various sources
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Elegy
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a mournful poem, esp. one lamenting the dead
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Emollient
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soothing, esp. to the skin; making less harsh; mollifying; an agent that softens or smooths the skin
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Empirical
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based on observation or experiment
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Enigmatic
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mysterious; obscure; difficult to understand
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Ephemeral
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brief; fleeting
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Esoteric
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intended for or understood by a small, specific group
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Eulogy
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a speech honoring the dead
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Exonerate
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to remove blame
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Facetious
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playful; humorous
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Fallacy
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an invalid or incorrect notion; a mistaken belief
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Furtive
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marked by stealth; covert; surreptitious
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Gregarious
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sociable; outgoing; enjoying the company of other people
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Harangue
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to deliver a pompous speech or tirade; a long, pompous speech
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Heretical
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violating accepted dogma or convention
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Hyperbole
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an exaggerated statement, often used as a figure of speech
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Impecunious
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lacking funds; without money
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Incipient
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beginning to come into being or to become apparent
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Inert
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unmoving; lethargic; sluggish
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Innocuous
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harmless; causing no damage
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Intransigent
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refusing to compromise
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Inveigle
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to obtain by deception or flattery
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Morose
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sad; sullen; melancholy
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Odious
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evoking intense aversion or dislike
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Opaque
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impenetrable by light; not reflecting light
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Oscillation
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the act or state of swinging back and forth with a steady, uninterrupted rhythm
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Penurious
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penny-pinching; excessively thrifty; ungenerous
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Pernicious
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extremely harmful; potentially causing death
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Peruse
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to examine with great care
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Pious
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extremely reverent or devout; showing strong religious devotion
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Precursor
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one that precedes or indicates or announces another
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Preen
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to dress up; to primp; to groom onself with elaborate care
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Prodigious
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abundant in size, force, or extent; extraordinary
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Prolific
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producing large volumes or amounts; productive
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Putrefy
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to rot; to decay and give off a foul odor
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Quaff
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to drink deeply
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Quiescence
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stillness; motionless; quality of being at rest
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Redoubtable
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awe-inspiring; worth of honor
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Sanction
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authoritative permission or approval; a penalty intended to enforce compliance; to give permission or authority to
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Satire
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a literary work that ridicules or criticizes a human vice through humor or derision
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Squalid
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sordid; wretched and dirty as from neglect
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Stoic
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indifferent to or unaffected by pleasure or pain; steadfast
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Supplant
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to take the place of; supersede
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Torpid
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lethargic; sluggish; dormant
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Ubiquitous
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existing everywhere at the same time; constantly encountered; widespread
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Urbane
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sophisticated; refined; elegant
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Vilify
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to defame; to characterize harshly
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Viscous
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thick; sticky
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