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69 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
Abrogate
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repeal
So why is Washington seeking to abrogate the ABM Treaty, to push ahead with its anti-ballistic missile Star Wars programme? |
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Acerbic
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bitter
At times, the playwright allows an acerbic tone to pierce through otherwise arid or flowery prose |
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Acumen
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mental sharpness
Mysteries...which no political sagacity or critical acumen could have divined. |
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Ameliorate
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to improve
Wine ameliorates by age |
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ancillary
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subordinate, assistant
The Convocation of York seems to have been always considered as inferior, and even ancillary, to the greater province |
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apostate
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one who deserts his principles/faith
So spake the apostate angel. |
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apotheosis
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paragon
Their leader was the apotheosis of courage. |
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ascetic
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practicing self-denial, especially for religion
Modern race drivers are, by comparison, an ascetic bunch, largely non-drinkers, definitely non-smokers, who trot off dutifully to bed when they are told. |
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assiduous
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diligent
an assiduous worker who strove for perfection |
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augury
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good omen
From their flight strange auguries she drew |
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auspices
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protection
under the auspices of a king |
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avarice
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greed
To desire money for its own sake, and in order to hoard it up, is avarice |
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avuncular
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kind
Already, during the course of this brief exchange, I am aware of smiling wryly and generally sending out the kind of friendly, apparently avuncular social messages which I know are expected of me. |
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behest
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command
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belie
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to contradict, give a false impression
Their laughter belied their outward grief. |
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bequest
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something left in a will
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blithe
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carefree
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cabal
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a group of conspirators
If you constantly disagreed with Winters, he wrote you out of his cabal, his conspiracy against the poetry establishment. |
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candor
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honesty
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capacitor
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device that stores energy
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captiulate
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to give in
"I am ashamed to think how easily we capitulate to badges and names." --Emerson |
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captious
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quarrelsome
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carp
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to complain about someone
Carping and caviling at faults of manner. |
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castigate
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to chastise
It was not good enough to castigate him for his sins. |
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cavil
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to quibble
Carping and caviling at faults of manner. |
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chicanery
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deceitfulness
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chimerical
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imaginary
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choleric
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Hot-tempered
But the records of his service show that Jacobsz was also choleric, quick-tempered, and sensitive to any slight; that he sometimes drank to excess. |
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cogitate
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to ponder, to think carefully about
Still cogitating and looking for an explanation in the fire. |
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craven
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cowardly
The poor craven bridegroom said never a word |
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curmudgeon
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a greedy, irascible, crotchety old person
A gray-headed curmudgeon of a negro. |
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dearth
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a shortage of something
the dearth of uncensored, firsthand information about the war |
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debacle
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a big disaster
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deleterious
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harmful
the deleterious effects of smoking. |
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demagogue
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a leader of the people, but more a rabble-rouser
Even when he showed his true colors as a demagogue and trickster, Stalin did so in such a crisp and weighty, confidence-inspiring manner that he bewitched not only his conversational partner but himself as well. |
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discomfit
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to frustrate, to confuse
A few of Dr. Baden's anecdotes ramble pointlessly, and his gusto in describing the anatomical characteristics of exhumed bodies may discomfit the squeamish. |
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diurnal
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occuring during the daytime
diurnal animals |
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draconian
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severe, harsh, cruel
a draconian legal code; draconian budget cuts. |
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ebullient
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bubbling with excitement, exuberant
The ebullient enthusiasm of the French. |
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equine
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relating to horses
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equivocal
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ambiguous, intentionally confusing, capable of being interpreted many ways
an equivocal statement |
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ersatz
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serving as a substitute; synthetic, artificial
ersatz coffee made mostly of chicory |
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etymology
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the study of words
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ethereal
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heavenly, light, insubstantial
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euphonious
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pleasant-sounding, melodious
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evince
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to prove
evince distaste by grimacing |
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execrate
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to curse, denounce
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expiate
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to make amends, to atone
expiate one's sins by acts of penance. |
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facile
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fluent, skllful in a superficial way
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fecund
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fertile, productive
For 21 years after the birth of the Prince of Wales, the fecund royal couple produced children at the rate of two every three years -- eight boys and six girls in all. |
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florid
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very fancy, usually refers to intangible objects
florid speech |
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fracas
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a brawl
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gaffe
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a social blunder, a faux pas, an embarrassing mistake
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galvanzie
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to startle into sudden activity
Issues that once galvanized the electorate fade into irrelevance |
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gastronomy
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the art of eating well
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germane
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relevant, applicable, pertinent
The phrase would be more germane to the matter |
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goldbrick
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to swindle, to sell something worthless as if it were valuable
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hackneyed
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trite, overused
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halcyon
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peaceful, serene, carefree
It was a halcyon life, cocktails and bridge at sunset, white jackets and long gowns at dinner, good gin and Gershwin under the stars. |
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Prescribe
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to lay down a rule
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proscribe
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to condemn or forbid as harmful or unlawful
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hermetic
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airtight, impervious to external influence
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homily
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a sermon
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importune
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to beg, urge, or insist persistently
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incensed
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very angry
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inchoate
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incomplete
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indolent
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habitually lazy
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ineffable
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incapable of being expressed or described
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inexorable
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relentless, inevitable, unavoidable
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