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223 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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acquisitive
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able to get and retain ideas or information; concerned with acquiring wealth or property
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arrogate
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to claim or take without right
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banal
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hackneyed, trite, commonplace
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belabour
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to work on excessively, to thrash soundly
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carping
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tending to find fault, especially in a petty, nasty, or hairsplitting way; petty nagging critiscism.
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coherent
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holding or sticking together; making a logical whole; comprehensible, meaningful
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congeal
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to change from liquid to solid, thicken; to make inflexible or rigid
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emulate
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to imitate with the intent of equaling or surpassing the model
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encomium
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a formal expression of praise, a lavish tribute
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eschew
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to avoid, shun, keep away from
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germane
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relevant, appropriate, apropos, fitting
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insatiable
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so great or demanding as to not be satisfied
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intransigent
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refusing to compromise, irreconcilable
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invidious
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offensive, hateful; tending to cause bitterness and resentment
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largesse
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generosity in giving; lavish or bountiful contributions
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reconnaissance
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a survey made for military purposes; any kind of preliminary inspection
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substantiate
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to establish by evidence, prove; to give concrete or substantial form to
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taciturn
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habitually silent or quiet
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temporize
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to stall or act evasively in order to gain time, avoid a confrontation, or postpone a decision; to compromise
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tenable
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capable of being held or defended
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accost
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to approach and speak to first; to confront in a challenge or aggressive way
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animadversion
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a comment indicating strong criticism or dissapproval
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avid
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desirous or something to the point of greed; intensely eager
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brackish
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having a salty taste and unpleasant to drink
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celerity
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swiftness, rapidity of motion or action
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devious
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straying or wandering from a straight or direct course; done or acting in a shifty or underhanded way
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gambit
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in chess, an opening move that involves risk or sacrifice of a minor piece in order to gain a later advantage; any opening move of this type
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halcyon
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a legendary bird identified with the kingfisher; clam; peaceful; happy; golden; prosperous; affluent
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histrionic
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pertaining to actors and their techniques; theatrical, artificial, melodrama
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incendiary
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deliberately setting or causing fires; designed to start fires; tending to stir up strife or rebellion
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maelstrom
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in a whirlpool of great size and violence; a situation resembling a whirlpool in violence and destruction
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myopic
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nearsighted; lacking abroad, realistic view of a situation
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overt
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open, not hidden, expressed or revealed in a way that is easily recognized
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pejorative
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tending to make worse, expressing disapproval or dispargement
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propriety
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the state of being proper; appropriateness; standards of what is proper or socially acceptable
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sacrilege
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improper or disrespectful treatment of something held sacred
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summarily
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without delay or formality; briefly, concisely
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suppliant
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asking humbly and earnestly; one who makes a request humbly and earnestly, a petitioner, suitor
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talisman
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an object that serves as a charm or is believed to confer magical powers
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undulate
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to movie in waves or with a wavelike motion; to have a wavelike appearence or form
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articulate
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to pronounce distinctly; to express well in words; to connect by a joint or joints; expressed clearly or forcefully; able to employ language clearly and forcefully; jointed
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cavort
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to romp or prance around exuberantly; to make merry
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credence
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belief, mental acceptance
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decry
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to condemn; express strong disapproval; to officially depreciate
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dissemble
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to disguise or conceal; deliberately give flase information
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distraught
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very much agitated or upset as a result of emotional or mental conflict
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eulogy
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a formal statement of commendation; high praise
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evince
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to display clearly; to make evident; to provoke
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exhume
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to remove from a grave; to bring to light
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feckless
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lacking in spirit and strength; ineffective, weak; irresponsible, unreliable
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murky
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dark and gloomy; obscure; lacking in clarity and precision
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nefarious
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wicked, depraved, devoid of moral standard
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piquant
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stimulating to taste or to mind; spicy, pungent; appealing; provacative
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primordial
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develpoed or create at the very beginning; going back to the most ancient times or earliest stage; fundemental, basic
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propinquity
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nearness in place or time; kinship
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unwonted
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not usual or expected; not in character
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utopian
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founded upon or invlving a visionary view or an ideal world
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verbiage
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language that is too wordy or inflated in proportion to the sense or content, wordiness; a manner of expression
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verdant
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green in tint or color; immature in experience or judgement
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viscous
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having a gelatinous or gluey quality, lacking in easy movement or fluidity
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atrophy
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the wasting away of a body organ or tissue; any progressive decline or failure
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bastion
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a fortified place, a stronghold
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concord
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a state of agreement, harmony, unanimity; a treaty, pact, convenant
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consummate
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complete or perfect in the highest degree; to bring a state of completion or perfection
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disarray
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disorder, confusion; to throw into disorder
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exigency
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urgency, pressure; urgent demand, pressing need; an emergency
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flotsam
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floating debris; homeless, impoverished people
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frenetic
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frenzied, highly agitated
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glean
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to gather bit by bit, to gather small quantities of grain left in teh field by reapers
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grouse
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a type of game bird; a complaint; to complain, grumble
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incarcerate
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to imprison, confine, jail
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incumbent
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obligatory, required; one who holds a specific office at the time spoken
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jocular
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humorous, jesting, jolly, joking
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ludicrous
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ridiculous, laughable, absurd
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mordant
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biting or caustic in thougt, manner, or style; sharply or bitterly harsh
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nettle
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a prickly or stinging plant; to arouse displeasure, impatience, or anger; to vex or irritate severly
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pecuniary
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consisting or measured in money; of our related to money
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pusillanimous
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contemptibly cowardly or mean-spirited
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recumbent
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in a reclining position, lying down, in the posture of one sleeping or resting
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stratagem
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a scheme to outwit or decieve an opponent or to gain an end
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acuity
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sharpness
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delineate
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to portray, sketch, or describe in accurate or vivid detail; to represent pictorally
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depraved
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marked by evil and corruption; devoid of moral principle
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enervate
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to weaken or lessen the mental, moral, or physical vigor of; enfeeble, hamstring
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esoteric
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intended for or understood by only a select few, private, secret
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fecund
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fruitful in offspring or vegetation; intellectually productive
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fiat
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an arbitrary order or decree; a command or act of will or consciousness
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figment
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a fabrication of the mind; an arbitrary motion
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garner
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to acquire as the result of effort; to gather and store away, as for future use
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hallow
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to set apart as a holy or sacred, sanctify, consecrate; to honor greatly, revere
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idiosyncrasy
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a peculiarty that sevres to distinguish or identify
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ignominy
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shame and disgrace
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mundane
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earthly and worldly, relating to practical and material affairs; concerned with what is ordinary
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abject
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degraded; base, contemptible; cringing; servile; complete and unrelieved
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agnostic
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one who believes that nothing can be known about God; a skeptic; without faith, skeptical
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complicity
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involvement in wrongdoing; the state of being an accomplice
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derelict
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someone or something that is abandoned or neglected; left abandoned, neglectful of duty
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diatribe
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a bitter and prolonged verbal attack
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effigy
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a crude image or a despised person
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equity
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the state or quality of being just, fair or impartial; fair and equal treatment; something that is fair; teh money value or a property above and beyond any mortgage or other claim
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inane
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silly, empty or menaing or value
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indictment
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the act of accusing; a formal accusation
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indubitable
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certain, not to be doubted or denied
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intermittent
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stopping and beginning again, sporadic
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moot
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open to discussion and debate, unresolved; to bring up for discussion; a hypothetical law case argued by students
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idiosyncrasy
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a peculiarty that sevres to distinguish or identify
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ignominy
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shame and disgrace
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idiosyncrasy
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a peculiarty that sevres to distinguish or identify
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mundane
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earthly and worldly, relating to practical and material affairs; concerned with what is ordinary
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ignominy
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shame and disgrace
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mundane
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earthly and worldly, relating to practical and material affairs; concerned with what is ordinary
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abject
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degraded; base, contemptible; cringing; servile; complete and unrelieved
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abject
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degraded; base, contemptible; cringing; servile; complete and unrelieved
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agnostic
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one who believes that nothing can be known about God; a skeptic; without faith, skeptical
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agnostic
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one who believes that nothing can be known about God; a skeptic; without faith, skeptical
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complicity
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involvement in wrongdoing; the state of being an accomplice
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complicity
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involvement in wrongdoing; the state of being an accomplice
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derelict
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someone or something that is abandoned or neglected; left abandoned, neglectful of duty
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derelict
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someone or something that is abandoned or neglected; left abandoned, neglectful of duty
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diatribe
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a bitter and prolonged verbal attack
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diatribe
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a bitter and prolonged verbal attack
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effigy
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a crude image or a despised person
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effigy
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a crude image or a despised person
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equity
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the state or quality of being just, fair or impartial; fair and equal treatment; something that is fair; teh money value or a property above and beyond any mortgage or other claim
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equity
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the state or quality of being just, fair or impartial; fair and equal treatment; something that is fair; teh money value or a property above and beyond any mortgage or other claim
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inane
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silly, empty or menaing or value
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inane
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silly, empty or menaing or value
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indictment
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the act of accusing; a formal accusation
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indictment
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the act of accusing; a formal accusation
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indubitable
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certain, not to be doubted or denied
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indubitable
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certain, not to be doubted or denied
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intermittent
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stopping and beginning again, sporadic
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intermittent
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stopping and beginning again, sporadic
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moot
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open to discussion and debate, unresolved; to bring up for discussion; a hypothetical law case argued by students
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moot
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open to discussion and debate, unresolved; to bring up for discussion; a hypothetical law case argued by students
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motif
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a principal idea, feature, theme or element; a repeated or dominant figure in a design
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neophyte
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a new convert, beginner, novice
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perspicacity
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keenness in observing or understanding
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plenary
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complete in all aspects or essentials; absolute; attended by all qualified members
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surveillance
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a watch kept over a person; careful, close, and disciplined observation
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sylvan
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pertaining to or characterized by forests; living or located in a forest; woodland, woody
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testy
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easily irritated; characterized by impatience and exasperation
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travesty
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a grotesque or grossly inferior imitation; a disguise, especially the clothing of the opposite sex; tp ridicule ina broad or burlesque fashion
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allay
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to calm or pacify; to set to rest; to lessen or relieve
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bestial
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beastlike; beastly, brutal; subhuman in intelligence and sensibility
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convivial
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festive, sociable, having fun together, genial
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coterie
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a circle of acquaintances; a close-knit, often exclusive, group of people with a common interest
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counterpart
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a person or thing closely resembling or corresponding to another
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demur
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to object or take objection to
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effrontery
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shameless boldness; impudence
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embellish
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to decorate, adorn, touch up; to improve by adding details
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ephemeral
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lasting only a short time; short-lived
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felicitous
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appropriate, apt; well-chosen; marked by well-being or good fortune, happy
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furtive
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done slyly or stealthily, sneaky, secret, shifty, or stolen
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garish
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glaring; tastelessly showy or decorated in a vulgar or offensive way
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illusory
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misleading, deceptive; lacking in or not based on reality
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indigent
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needy, impoverished
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inordinate
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far too great, exceeding reasonable limits, excessive
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jettison
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to cast overboard, get rid or as unnecessary or burdensome
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misanthrope
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a person who hates or despises people
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pertinacious
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very persistent; holding firmly to a course of action or a set of beliefs; hard to get rid of, refusing to be put off
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picayune
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of little value or importance, paltry, measly; concerned with trifling matters, small-minded
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raiment
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clothing, garments
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allege
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to assert without proof or confirmation
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arrant
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throughgoing, out-and-out, shameless, blatant
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badinage
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light and playful conversation
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conciliate
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to overcome with distruct or, win over; to appease, pacify; to reconcile, make consistent
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countermand
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to cancel or reverse one order or command with another that is contrary to the first
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echelon
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one of a series of grades in an organization or field of activity; an organized military unit; a step-like formation or arrangement
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exacerbate
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to make more violent, severe, bitted or painful
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fatuous
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stupid or foolish in a self-satisfied way
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irrefutable
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impossible to disprove, beyond argument
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juggernaut
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a massive and inescapable force that crushes whatever is in its path
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lackadaisical
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lacking spirit or interest, halfhearted
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litany
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a prayer consisting of short appeals to God recited by the leader aternating with responses from the congregation; any repetitive chant; a long list
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macabre
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grisly, gruesome; horrible, distressing, having death as a subject
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paucity
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an inadequate quantity, scarcity, dearth
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portend
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to indicate beforehand that something is going to happen; to give advance warning of
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raze
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to tear down, destroy completely; to scrape off or out or cut
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recant
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to withdraw a statement or belief which one has previously been commited renounce, retract
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saturate
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to soak thoroughly, fill to capacity; to satisfy fully
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saturnine
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of a gloomy or surly disposition; cold or sluggish in mood
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slough
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to cast off, discard; to get rid of something objectionable or unnecessary; to plod through as if mud; a mire; a state of depression
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acclamation
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a shout of welcome; an overwhelming verbal vote of approval
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bucolic
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characteristic of the countryside, rural; relating to shepherds and cowherds, pastoral
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calumniate
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to slander; to accusely falsely and maliciously
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chary
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extremely cautious, hesitant or slow; reserved, diffident
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collusion
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secret agreement or cooperation
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dilettante
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a dabbler in the arts; one who engages in an activity in an amateurish, trifling way; superficial
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imperturbable
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not easily excited; emotionally steady
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increment
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an enlargement, increase, addition
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mandate
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an authoritative command, formal order, authorization; to issue such an order
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paltry
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trifling, insignificant; mean, despicable; inferior, trashy
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paroxysm
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a sudden outburst; a spasm, convulsion
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pedantry
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a pretentious display of knowledge; overly rigid attention to rules and details
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peregrination
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the act of traveling; an excursion, especially on foot or to a foreign country
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redolent
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fragrant, smelling strongly; tending to arousememories ro create an aura
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refulgent
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shining, radiant, resplendent
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shibboleth
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a word, expression, or custom that distinguishes a particular group or persons from all others
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tyro
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a beginner, novice; one with little or no background or skill
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unremitting
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not stopping, maintained steadily; never letting up, relentless
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vaciliate
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to swing indecisively from one idea or course of action to another; to waver weakly in mind or will
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vituperative
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harshly abusive, severly scolding
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askance
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with suspicion, distrust, or dissapproval
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attenuate
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to make thin or slender; to weaken or lessen in force, intensity or value
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benign
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gentle, kind; forgiving, understanding; having a favourable or beneficial effect, not malignant
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cavil
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to find fault in apetty way, carp: a trivial objction or critiscism
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charlatan
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one who feigns knowledge or ability; a pretender, imposter, or quack
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decimate
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to kill or destroy a large part of
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foible
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a weak point, failing, minor flaw
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forgo
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to do without, abstain from, give up
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fraught
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full of or loaded with; accompanied by
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inure
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to toughen, harden; to render used to something by long subjection or exposure
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luminous
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emitting or reflecting light, glowing; illuminate
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obsequious
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marked by slavish attentiveness; excessively submissive, often for purely self-interested reasons
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obtuse
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blunt, not coming to a point; slow or dull in understanding; measuring between 90 and 180 degrees, not causing a sharp impression
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oscillate
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to swing back and forth with a steady rythm, to fluctuate or waver
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penitent
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regretful for one's sins or mistakes; one who is sorry for wrongdoing
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peremptory
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having the nature of a command that leaves no opportunity for debate, denial, or refusal; offensively self-assured, dictatorial; determined, resolute
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rebuff
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to snub; to repel, drive away; a curt rejection, a check
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reconnoiter
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to engage in reconnaissance; to make a preliminary inspection
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shambles
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a slaughterhouse; a mass of bloodshed; a state of complete disorder
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sporadic
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occuring at irregular intervals, having no set plan or order
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