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august
- (adj)
- marked by grandeur and awe
- The coronation of the queen was an august occasion that was full of pomp and circumstance.
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ancillary
- (adj)
- subsidiary; providing assistance
- The senior executive of the firm hired an ancillary worker to do his filing and typing
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semblance
- (noun)
- an outward likeness in form or appearance
- The suspect's alibi was only a partial semblance of the truth.
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autodidact
- (noun)
- a self-taught person
- With accomplishments in law, politics, and literature, Abe Lincoln is perhaps the most famous autodidact in American history.
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asinine
- (adj)
- exhibiting poor judgment or intelligence
- Jonah revealed his asinine tendencies when he rudely insulted the rabbi
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albeit
- (conj.)
- although; even though
- It was rainy and miserable all summer, albeit good for the crops.
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conduit
- (noun)
- a means by which something is transmitted
- The telephone wire must be plugged into the conduit for the computer to connect to the Internet
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philatelist
- (noun)
- one who collects stamps
- As a prominent philatelist, Dr. James has over ten thousand stamps in his collection.
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indefatigable
- (adj)
- tireless; incapable of being fatigued
- Dave was so passionate about his work that he seemed almost indefatigable to the rest of the group
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martyr
- (noun) one who suffers or sacrifices for a cause
- Martin Luther King Jr. became a martyr for the civil rights movement when an assassin killed him.
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indiscretion
- (noun)
- a minor misdeed
- If it is scandalous enough, a single indiscretion can cost a politician his or her career
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osmosis
- (noun)
- a gradual, often unconscious, process of absorption
- Living in a foreign country allowed Jerry to learn its language by osmosis
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picayune
- (adj) of very little value; trivial
- Mike's picayune collection of toy trucks had more sentimental value than the few dollars it would get at auction
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dossier
- (noun)
- a file of detailed information on a person or subject
- The police had a large dossier on the man accused of the theft
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behest
- (noun)
- a command or urgent request
- Tyler grudgingly obeyed his mother's behest to come home early after the school dance.
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insouciant
- (adj)
- not concert; free from care
- Jenna's insouciant attitude made her easy to befriend
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static
- (adj)
- without force or movement; stationary
- The old truck remained static in the front yard because it was out of gasoline
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stipulate
- (verb)
- to specify a required part of an agreement
- The developer stipulated that before construction could begin, the homeowners must first provide a down payment.
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zeitgeist
- (noun) the general spirit of the time
- Some consider the zeitgeist of the 1960's to be one of moral decay, while others see it as a time of reform
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proliferate
- (verb) to grow or reproduce rapidly
- The plant food enabled Bob's irises to proliferate throughout the flower bed.
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tenet
- (noun)
- a belief or principle held to be true
- Belief in the Holy Trinity is one of the main tenets of Christianity
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ruminate
- (verb)
- to think deeply or repeatedly
- The great philosopher could often be found ruminating over the questions of humanity
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vigilant
- (adj)
- alert at all times; watchful
- The family;s watchdog remained vigiland during the day, but fell into a deep sleep at night
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dissident
- (noun)
- someone who disagrees
- The dissidents of the proposed welfare bill staged a protest
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petulant
- (adj)
- rude in speech or behavior; peevish
- Mike's petulant remarks toward his boss earned him a demotion and a cut in pay
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derivative
- (noun)
- not the original; coming from another source
- The modern English word 'engine'' is a derivative of the Latin word ''ingenium''
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accolade
- (noun)
- an award or honor
- The reporter received accolade for her newest article that uncovered a serious money-laundering scandal.
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demur
- (verb)
- to disapprove or to take exception
- Martin demurred when Sandy suggested that they spend Friday evening at the ballet.
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limpid
- (adj)
- transparent; clear
- The warm, limpid waters of the Aegean Sea provide excellent snorkeling opportunities
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invidious
(adj) tending to cause discontent, harm, or resentment; offensively unfiar
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mellifluous
- (adj)
- having a rich,smoothly flowing sound
- The singer's mellifluous voice contributed to the relaxed atmosphere of the lounge
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epicurean
- (adj)
- taking pleasure in food and drink
- The epicurean chef taught his student not only how to cook food, but also how to enjoy it.
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oeuvre
- (noun)
- the complete work of an artist\
Shakespeare's oeuvre is one of the most repeated groups of literary works ever written
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arbiter
- (noun)
- a person with the ability to resolve a disagreement; a judge
- The principle ended the conflict by acting as an arbiter between the two angry students.
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verdant
- (adj)
- fresh and green, referring to plant life
- The verdant landscape reminded the O'Connells of their native Ireland so much that they decided to build a home there.
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vagary
- (noun)
- unpredictable action or behavior
- Kristin;s vagaries prevented her from holding a job as an air traffic controller
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vacuous
- (adj)
- lacking intelligence
- The student's vacuous expression revealed his failure to study for the test
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attrition
- (noun)
- a wearing down over time
- The company faced a severe attrition of its stock price because of the bad publicity.
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archetype
- (noun) a prototype or original model
- The archetype for the first airplane was only a toy model, but it has led modern jets and supersonic planes
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approbation
- (noun)
- formal approval of an act
- The president gave his approbation for the rescue of ten citizens who were being held hostage at a foreign embassy.
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burgeon
- (verb)
- to grow, expand, or bloom
- Increased colonization caused the island city to burgeon
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commensurate
- (adj)
- an equal measure; corresponding in size and measurement
- Thought Margie and Liz attended different universities, they received commensurate educations.
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coup
- (noun)
- a surprising, brilliant, and usually successful act
- The rebels planned a coup to overthrow the current Prime Minister and install a new leader
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secular
- (adj)
- not spiritual or religious; worldly
- Many religions warn of the dangers of the secular world because they believe it is full of sin
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impregnable
- (adj)
- not able to be conquered; impenetrable
- The Greek warriors were unable to conquer the impregnable Trojan fortress
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xenophobia
- (noun)
- an intense dislike or fear of strangers or foreigners
- Tim's xenophobia gave him an unwarranted hatred for immigrants coming to America
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inherent
- (adj)
- essential
- Exhaust and air-pollution are inherent features and drawbacks of the automobile
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irreverent
- (adj)
- disrespectful
- John's irreverent attitude toward his pastor embarrassed and angered his mother
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subjugate
- (verb)
- to dominate, conquer, or bring under control
- Plantation owners subjugated their slaves and forced them to do manual labor
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expedite
- (verb)
- to increase the rate of progress
- More construction workers were brought on to the project to help expedite the construction of the new bridge
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filibuster
- (verb)
- to attempt to block a bill from becoming law by speaking at length against it
- the Senator from Mississippi gave an eight-hour speech to filibuster the new tax bill
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pristine
- (adj)
- pure; completely clean and uncontaminated
- The vast, pristine wilderness of northern Alaska is too cold and remote for most people to inhabit
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pithy
- (adj)
- full meaning; concise
- The pithy statements in greeting cards are often short and sweet
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invective
- (noun)
- an insult or abuse in speech
- Scott's invective, aimed at his teacher, resulted in an immediate trip to the principal's office
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prodigal
- (adj)
- reckless, wasteful, and extravagant
- The prodigal actor was notorious for his lavish, excessive, and unruly lifestyle.
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pliable
- (adj)
- easily bent or flexible
- NASA had to devise a new, more pliable spacesuit for astronauts working on the space station
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torpid
- (adj)
- losing motion, feeling or power; lacking in energy
- The sleeping gas caused the hero's mind to become torpid
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tenuous
- (adj)
- not dense or thick; having little substance
- Even though it was published, the dissertation put forth a very tenuous theory on intelligence
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discordant
- (adj)
- being in disagreement
- The angry and discordant voices echoed throughout the conference room
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circumspect
- (adj)
- careful;heedful;attentive to all points
- Although I tried to be circumspect when packing for camp, I never guessed that I should have packed an extra clock
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zephyr
- (noun)
- a gentle breeze (sometimes specifically the West Wind)
- A sweet-smelling zephyr ruffled the laundry on the line
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renegade
- (noun)
- one who deserts one side in favor of another; traitor; outlaw
- the members of the old party called him a renegade; the members of his new party called him a patriot
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retribution
- (noun) something justly deserved
- , especially a punishment
- The boys had to spend the weekend picking up litter in retribution for having spray-painted graffiti on the bus
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hurtle
- (verb)
- to move or to fling swiftly and with great force
- The big fullback hurtled his way through the defensive line and scored the winning touchdown
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scourage
- (noun)
- a person or thing that causes great trouble or misfortune
- Cancer remains one of the worst scourges of mankind
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caustic
- (adj)
- biting; stingingly sharp or sarcastic
- Because of his caustic comments, his wife finally left him.
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tactiturn
- (adj)
- not fond of talking; usually silent
- We were amazed when the taciturn young man signed up for public speaking
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agnostic
- (noun)
- one who believes that the existence of God can neither be proved nor disproved
- Although he did not officially believe in god, the agnostic sometimes prayed ''just in case''
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terse
- (adj)
- brief and to the point
- Julia didn't give me any details about her break-up, just a terse, ''it's over.''
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uncanny
- (adj)
- weird; strange; so keen or acute as to seem bizarre
- Tess had an uncanny memory for details; she knew exactly what she had worn on any given day for the past eleven years
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exodus
- (noun)
- a mass departure or emigration
- The many defeated tribes made a speedy exodus from the war-torn valley
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penitent
- (adj)
- remorseful; sorry for having done wrong
- Seeing the boy's penitent expression, the judge was easier on him than he might otherwise have been.
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vindicate
- (verb)
- to clear of suspicious or accusations.
- Darren sued for libel in order to vindicate his reputation
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raillery
- (noun)
- good-humored ridicule or teasing
- James much prefers Carson's raillery to the cynical slur of other comedians
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pique
- (verb)
- to cause resentment; to provoke
- The old gentleman was piqued because he was not given a seat at the head table
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linguistics
- (noun)
- the scientific study of the structure sounds, and meaning of language
- /the professor of linguistics explained how English evolved from a number of languages.
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plebeian
- (noun)
- a commoner; one from the lower class
- (adj) common or vulgar
- NOUN: Seniors treated the freshman as though they were plebeians
- ADJ: The baroness refused to do the plebeian chores of cooking and cleaning.
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precocious
- (adj)
- showing early development, especially mental
- Anthony was such a precocious three-year-old that he could already play the violin well.
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predatory
- (adj)
- inclined to prey on others
- The buzzard is scavenger, but the hawk is predatory animal
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prowess
- (noun)
- superior skill or ability
- Ty's physical prowess was matched by his superior mental ability
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pugnacious
- (adj)
- eager and ready to fight; quarrelsome
- Because he was so pugnacious, he had few friends.
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purloin
- (verb)
- to steal
- They had not planned to purloin the jewels, but the temptation was too great.
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pusillanimous
- (adj)
- cowardly; fearful
- The Wizard of Oz granted the pusillanimous lion his wish to have courage.
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quell
- (verb)
- to put an end to; to allay or quiet
- The police were called in to quell the riot
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quixotic
- (adj)
- very idealistic; impractical; caught up in romantic notions
- As a young man, he had the quixotic notion that he could single-handedly end poverty in the country.
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rabble
- (noun)
- a disorderly crowd, a mob
- The guards had to protect the president from the rabble in the streets
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rabid
- (adj)
- raging; fanatical
- After working out, Chrissy had a rabid thirst and drank two gallons of water.
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reconteur
- (noun)
- a person skilled at telling stories
- An exceptional raconteur, Lorna held the whole audience spellbound with her stories.
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vindictive
- (adj)
- seeking revenge; bearing a grudge
- Out of some vindictive urge, Steve slashed his ex-girlfriend's tires.
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