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bowdlerize
- DEFINITION: to remove or delete parts of a book, song, or other work that are considered offensive
- SENTENCE: Diane Ravitch argues that American students are compelled to read bland texts that have been bowdlerized by publishers who cut controversial material.
- SYNONYMS: censor, bleep out, cleanse
- ANTONYMS: n/a
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galvanize
- DEFINITION: to electrify; to stir into action as if with an electric shock
- SENTENCE: Rosa Park's simple but powerful act of protest galvanized the Montgomery Bus Boycott, thus giving additional impetus to the Civil Rights Movement.
- SYNONYMS: invigorate, jolt, energize
- ANTONYMS: depress, deter, discourage
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picayune
- DEFINITION: something of small value or importance; petty; trifling
- SENTENCE: New Orleans leaders angrily accused FEMA officials of ignoring urgen problems while they focused on minor details that could best be described as picayune.
- SYNONYMS: frivolous, inconsequential, insignificant
- ANTONYMS: important, valuable, substantial
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gerrymander
- DEFINITION: to divide a geographic area into voting districts so as to give unfair advantage to one party
- SENTENCE: California drew district lines so that two pockets of Republican strength in LA were connected by a thin strip of coastline, so that most Republicans were assigned to one gerrymandered district.
- SYNONYMS: manipulate, redistrict
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maverick
- DEFINITION: an independent individual who does not go along with a group or party, a nonconformist
- SENTENCE: Lt. Peter Mitchel received the nickname "Mav", short for maverick, because he was a nonconformist who did not always follow the rules.
- SYNONYMS: dissenter, radical, nonconformist
- ANTONYMS: conformist, conventionalist, follower
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juggernaut
- DEFINITION: an irresistible force that crushes everything in its path
- SENTENCE: The D-Day assault forces were a juggernaut that crushed the German defenses. SYNONYMS movement, blitz, crusade
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serendipity
- DEFINITION: an accidental but fortunate discovery
- SENTENCE: Fleming's discovery of penicillin was due to a fortunate accident on his part; thus, penicillin is described as a serendipitous discovery.
- SYNONYMS: kismet, blessing, luck
- ANTONYMS: misfortune
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zenith
- DEFINITION: the highest point; the peak; the apex
- SENTENCE: Reagan's speech marked the zenith of his presidency and the beginning of the end of the Cold War.
- SYNONYMS: acme, pinnacle, culmination
- ANTONYMS: nadir, bottom, valley
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nadir
- DEFINITION: the lowest point; the bot
- SENTENCE: The days following Hurricane Katrina marked a tragic nadir for millions of people living in Louisiana, Mississippi, and many Gulf Coast communities.
- SYNONYMS valley, bottom, floor
- ANTONYMS: zenith, peak, apex
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expunge, excise, expurgate
- DEFINITION: to take out; delete; rem
- SENTENCE: Xerxes threatened to expunge all memory of Sparta and Leonidas.
- SYNONYMS: erase, eradicate, abolish
- ANTONYMS: construct, create, build
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eccentric
- DEFINITION: literally out of the center; departing from a recognized conventional, or established norm; an odd, unconventional pen
- SENTENCE: Most of the people in Hill Valley regarded Doc Brown as a strange and eccentric "mad scientist."
- SYNONYMS: bizarre, idiosyncratic, quirky
- ANTONYMS: normal, ordinary, conventional
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extricate
- DEFINITION: to get out of a difficult situation or entanglement
- SENTENCE: Emergency workers have a number of tools specially designed to help extricate injured people from car wrecks and small spaces.
- SYNONYMS: extract, remove, disentangle
- ANTONYMS: entangle, involve, intertwine
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exemplary
- DEFINITION: standing out from the norm; outstanding; worthy of imitation
- SENTENCE: Scientists and writers are honored for their exemplary work by receiving a Nobel Prize.
- SYNONYMS: admirable, laudable, meritorious
- ANTONYMS: unideal, ordinary, average
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enumerate
- DEFINITION: to count out; to list; to tick off the reasons for
- SENTENCE: In a poem she read to her literature class, Kat enumerated ten reasons why she claimed to "hate" Patrick.
- SYNONYMS: tally, total, list
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elusive
- DEFINITION: out of reach and therefore difficult to catch, define, or describe
- SENTENCE: Gossip Girl is an omniscient (all-knowing) yet elusive blogger who narrates the lives of a group of wealthy Upper East Side teens.
- SYNONYMS: secrective, evasive, mysterious
- ANTONYMS: obvious, explicit, exposed
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exorbitant
- DEFINITION: literally out of orbit and therefore unreasonably expensive
- SENTENCE: Regular football fans will have to be $75 for parking, a price many are calling exorbitant.
- SYNONYMS: excessive, inordinate, wasteful reasonable, sensible, moderate
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repudiate, recant, renounce
- DEFINITIONş to take back; to reject; disavow
- SENTENCE: Luther's courageous refusal to renounce his beliefs helped spark the Protestant Revolution.
- SYNONYMS: deny, forsake, spurn
- ANTONYMS: allow, approve, condone
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redundancy
- DEFINITION: the duplication or repetition of elements to provide a backup in case the primary systems fail
- SENTENCE: An example of redundant statements: "Let me implore you study your vocabulary. Study your vocabulary. Now you know, so study your vocabulary."
- SYNONYMS: repetition, verbosity, wordiness
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relinquish
- DEFINITION: to give something back; to surrender or give back a possession, right, or privilege
- SENTENCE: Giselle will become Andalasia's new queen, forcing Narissa to relinquish her crown.
- SYNONYMS: abandon, sacrifice, give up
- ANTONYMS: keep, take, hold
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resilient
- DEFINITION: to leap back; to come back from adversity or misfortune
- SENTENCE: When Amy's SAT scores were not as good as she had hoped, she was resilient and studied harder.
- SYNONYMS: persistent, hardy, strong
- ANTONYMS: weak, frail, powerless
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reaffirm
- DEFINITION: to assert again; to confirm; state positively
- SENTENCE: John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address reaffirmed his commitment to freedom when he pledged that America would support liberty.
- SYNONYMS: declare, assert, proclaim
- ANTONYMS: disavow, deny, retract
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reticent
- DEFINITION: to hold back one's thoughts, feelings, and personal affairs; restrained or reserved
- SENTENCE: Troy and Gabriella were originally reticent about participating in a karaoke contest, but then they found they enjoyed it.
- SYNONYMS: reserved, silent, taciturn
- ANTONYMS: outgoing, talkative, chatty
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rebuff
- DEFINITION: to repel or drive back; to bluntly reject
- SENTENCE: Amy Winehouse rebuffs please from her family and friends to seek help fro her smoking and drug problems.
- SYNONYMS: deny, refuse, spurn
- ANTONYMS: welcome, include, accept
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renovate
- DEFINITION: to make new again; restore by repairing and remodeling
- SENTENCE: Business and community leaders in New Orleans and Biloxi vowed to undertake extensive renovation projects that will restore damaged neighborhoods.
- SYNONYMS: overhaul, refurbish, remodel
- ANTONYMS: demolish, destroy, ruin
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rejuvenate
- DEFINITION: to make young again, to restore youthful vigor and appearance
- SENTENCE: Health spas promise to rejuvenate exhausted muscles.
- SYNONYMS: exhilarate, refresh, revitalize
- ANTONYMS: destroy, kill, ruin
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