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TRENCHANT
having keenness and forcefulness and penetration in thought, expression or intellect
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PLAINTIVE
expressing sorrow; mournfully or melancholy
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POLEMIC
a strong verbal or written attack on someone or something
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SANGUINE
cheerfully confident and optimistic
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RANCOR
bitter, long-lasting resentment
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PLATITUDE
a trite or obvious remark; cliche
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TOUCHSTONE
a standard by which something is judged
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VOLUBLE
characterized by a continual flow of speech
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VIRULENT
extremely severe or harmful; bitterly hostile and antagonistic
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SPURIOUS
lacking authenticity; false
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PHILISTINE
one who is indifferent or ignorant of culture and art
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REDOUBTABLE
arousing fear or awe; formidable and worthy of respect
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UNTENABLE
incapable of being defended
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PUNDIT
a learned person, expert, or authority
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SEQUESTER
to isolate or set apart from others
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INGRATIATE
to bring oneself into the favor of another by flattery or deliberate effort
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VILIFY
to make vicious and defamatory statements about
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TACITURN
habitually reserved and uncommunicative
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SARDONIC
scornfully or cynically mocking
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PETULANT
unreasonably irritable or ill-tempered
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EPHEMERAL
lasting for only a short time
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OFFICIOUS
volunteering one’s service where they are not wanted; meddlesome
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OBDURATE
hardened in wrongdoing; unmoved by pity; stubborn and unyielding
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MELEE
a violent, noisy fight; a confused mass of people
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INSIDIOUS
spreading harmfully in a subtle and treacherous manner
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IMPERIOUS
arrogantly domineering and dictatorial
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FATUOUS
silly and pointless
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PERNICIOUS
highly injurious and destructive
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DENOUEMENT
the final resolution of the intricacies of a plot
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EXCORIATE
to censure or denounce strongly
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GARRULOUS
excessively talkative in a rambling manner, especially about trivial maters
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OBLIQUE
not straightforward; indirectly stated or expressed
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PERFUNCTORY
done routinely and with little interest or care
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ABET
to encourage or support, especially an illegal or immoral act
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ABSTRUSE
obscure and difficult to understand
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ABENEGATE
to renounce, surrender, or deny oneself privileges
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DUPLICITY
cunning trickery and deception; double-dealing
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PARAGON
a model of perfection or excellence
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ENERVATE
to sap the lap from; weaken or deplete
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CAPITULATE
to surrender and give up resistance
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COMPENDIOUS
concise; brief and to the point
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INTRACTABLE
difficult to manage or govern
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FOMENT
to stir up public opinion; to agitate or excite
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AD INFINITUM
on and on; endlessly
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GALVANIZE
to arouse or shock into action
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INSIPID
lacking flavor or excitement; dull and uninteresting
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FIAT
authoritative decree
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AD HOC
formed for a specific situation
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OBTUSE
dull and slow to comprehend, difficult to understand
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RETICENT
hesitant to speak; reluctant or restrained
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AVANT-GARDE
in the forefront; on the cutting edge
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PANACHE
flamboyance, style, or flair
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RAISON D'ETRE
“reason for being”; your purpose for existing
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SYCOPHANT
one who flatters influential people to get what he wants
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STOIC
one who is seemingly untouched by emotional situations
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MAUDLIN
excessively emotional and over sentimental
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GREGARIOUS
fond of the company of others; friendly and sociable
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ETYMOLOGY
the origin of a word; the study of word origins
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EULOGY
written or spoken praise
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RECALCITRANT
resistant to authority
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FAUX PAS
an embarrassing social blunder or breech of etiquette
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HIATUS
an interruption or break; a gap or missing section
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PECCADILLO
a minor fault or small sin
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INVETERATE
firmly established and deeply rooted; habitual
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ABLUTION
washing as a part of religious rite; a cleansing for purification
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ABSCOND
to depart secretly and quickly, especially to avoid criminal charges
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FASTIDIOUS
meticulous attention to detail; neat and finicky to a fault
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CAVALIER
carefree in an arrogant, negative sense
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DEBACLE
sudden disaster, collapse, or failure
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APOCALYPTIC
predicting devastation, doom, or the end of the world
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CACOPHONY
a harsh, discordant mixture of sounds
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HYPERBOLE
obvious and intentional exaggeration or overstatement
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INEXORABLE
impossible to stop, avoid, or persuade
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COMMISERATE
to feel pity with; to sympathize
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CIRCUMVENT
to bypass or avoid especially by clever deception
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ENIGMA
an obscure riddle, puzzle, or mystery
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AVUNCULAR
resembling an uncle in kindness and benevolence
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AMBIANCE
the atmosphere in a particular place
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AMENABLE
willing to follow advice; submissive
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SALIENT
anything that juts out; the point that sticks out; anything pronounced or conspicuous
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DILATORY
to put off or avoid your duty; failure to do what you should have done
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EGREGIOUS
to stand out (negative); shockingly bad
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MYOPIC
unable to see the big picture; nearsighted; narrow focus
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PERUSE
to read or study carefully
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PHILANTHROPY
love of mankind; for the benefits others
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EQUIVOCATE
deliberately mislead with ambiguous speech
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AMBIVALENCE
pulled in two directions; mutually conflicting feeling
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OSTENTATIOUS
pretentious display; showy
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PROCLIVITY
inclination or a tendency towards something
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INANE
pointless or meaningless; foolish
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CULPABLE
morally liable or guilty
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ABERRATION
outside of the norm; an oddity
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INCULCATE
to teach by impressing on the heart with repetition
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INUNDATE
to flood or overwhelm
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PREVARICATE
to lie, deceive, or evade the truth
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UBIQUITOUS
turning up everywhere; omnipresent
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ONUS
a burden of responsibility
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QUINTESSENTIAL
the best and purest example
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EXTRICATE
to free from a difficult situation
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