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64 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
- 3rd side (hint)
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assuage
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To make something unpleasant less severe
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Serena used aspirin to ASSUAGE her pounding headache.
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attenuate
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To reduce in force or degree; to weaken
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The Bill of Rights ATTENUATED the traditional power of government to change laws at will.
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austere
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Severe or stern in appearance; undecorated
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The lack of decoration makes Zen temples seem AUSTERE to the untrained eye.
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bombastic
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Pompous in speech and manner
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The dictator's speeches were mostly BOMBASTIC; his boasting and outrageous claims had no basis in fact.
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castigate
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To punish or criticize harshly
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Americans are amazed at how harshly the authorities in Singapore CASTIGATE perpetrators of what would be considered minor crimes in the United States.
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caustic
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Biting in wit
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Dorothy Parker gained her reputation for CAUSTIC wit from her cutting, yet clever, insults.
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chicanery
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Deception by means of craft or guile
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Dishonest used car sales people often use CHICANERY to sell their beat-up old cars.
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cogent
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Convincing and well reasoned
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Swayed by the COGENT argument of the defense, the jury had no choice but to acquit the defendant.
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condone
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To overlook, pardon, or disregard
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Some theorists believe that failing to prosecute minor crimes is the sane as CONDONING an air of lawlessness.
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decorum
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Appropriateness of behavior or conduct; propriety
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The countess complained that the vulgar peasants lacked the DECORUM appropriate for a visit to the palace.
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desiccate
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To dry out thoroughly
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After a few weeks of lying on the desert's baking sands, the cow's carcass became completely DESICCATED.
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desultory
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Jumping from one thing to another; disconnected
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Diane had a DESULTORY academic record; she had changed majors 12 times in three years.
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dilatory
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Intended to delay
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The congressman used DILATORY measures to delay the passage of the bill.
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dilettante
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Someone with an amateurish and superficial interest in a topic
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Jerry's friends were such DILETTANTES that they seemed to have new jobs and hobbies every week.
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dirge
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A funeral hymn or mournful speech
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Melville wrote the poem "A DIRGE from James McPherson" for the funeral of a Union general who was killed in 1864.
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disabuse
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To set right; to free from error
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Galileo's observations DISABUSED scholars of the notion that the sun revolved around the earth.
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elegy
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A sorrowful poem or speech
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Although Thomas Gray's "ELEGY Written in a Country Churchyard" is about death and loss, it urges its readers to endure this life and to trust in spirituality.
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enervate
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To reduce in strength
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The guerrillas hoped that a series of surprise attacks would ENERVATE the regular army.
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enumerate
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To count, list, or itemize
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Moses returned from the mountain with tablets on which the commandments were ENUMERATED.
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equivocate
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To use expressions of double meaning in order to mislead
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When faced with criticism of his policies, the politician EQUIVOCATED and left all parties thinking she agreed with them.
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erudite
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Learned, scholarly, bookish
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The annual meeting of philosophy professors was a gathering of the most ERUDITE, well-published individuals in the field.
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esoteric
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Known or understood by only a few
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Only a handful of experts are knowledgeable about the ESOTERIC world of particle physics.
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estimable
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Admirable
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Most people consider it ESTIMABLE that Mother Teresa spent her life helping the poor of India.
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exculpate
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To clear from blame; prove innocent
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The adversarial legal system is intended to convict those who are guilty and EXCULPATE those who are innocent.
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exigent
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Urgent; requiring immediate action
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The patient was losing blood so rapidly that it was EXIGENT to stop the source of the bleeding.
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exonerate
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To clear of blame
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The fugitive was EXONERATED when another criminal confessed to committing the crime.
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fawn
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To grovel
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The understudy FAWNED over the director in hopes of being cast in the part on a permanent basis.
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fervid
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Intensely emotional; feverish
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The fans of Maria Callas were unusually FERVID, doing anything to catch a glimpse of the great opera singer.
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florid
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Excessively decorated or embellished
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To palace had been decorated in an excessively FLORIS style; every surface had been carved and gilded.
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foment
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To arouse or incite
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The protesters tried to FOMENT feeling against the war through their speeches and demonstrations.
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iconoclast
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One who opposes established beliefs, customs, and institutions
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His lack of regard for traditional beliefs soon established him as an ICONOCLAST.
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impetuous
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Quick to act without thinking
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It is not good for an investment broker to be IMPETUOUS, since much thought should be given to all the possible options.
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implacable
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Unable to be calmed down or made peaceful
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His rage at the betrayal was so great the he remained IMPLACABLE for weeks.
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inchoate
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Not fully formed; disorganized
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The ideas expressed in Nietzsche's mature work also appear in an INCHOATE form in his earliest writing.
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ingenuous
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showing innocence or childlike simplicity
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She was so INGENUOUS that her friends feared that her innocence and trustfulness would be exploited when she visited the big city.
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insipid
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Lacking interest or flavor
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The critic claimed that the painting was INSIPID, containing no interesting qualities at all.
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intransigent
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Uncompromising; refusing to be reconciled
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The professor was INTRANSIGENT on the deadline, insisting that everyone turn the assignment in at the same time.
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irascible
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Easily made angry
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Attila the Hun's IRASCIBLE and violent nature made all who dealt with him fear for their lives.
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malinger
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To evade responsibility by pretending to be ill
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A common way to avoid the draft was by MALINGERING -- pretending to be mentally or physically ill so as to avoid being being taken by the Army.
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mitigate
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To soften; to lessen
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A judge may MITIGATE a sentence if she decides that a person committed a crime out of need.
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mollify
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To calm or make less severe
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Their argument was so intense that it was difficult to believe any compromise would MOLLIFY them.
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obdurate
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Hardened in feeling; resistant to persuasion
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The president was completely OBDURATE on the issue, and no amount of persuasion would change his mind.
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obstinate
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Stubborn, unyielding
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The OBSTINATE child could not be made to eat any food that he disliked.
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obviate
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To prevent; to make unnecessary
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The river was shallow enough to wade across at many points, which OBVIATED the need for a bridge.
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occlude
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To stop up; to prevent the passage of
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A shadow is thrown across the earth's surface during a solar eclipse, when the light from the sun is OCCLUDED by the moon.
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onerous
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Troublesome and oppressive; burdensome
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The assignment was so extensive and difficult to manage that it proved ONEROUS to the team in charge of it.
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opprobrium
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Public disgrace
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After the scheme to embezzle the elderly was made public, the treasurer resigned in utter OPPROBRIUM.
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paragon
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Model of excellence or perfection
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She is the PARAGON of what a judge should be: honest, intelligent, hardworking, and just.
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pedant
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Someone who shows off learning
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The graduate instructor's tedious and excessive commentary on the subject soon gained her a reputation as a PEDANT.
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perfidious
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Willing to betray one's trust
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The actress' PERFIDIOUS companion revealed all of her intimate secrets to the gossip columnist.
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perfunctory
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Done in a routine way; indifferent
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The machinelike bank teller processed the transaction and gave the waiting customer a PERFUNCTORY smile.
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precipitate
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To throw violently or bring about abruptly; lacking deliberation
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Upon learning that the couple married after knowing each other only two months, friends and family members expected such a PRECIPITATE marriage to end in divorce.
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prodigal
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Lavish, wasteful
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The PRODIGAL son quickly wasted all of his inheritance on a lavish lifestyle devoted to pleasure.
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propitiate
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To conciliate; to appease
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The management PROPITIATED the irate union by agreeing to raise wages for its members.
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propriety
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Correct behavior; obedience to rules and customs
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The aristocracy maintained a high level of PROPRIETY, adhering to even the most minor social rules.
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quiescent
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Motionless
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Many animals are QUIESCENT over the winter months, minimizing activity in order to conserve energy.
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rarefy
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To make thinner or sparser
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Since the atmosphere RAREFIES as altitudes increase, the air at the top of very tall mountains is too thin to breathe.
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repudiate
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To reject the validity of
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The old woman's claim that she was the Russian royalty was REPUDIATED when DNA tests showed she was of no relation to them.
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soporific
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Causing sleep or lethargy
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The movie proved to be so SOPORIFIC that soon loud snores were heard throughout the theater.
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stolid
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Unemotional; lacking sensitivity
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The prisoner appeared STOLID and unaffected by the judge's harsh sentence.
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torpor
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Extreme mental and physical sluggishness
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After surgery, the patient experienced TORPOR until the anesthesia wore off.
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veracity
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Filled with truth and accuracy
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She had a reputation for VERACITY, so everyone trusted her description of events.
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verbose
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Wordy
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The professor's answer was so VERBOSE that the student forgot what the original question had been.
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verbose
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Wordy
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The professor's answer was so VERBOSE that the student forgot what the original question had been.
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