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100 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
androgyny
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adj. showing characteristics of boths sexes
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locus
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n. center of focus of great activity or intense concentration
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joie de vivre
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n. hearty or carefree enjoyment of life
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repine
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v. to feel or express discontent; to long for something
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typology
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n. the study or systematic classification of types that have characteristics or traits in common
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elide
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v. to strike out; to cut short; abridge; to eliminate or leave out of consideration; to omit or slur over
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acrid
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adj. sharp and harsh, or bitter to the taste or smell; pungent; causitc in language or tone
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hullabaloo
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n. a confused noise; uproar; tumult
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excrescence
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n. (1) something growing out from something else (2) a disfiguring or unwanted mark, part, or addition
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valence
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n. degree of attraction or aversion that an individual feels toward a specific object or event
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jollification
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n. merrymaking; festivity; revelry
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importunate
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adj. troublesomely urgent; overly persistent in request or demand; unreasonably solicitous
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camarilla
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n. a group of secret and often scheming advisers, as of a king; a cabal or clique
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deus ex machina
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n. an active agent who appears unexpectedly to solve an apparently insoluble difficulty
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oeuvre
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n. a work of art; the sum of the lifework of an artist
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intone
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v. to recite in a singing tone
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filament
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n. a thread like structure; a thin wire
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attitudinize
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v. to assume an affected attitude; posture
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emit
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v. to give or send out; to voice; to express
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lucubration
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n. writing produced by laborious effort or study; product of laborious cogitation
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sockdolager
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n. (1) a conclusive blow or remark (2) something outstanding
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nabob
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n. a person of wealth and prominence
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hypostasis
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n. the substance, essence, or underlying reality
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ganglion
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n. a center of power, activity, or energy
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palpitate
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v. (1) to beat with excessive rapidity; throb (2) to move with a slight tremulous motion; tremble; shake; quiver
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woebegone
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adj. beset or overwhelmed with woe; immersed in grief or sorrow; being in a sorry condition; dismal-looking; dilapidated; run-down
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afflatus
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n. a divine imparting of knowledge; inspiration
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sortition
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making a chance decision by using lots, straws or pebbles, that are thrown or drawn
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obtund
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v. to make less intense; dull or deaden; reduce the edge or violence of
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sidelight
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n. (1) a light coming from the side (2) a piece of incidental or contrasting information
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caesura
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n. any break, pause or interruption
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evocation
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n. the act of evoking; creation anew through the power of the memory or imagination
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crepitate
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v. to make a crackling or popping sound; crackle
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sallow
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adj. of a sickly yellowish hue or complexion; unhealthy looking
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sibylline
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adj. (1) prophetic; oracular (2) having a secret or hidden meaning
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beau geste
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n. a gracious gesture; a gesture noble in form but meaningless in substance
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meridional
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adj. of or characteristic of suthern areas or people
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will'-o-the-wisp
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(fools fire) ghostly lights sometimes seen at night or twilight that hover over damp ground in still air, looks like a flickering light, and is said to recede if approached
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prognathous
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adj. having jaws that project forward to a marked degree
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eponym
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n. a person whose name is or is thought to be the source of the name of something, such as a city, country or era
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inamorata
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n. a woman with whom one is in love or has an intimate relationship
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meme
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n. a unit of cultural information, such as a cultural practice or idea, that is transmitted verbally or by repeated action from one mind to another
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mokusatsu
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the act of keeping a contemptuous silence
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objurgate
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v. to express strong disapproval; to criticize severely
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immaculate
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adj. impeccably clean; spotless; free from stain or blemish; pure; free from fault or error; having no markings
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pin money
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n. money for incidental expenses; an allowance for private and personal expenditures; a trivial sum
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roister
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v. to engage in boisterous merrymaking; to revel; to carouse; to bluster; to swagger
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abulia
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n. loss or impairment of the ability to act or to make decisions
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longanimity
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n. calmness in the face of suffering and adversity; forbearance
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foppery
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n. foolish quality or action; the manner of a fop
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inveigle
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v. to persuade by ingenuity or flattery; to entice
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chimerical
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adj. given to unrealistic fantasies; fanciful; highly improbable
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amor patriae
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love of country; patriotism
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portent
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n. a sign of a coming event or calamity; an omen; prophetic or menacing significance; something amazing; a marvel
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lambaste
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v. to scold sharply; to give a thrashing to; to beat severely; to attack verbally; to berate
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whetstone
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n. a hard, fine-grained stone used for honing tools
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externality
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n. an unintended side effect, good or bad, usually related to an economic transaction
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twofer
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n. a deal in which a single expense yields a dual return
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winsome
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adj. cheerful; merry; gay; light-hearted; causing joy or pleasure; agreeable; pleasant
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descant
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v. (1) to comment at length; discourse (2) to sing melodiously; a decorative musical accompaniement added above a basic melody
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mince
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v. (1) to pronounce in an affected way, as with studied elegance an refinement (2) to moderate or restrain for the sake of politeness; euphemize (3) to walk with short steps or exaggerated primness
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otiose
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adj. lazy, indolent; of no use; ineffective; futile
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bivouac
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n. a temporary encampment often in an unsheltered area
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epigone
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n. an inferior imitator, especially of some distinguished writer, artist, musician or philosopher
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panmixia
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n. random mating within a breeding population
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pro tanto
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for so much; for as much as one is able; as far as it can go
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incommode
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v. to cause to be inconvenienced; disturb
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desis
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complication; everything leading up to the moment of peripeteia
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lusis
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denouement; everything from the peripeteia onward
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peripeteia
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n. a sudden change of events or reversal of circumstance
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taut
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adj. pulled or drawn tight; not slack; strained; tense; concise use of something
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harlequin
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n. a clown; a buffoon
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lapidary
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n. a person with special knowledge or ability who performs skillfully
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rectitude
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n. moral uprightness; righteousness; the quality of being straight; the quality of being correct in judgment
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puerile
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adj. belonging to childhood; juvenile; immature
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envenom
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v. to make poisonous; noxious; to embitter
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pertinacious
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adj. holding tenaciously to a purpose, belief, opinion or course of action; stubbornly or perversely persistent
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philhellene
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n. one who admires Greece or the Greeks
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thane
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n. a man ranking above an ordinary freeman and below a noble
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bumptious
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adj. crudely or loudly assertive; pushy
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obtrude
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v. to impose on others with undue insistence or without invitation; to thrust out; push forward
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denude
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v. to divest of covering; make bare
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irredenta
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n. a region that is culturally or historically related to one nation but is subject to a foreign government
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gimcrack
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n. a showy but useless or worthless object; a gewgaw; tastelessly showy; cheap; gaudy
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sous-allies
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n. the weak powers
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exiguity
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n. the quality or condition of being scanter or meager
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sultry
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adj. (1) very humid and hot; extremely hot; torrid (2) expressing or arousing desire
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arabesques
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n. an intricate or elaborate pattern or design
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petulant
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adj. unreasonably irritable or ill-tempered; peevish; contemptuous in speech or behavior
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pendency
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n. the state of being undecided or in continuance; suspence; as, the pendency of a suit
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vicar
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n. a priest who acts for or represents another, often high-ranking member of the clergy; stand in for a high-ranking personage
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lenity
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n. the state or quality of being lenient; mildness; gentleness of treatment; leniency
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desist
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v. to cease doing something; forbear
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betrothal
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n. a mutual promise to marry; an engagement
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fuddle
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v. (1) to put into a state of confusion (2) to make drunk; intoxicate
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esurient
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adj. hungry; greedy; ardently or excessively desirous
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lees
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n. sediment settling during fermentation, especially in wine; dregs
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expiate
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v. to make amends or reparation for; atone
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titter
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v. to laugh in a restrained, nervous way; giggle; a nervous giggle
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phantasm
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n. something apparently seen but having no physical reality; an apparition; an illusory mental image
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