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280 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
abate |
to reduce in amount, degree or severity
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abscond
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to leave secretly |
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adulterate
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to make impure
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aggrandize
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to increase in power, influence and reputation
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apathy
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lack of interest or emotion
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austere
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severe or stern in appearance; undecorated
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banal
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predictable; cliched, boring |
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bombastic
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pompous in speech and manner
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capricious
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changing one's mind quickly and often
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castigate
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to punish or criticize harsly |
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chicanery
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deception by means of craft or guile
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cogent
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convincing and well reasoned |
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convoluted
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intricate and complicated
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corroborate
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to provide supporting evidence
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credulous
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too trusting; gullible
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deference
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respect; courtesy
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desiccate
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to dry out thoroughly
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desultory
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jumping from one thing to another; disconected
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diatribe
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an abusive, condemnatory speech |
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diffident
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lacking self-confidence
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dilettante
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someone with an amateurish and superficial interest in a topic
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disabuse
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to set right; to free from error
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dissemble
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to present a false appearance; to disguise one's real intentions or character
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dogma
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a firmly held opinion, often a religious belief
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dogmatic
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dictatorial in one's opinions
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dupe
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to deceive; a person who is easily deceived |
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eclectic
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selecting from or made up from a variety of sources
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efficacy
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effectiveness |
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elegy
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a sorrowful poem or speech
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enervate
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to reduce in strength
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engender
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to produce, cause or bring about
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enigma
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a puzzle; a mystery
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ephemeral
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lasting a short time
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equivocate
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to use expressions of double meaning in order to mislead
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erudite
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learned, scholarly, bookish
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esoteric
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known or understood by only a few
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estimable
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admirable
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eulogy
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speech in praise of someone
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exculpate
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to clear from blame; prove innocent
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exigent
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urgent; requiring immediate action
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fawn
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to grovel
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foment
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to arouse or incite
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guile
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deceit or trickery
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iconoclast
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one who opposes established beliefs, customs and institutions
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impervious
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impossible to penetrate; incapable of being affected
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impetuous
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hasty
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inchoate
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not fully formed; disorganized
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ingenuous
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showing innocence or childlike simplicity
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inimical
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hostile, unfriendly
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insipid
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lacking interest or flavor
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intransigent
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uncompromising; refusing to be reconciled
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irascible
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easily made angry
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laconic
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using few words
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malinger
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to evade responsibility by pretending to be ill
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misanthrope
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a person who dislikes others
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mitigate
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to soften, to lessen
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mollify
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to calm or make less severe
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obdurate
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hardened in feelings; resistant to persuasion
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obsequious
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overly submissive and eager to please
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obviate
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to prevent; to make unnecessary
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occlude
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to stop up; to prevent the passage of
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onerous
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troublesome and oppresive; burdensome
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paragon
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model of excellence or perfection
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perfidious
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willing to betray one's trust
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philanthropy
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charity; a desire or effort to promote goodness
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plethora
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excess
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precipitate
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to throw violently or bring about abruptly; lacking deliberation
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prevaricate
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to lie or deviate from the truth
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prodigal
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lavish, wasteful
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proliferate
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to increase in number quickly
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propitiate
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to conciliate; to appease
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propriety
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correct behavior, obedience to rules and customs
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prudence
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wisdom, caution or restraint
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quiescent
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motionless
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repudiate
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to reject the validity of
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reticent
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silent, reserved
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soporific
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causing sleep or lethargy
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specious
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deceptively attractive; seemingly plausible but fallacious
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stigma
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a mark of shame or discredit
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stolid
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unemotional; lacking sensitivity
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taciturn
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silent, not talkative
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torpor
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extreme mental and physical sluggishness
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veracity
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filled with trust and accuracy
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atrophy
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the wasting away of body tissue
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abdicate
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to renounce or relinquish a throne
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abstruse
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hard to understand; secret, hidden
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acerbic
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sour or astringent in taste, harsh in temper
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acrid
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sharp or biting to the taste or smell
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acrimonious
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caustic, stinging or bitter in nature
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exacerbate
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to increase bitterness or violence
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litigate
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to make the subject of a lawsuit
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altruist
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a person unselfishly concerned for the welfare of others
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amatory
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of or pertaining to lovers or lovemaking
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amity
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friendship; peaceful harmony
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inamorata
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a female lover
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animus
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hostile feeling or attitude
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magnanimous
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generous in forgiving an isult or injury
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philanderer
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one who carries on flirtations
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androgynous
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being both male and female
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androgen
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any substance that promotes masculine characteristics
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antipathy
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aversion, extreme dislike
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apogee
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the highest or most distant point
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apostasy
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a total desertion of one's religion, principles, party, cause, etc.
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bemoan
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to express pity for
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belligerent
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warlike, given to waging war
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benign
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having a kindly disposition
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benevolent
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desiring to do good to others
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bilateral
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pertainging to or affecting two or both sides
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decadent
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decaying; deteriorating
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percipient
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having perception; discerning; discriminating
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capitulate
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to surrender unconditionally or on stipulated terms
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concentric
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having a common center
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anachronism
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an obsolete or archaic form
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circumambulate
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to walk about or around
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circuitous
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roundabout, indirect
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preclude
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to prevent the presense of
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conciliate
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to placate, win over
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accretion
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an increase by natural growth
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recumbent
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lying down; reclining; leaning
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inculpate
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to charge with fault
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incursion
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a hostile entrance into a place
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cursory
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going rapidly over something; hasty; superficial
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deferential
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respectful; to yield judgment to
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dilatory
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inclined to delay or procrastinate
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dichotomy
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division into two parts, kinds, etc.
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deign
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to think fit or in accordance with one's dignity
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disseminate
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to scatter or spread widely
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promulgate
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to make known by open declaration
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doctrinate
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a particular principle advocate, as of a government or religion
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indoctrinate
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to imbue someone with learning
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indolence
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state of being lazy or slothful
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doleful
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sorrowful, mournful
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induce
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to move or lead by influence
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dour
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sullen, gloomy
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dystrophy
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faulty or inadequate nutrition or development
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epigram
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a witty or pointed saying tersely expressed
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epithet
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a word of phrase, use invectively as a term of abuse
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invective
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of, relating to, or characterized by insult or abuse
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obsolescent
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becoming obsolete
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convalescent
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recovering from illness
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eugenics
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improvement of qualities of race by control of inherited characteristics
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euphony
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pleasantness of sound
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affable
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friendly, courteous
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ineffable
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too great for description
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effigy
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sculpture or model of person
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fiduciary
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held or given in trust
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conflagration
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a large destructive fire
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effluence
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flowing out of
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confluence
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merging into one
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forestall
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to prevent by advance action
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refractory
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stubborn, rebellious
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fractious
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irritable, peevish
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fusillade
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continuous discharge of firearms or outburst of criticism
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diffuse
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to spread widely or thinly
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infusion
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liquid extract so obtained
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congenital
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existing or as such from birth
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miscegenation
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interbreeding of races
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heterogeneous
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of other origin; not originating in the body
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heterodox
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different from acknowledged standard; holding unorthodox opinions or doctrines
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hypocritical
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affecting virtues or qualities one does not have
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indigent
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very poor
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interloper
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someone who intrudes in the domain of others
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abject
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utterly hopeless, humiliating or wretched
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adjoin
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to be next to and joined with
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subjugate
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to conquer
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rejoinder
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to reply, retort
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abjure
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to renounce on oath
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adjure
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to beg or command
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predilection
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preference, liking
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elocution
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art of clear and expressive speaking
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grandiloquent
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pompous or inflated in language
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delude
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to mislead the mind of judgment of, deceive
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ablution
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act of cleansing
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magnate
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a powerful or influential person
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maxim
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an expression of general truth or principle
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malign
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to speak harmful untruths about, to slander
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maladroit
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clumsy, tactless
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malfeasance
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misconduct or wrongdoing often committed by a public official
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minatory
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menacing, threatening
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admonish
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to counsel against something; caution
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remonstrate
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to plea in protest, objection or reproof
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permutation
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a complete change; transformation
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nascent
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starting to develop
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autonomy
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independence, self-governance
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neophyte
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a recent convert
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oblique
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having a slanting or sloping direction
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obstreperous
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noisily defiant, unruly
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obtuse
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not sharp, pointed or acute
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obfuscate
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to render indistinct or dim
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panegyric
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formal or elaborate praise at an assembly
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panoply
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a wide-ranging and impressive array or display
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apartheid
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any system or caste that separates people according to race
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empathy
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the identification with the feelings or thoughts of others
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impassive
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showing or feeling no emotion
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sociopath
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a person whose behaviour is antisocial and who lacks a sense of moral responsibility
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pathogenic
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causing disease
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paucity
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smallness of quantity; scarcity; scantiness
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pusillanimous
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lacking courage or resulution
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puerile
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childish, immature
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perfunctory
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performed merely as routine duty
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perspicacious
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having perspective, shrewd, astute
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peripatetic
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walking or traveling about; itinerant
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petulant
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showing sudden irritation, esp. over some annoyance
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philology
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the study of literary texts to establish their authenticity and determine their meaning
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complacent
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self-satisfied, unconcerned
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complaisant
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inclined or disposed to please
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duplicity
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deceitfulness in speech or conduct; double-dealing
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supplicate
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to make humble and earnest entreaty
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expound
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to set forth in detail
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disport
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to divert or amuse oneself
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importune
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to urge or press with excessive persistence
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precocious
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unusually advanced or mature in mental development or talent
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presentiment
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a feeling of anticipation over a future event
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precept
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a commandment given as a rule of action or conduct
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reprehensible
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deserving rebuke or censure
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reprisals
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retaliation against an enemy
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proselytize
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to convert of attempt to recruit
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propound
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to set forth for consideration
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provident
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having or showing foresight
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approbation
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praise, consideration
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opprobrium
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the disgrace incurred by shameful conduct
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reprobate
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a depraved or wicked person
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probity
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honesty, high-mindedness
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pugnacious
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to quarrel or fight readily
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impugn
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to challenge as false
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compunction
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a feeling of uneasiness for doing wrong
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punctilious
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strict or exact in the observance of formalities
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querulous
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full of complaints
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perquisite
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a gratuity, tip
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disquiet
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a lack of calm or peace
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acquiesce
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to comply, give in
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quiescence
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the condition of being at rest, still, inactive
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derision
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the act of mockery
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abrogate
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to abolish by formal means
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arrogate
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to claim unwarrantably or presumptuously
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salient
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prominent or conspicuous
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insolent
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boldly rude or disrespectful
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exult
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to show or feel triumphant joy
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execrable
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adbominable
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unconscionable
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unscrupulous; not restrained by conscious.
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prescient
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having foresight
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proscribe
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to condemn as harmful or odious
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circumscribe
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to draw a line around
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sedition
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incitement of discontent or rebellion aginst a government
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obsequious
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fawning
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insidious
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intended to trap or beguile
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assiduous
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diligent, persistent, hardworking
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insensate
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without feeling or sensitivity
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circumspect
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watchful and discreet
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assuage
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to make less severe
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subterfuge
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an artifice or expedient used to evade a rule
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supercilious
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arrogant, haughty, condescending
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reticent
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disposed to be silent or not to speak freely
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tenacious
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holding fast
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abstention
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refraining voluntarily
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tenable
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capable of being held, maintained or defended
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pertinacious
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persistent, stubborn, obstinate
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tendentious
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predisposed towards a point of view
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distend
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to expand by stretching
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apotheosis
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glorification, glorified ideal
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tractable
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easily managed or controlled
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protract
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to prolong, draw out, extend
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transcendent
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going beyond ordinary limits
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intransigent
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refusing to agree or compromise
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contravene
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to come into conflict with
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adventitious
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accidental
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veracious
|
habitually truthful
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verity
|
truthfulness
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verisimilitude
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the appearance or semblance of truth
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aver
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to affirm, to declare to be true
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vicarious
|
performed, exercised, received or suffered in place of another
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vilify
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to slander, to defame
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revile
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to criticize with harsh language
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avocation
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something one does in addition to a principle occupation |
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vociferous
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crying out noisily
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convoke
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to call together
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malevolent
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characterized by or expressing bad will
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volition
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free choice, free will; act of choosing
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voracious
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having a great appetite
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omnivorous
|
eating or absorbing everything
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