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proponent
- DEFINITION: one who argues in support of something; an advocate; a champion of a cause
- SENTENCE: Our nation has always produced leaders who were strong proponents of reform.
- SYNONYMS: fan, supporter, advocate
- ANTONYMS: enemy, foe, opponent
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prodigy
- DEFINITION: a person with great talent; a young genius
- SENTENCE: LeBron James is an athletic prodigy who started out as a gifted high school basketball player and quickly became an NBA superstar.
- SYNONYMS: genius, mastermind, whiz
- ANTONYMS: simpleton, idiot, moron
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oracle
- DEFINITION: a person considered to be a source of wise counsel or prophetic opinions
- SENTENCE: Warren Buffet is the world's most successful stock market investor, leading many to consider him an oracle.
- SYNONYMS: prophecy, fortune, vision
- ANTONYMS: n/a
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misanthrope
- DEFINITION: a person who hates or distrusts humankind
- SENTENCE: Ebenezer Scrooge is a cold-hearted, miserly misanthrope who despises poor people and Christmas.
- SYNONYMS: hater, cynic, skeptic
- ANTONYMS: humanitarian, philanthropist, altruist
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innovator
- DEFINITION: a person who introduces something new
- SENTENCE: Michael Jackson was an extraordinarily talented entertainer and musical innovator who became a global superstar, setting the standard for how a song could be presented. SYNONYMS: creator, founder, pioneer
- ANTONYMS: follower, imitator, copycat
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sycophant
- DEFINITION: person who seeks favor by flattering people of influence; a toady; someone who behaves in an obsequious or servile manner
- SENTENCE: Life at the royal palace transformed haughty aristocrats into favor seeking sycophants.
- SYNONYMS: suck up, minion, groupie
- ANTONYMS: n/a
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stoic
- DEFINITION: a person who is seemingly indifferent to or unaffected by joy, grief, pleasure, or pain; someone who is impassive and emotionless
- SENTENCE: The guards at Buckingham Palace are famous for their ability to stoically endure hot summer weather and hordes of pesky tourists.
- SYNONYMS: aloof, detached, imperturbable
- ANTONYMS: emotional, responsive, concerned
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reprobate
- DEFINITION: a morally unprincipled person
- SENTENCE: Bernie Madoff is described as a reprobate because of the enormity of a fraud taht Judge Chin called "extraordinary evil."
- SYNONYMS: corrupter, degenerate, villain
- ANTONYMS: do-gooder
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renegade
- DEFINITION: a disloyal person who betrays his or her cause; a traitor; a deserter
- SENTENCE: Benedict Arnold was vilified as a renegade whose name became synonymous with traitor.
- SYNONYMS: traitor, turncoat, heretic
- ANTONYMS: adherent, loyalist, patriot
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draconian
- DEFINITION: characterized by very strict laws, rules, and punishments
- SENTENCE: The Treaty of Versailles imposed a number of draconian measures against Germany.
- SYNONYMS: brutal, authoritarian, harsh
- ANTONYMS: lenient, gentle, amenable
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laconic
- DEFINITION: very brief; concise; succinct; terse
- SENTENCE: Spartans were renowned for being laconic or very concise.
- SYNONYMS: compact, curt, pithy
- ANTONYMS: verbose, wordy, long-winded
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spartan
- DEFINITION: plain; simple; austere
- SENTENCE: Recruits at the Marine training center at Paris Island must live in spartan barracks and pass a demanding twelve-week training schedule.
- SYNONYMS: austere, frugal, bare
- ANTONYMS: luxurious, opulent, extravagent
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halcyon
- DEFINITION: idyllically calm and peaceful; an untroubled golden time of happiness and tranquility
- SENTENCE: Allie and Noah became instantly smitten with each other and spend many halcyon days together.
- SYNONYMS: serene, balmy, pastoral
- ANTONYMS: violent, anxious, turbulent
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sophistry
- DEFINITION: a plausible but deliberately misleading or fallacious argument designed to deceive someone
- SENTENCE: Otter resorted to sophistry in a clever attempt to save the Deltas, misleading them. SYNONYMS: deception, trickery, subterfuge
- ANTONYMS: honesty, truthfulness, forthrightness
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chimerical
- DEFINITION: given to fantastic schemes; existing only as a product of an unchecked imagination
- SENTENCE: Fad diets, vitamin supplements, and exercise routines all offer claims that have often proved to be chimerical.
- SYNONYMS: imaginary, fanciful, mythical
- ANTONYMS: real, authentic, factual
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ostracize
- DEFINITION: to deliberately exclude from a group
- SENTENCE: Angry French citizens ostracized people who had collaborated with the Nazis. SYNONYMS: banish, blacklist, boycott
- ANTONYMS: embrace, welcome, include
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impecunious
- DEFINITION: poor; penniless; not affluent
- SENTENCE: In the movie "Titanic" Rose fell in love with a handsome but impecunious young artist.
- SYNONYMS: destitute, poor, impoverished
- ANTONYMS: rich, wealthy, affluent
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nefarious
- DEFINITION: extremely wicked; villainous; vile
- SENTENCE: The Joker, Voldemort, and Darth Vader are all nefarious villains.
- SYNONYMS: evil, foul, perverse
- ANTONYMS: honorable, respectable, virtuous
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jovial
- DEFINITION: good-humored; cheerful; jocular
- SENTENCE: Santa Claus is often referred to as "jovial old St. Nicholas."
- SYNONYMS: happy, merry, mirthful
- ANTONYMS: moody, sad, unhappy
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dirge
- DEFINITION: a funeral hymn; a slow mournful musical composition
- SENTENCE: As the Titanic slowly sank, its musicians played the dirge "Nearer, My God, To Thee" to comfort the desperate souls on the ship.
- SYNONYMS: requiem, lament, elegy
- ANTONYMS: ditty, hymn, lullaby
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maudlin
- DEFINITION: tearful; excessively sentimental
- SENTENCE: Moaning Myrtle lives up to her name by crying incessantly and thus being maudlin. SYNONYMS: overemotional, mushy, tear-jerking
- ANTONYMS: calm, matter-of-fact, unemotional
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quixotic
- DEFINITION: foolishly impractical in the pursuit of ideals; impractical idealism
- SENTENCE: Don Quixote is originally motivated by chivalric ideals to undo the wrongs of the world, but returns a disillusioned old man. He is a classic example of a quixotic person. SYNONYMS: chimerical, dreamy, unrealistic
- ANTONYMS: realistic, pragmatic, practical
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pandemonium
- DEFINITION: a wild uproar; tumult
- SENTENCE: When the Trade Towers collapsed on 9/11 the residents of New York City experienced pandemonium.
- SYNONYMS: chaos, ruckus, hullabaloo
- ANTONYMS: tranquility, calm, peace
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martinet
- DEFINITION: a strict disciplinarian; a person who demands absolute adherence to forms and rules
- SENTENCE: Dolores Umbridge was a martinet who tried to impose rigid standards of discipline of the students and faculty at Hogwarts.
- SYNONYMS: authoritarian, drillmaster, tyrant
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fiasco
- DEFINITION: a complete failure; a debacle
- SENTENCE: Many observers believe that the government's initial slow response to Hurricane Katrina transformed the natural disaster into a human-made fiasco. catastrophe, disaster, failure success, accomplishment, triumph
- SYNONYMS: debacle, disaster, failure
- ANTONYMS: success, victory, accomplishments
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