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Gambol (v)
to dance or skip around playfully
From her office, Amy enviously watched the playful puppies gambol around Central Park.
Synonyms: caper; frisk; frolic; rollick; romp
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Garner (v)
to gather and store
The director managed to garner financial backing from several different sources for his next project.
Synonyms: amass; acquire; glean; harvest; reap
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Garrulous (adj)
tending to talk a lot
The garrulous parakeet distracted its owner with it's continuous talking.
Synonyms: effusive; loquacious
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Gestation (n)
growth process from conception to birth
The longer the gestation period of an organism, the more developed the baby is at birth.
Synonyms: development; gravidity; pregnancy
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Glib (adj)
fluent in an insincere manner; offhand; casual
The slimy politician continued gaining supporters because he was a glib speaker.
Synonyms: easy; superficial
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Glower (v)
to glare or stare angrily and intensely
The cranky waiter glowered at the indecisive customer.
Synonyms: frown; lower; scowl
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Gradation (n)
process occurring by regular degrees or stages; variation in color
The paint store offers so many different gradations of red that it's impossible the choose among them.
Synonyms: nuance; shade; step; subtlety
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Gregarious (adj)
outgoing; sociable
She was so gregarious when she found herself alone she felt quite sad.
Synonyms: affable; communicative; congenial; sociable
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Grievous (adj)
causing grief or sorrow; serious and distressing
Maude and Bertha sobbed loudly throughout the grievous event.
Synonyms: dire; dolorous; grave; mournful
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Grovel (v)
to humble oneself in a demeaning way
Thor groveled to his ex-girlfriend, hoping she would take him back.
Synonyms: bootlick; cringe; fawn; kowtow; toady
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Guile (n)
deceit; trickery
Since he was not fast enough to catch the roadrunner on foot, the coyote resorted to guile in an effort to trap his enemy.
Synonyms: artifice; chicanery; connivery: duplicity
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Gullible (adj)
easily deceived
The con man pretended to be a bank officer so as to fool the gullible bank customers into giving him their account information.
Synonyms: credulous; exploitable; naive
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Hapless (adj)
unfortunate; having bad luck
I wish someone would give that poor, hapless soul some food and shelter.
Synonyms: ill-fated; ill-starred; jinxed; luckless; unlucky
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Hegemony (n)
the domination of one state or group over its allies
When Germany claimed hegemony over Russia, Stalin was outraged.
Synonyms: authority; power
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Hermetic (adj)
tightly sealed
The hermetic seal of the jar proved impossible to break.
Synonyms: airtight; impervious; watertight
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Heterogeneous (adj)
composed of unlike parts; different; diverse
The United Nations is by nature a heterogeneous body.
Synonyms: assorted; miscellaneous;mixed; motley; varied
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Hoary (adj)
very old; whitish or gray from age
The old man's hoary beard contrasted starkly to the new stubble of his teenage grandson.
Synonyms: ancient; antediluvian; antique; venerable; vintage
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Homogeneous (adj)
of a similar kind
The class was fairly homogeneous since most of the students were journalism majors.
Synonyms: consistent; standardized; uniform; unvarying
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Husband (v)
to manage economically; to use sparingly
The cyclist paced herself at the start of the race, knowing that if she husbanded her resources she'd have the strength to break out of the pack later on.
Synonyms: conserve
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Hyperbole (n)
purposeful exaggeration for effect
When the mayor claimed his town was one of the seven wonders of the world, outsiders classified his statement as a hyperbole.
Synonyms: embellishment; inflation; magnification
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Iconoclast (n)
one who opposes established beliefs, customs, and institutions
His lack of regard for traditional beliefs soon established him as an iconoclast.
Synonyms: maverick; nonconformist; rebel; revolutionary
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Idiosyncrasy (n)
peculiarity of temperament; eccentricity
His numerous idiosyncrasies included a fondness for wearing bright green shoes with mauve socks.
Synonyms: humor; oddity; quirk
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Ignoble (adj)
having low moral standards; not noble in character; mean
The photographer was paid a princely sum for the picture of the self-proclaimed ethicist in the ignoble act of pick-pocketing.
Synonyms: lowly; vulgar
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Imbue (v)
to infuse, dye, wet, or moisten
Marcia struggled to imbue her children with decent values, a difficult task this day and age.
Synonyms: charge; freight; impregnate; permeate; pervade
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Impasse (n)
blocked path; dilemma with no solution
The rock slide produced an impasse, so no one could proceed further on the road.
Synonyms: cul-de-sac; deadlock; stalemate
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Impecunious (adj)
poor; having no money
After the stock market crashed, many former millionaires found themselves impecunious.
Synonyms: destitute; impoverished; indigent; needy; penniless
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Imperturbable (adj)
not capable of being disturbed
The counselor had so much experience dealing with distraught children that she was imperturbable, even when faced with the wildest tantrums.
Synonyms: composed; dispassionate; impassive; serene; stoical
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Impervious (adj)
impossible to penetrate; incapable of being affected
A good raincoat will be impervious to moisture.
Synonyms: impregnable; resistant
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Impetuous (adj)
quick to act without thinking
It is not good for an investment banker to be impetuous since much thought should be given to all possible options.
Synonyms: impulsive; precipitate; rash; reckless; spontaneous
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Impious (adj)
not devout in religion
The nun cut herself off from her impious family after she entered the convent.
Synonyms: immoral; irreverent; profane
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Implacable (adj)
unable to be calmed down or made peaceful
His rage at the betrayal was so great that he remained implacable for weeks.
Synonyms: inexorable; intransigent; irreconcilable; relentless; remorseless; unforgiving; unrelenting
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Imprecation (n)
a curse
Spouting violent imprecations, Hank searched for the person who had vandalized his truck.
Synonyms: damnation
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Impugn (v)
to call into question; to attack verbally
"How dare you impugn my motives?" protested the lawyer, on being accused of ambulance chasing.
Synonyms: challenge; dispute
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Incarnadine (adj)
blood-red in color
At his mother's mention of his baby pictures, the shy boy's cheeks turned incarnadine with embarrassment.
Synonyms: reddened; ruby; ruddy
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Inchoate (adj)
not fully formed; disorganized
The ideas expressed in Nietzsche's mature work also appear in an inchoate form in his earliest writing.
Synonyms: amorphous; incoherent; incomplete; unorganized
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Inculcate (v)
to teach; impress in the mind
Most parents inculcate their children with their beliefs and ideas instead of allowing their children to decelop their own values.
Synonyms: implant; indoctrinate; instill; preach
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Indolent (adj)
habitually lazy or idle
Her indolent ways got her fired from many jobs.
Synonyms: faineant; languid; lethargic; slothful; sluggish
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Inexorable (adj)
inflexible; unyielding
The inexorable force of the twister swept away their house.
Synonyms: adamant; relentless; obdurate
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Ingenuous (adj)
showing innocence or childlike simplicity
She was so ingenuous that her friends feared that her innocence and trustfulness would be exploited when she visited the big city.
Synonyms: artless; guileless; innocent; naive; simple; unaffected
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Ingrate (n)
ungrateful person
When none of her relatives thanked her for the fruitcakes she had sent them, Audrey condemned them all as ingrates.
Synonyms: cad; churl
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Ingratiate (v)
to gain favor with another by deliberate effort; to seek to please somebody so as to gain an advantage
The new intern tried to ingratiate herself with the managers so that they might consider her for a future job.
Synonyms: curry; favor; flatter
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Inimical (adj)
hostile: unfriendly
Even though a cease-fire had been in place for months, the two sides were still inimical to each other.
Synonyms: adverse; antagonistic; dissident; recalcitrant
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Iniquity (n)
sin; evil act
"I promise to close every den of iniquity in this town!" thundered the conservative new mayor.
Synonyms: enormity; immorality; injustice; vice; wickedness
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Innocuous (adj)
harmless
- Some snakes are poisonous, but most species are innocuous and pose no danger to humans.
- Synonyms: benign; harmless; inoffensive; insipid
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Inquest (n)
an investigation; an inquiry
The police chief ordered an inquest to determine what went wrong.
Synonyms: probe; quest; research
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Insipid (adj)
lacking interest or flavor
The critic claimed that the painting was insipid, containing no interest qualities at all.
Synonyms: banal; bland; dull; stale; vapid
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Insurrection (n)
rebellion
After the emperor's troops crushed the insurrection, its leaders fled the country.
Synonyms: mutiny; revolt; revolution; uprising
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Inter (v)
to bury
After giving the masses one last chance to pay their respects, the leader's body was interred.
Synonyms: entomb; inhume; sepulcher; sepulture; tomb
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Interregnum (n)
period between reigns
When JFK was shot, there was a brief interregnum before LBJ became president.
Synonyms: interval
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Intractable (adj)
not easily managed or manipulated
Intractable for hours, the wild horse eventually allowed the rider to mount.
Synonyms: stubborn; unruly
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Intransigent (adj)
uncompromising; refusing to be reconciled
The professor was intransigent on the deadline, insisting that everyone turn the assignment in at the same time.
Synonyms: implacable; inexorable; irreconcilable; obdurate; obstinate; remorseless; rigid; unbending; unrelenting; unyielding
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Intrepid (adj)
fearless; resolutely courageous
Despite freezing winds, the intrepid hiker completed his ascent.
Synonym: brave
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Inundate (v)
to overwhelm; to cover with water
The tidal wave inundated Atlantis, which was lost beneath the water.
Synonyms: deluge; drown; engulf; flood; submerge
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Inure (v)
to harden; accustom; become used to
Eventually, Hassad became inured to the sirens that went off every night and could sleep through them.
Synonyms: condition; familiarize; habituate
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Invective (n)
abusive language
A stream of invectives poured from Mrs. Pratt's mouth as she watched the vandals smash her ceramic frog.
Synonyms: denunciation; revilement; vituperation
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Investiture (n)
ceremony conferring authority
At Napoleon's investiture, he grabbed the crown from the Pope's hands and placed it on his head himself.
Synonyms: inaugural; inauguration; induction; initiation; installation
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Invidious (adj)
envious, obnoxious, or offensive; likely to promote ill-will
It is cruel and invidious for parents to play favorites with their children.
Synonyms: discriminatory; insulting; jaundiced; resentful
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Irascible (adj)
easily made angry
Attila the Hun's irascible and violent nature made all who dealt with him fear for their lives.
Synonyms: cantankerous; irritable; ornery; testy
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Itinerant (adj)
wandering from place to place; unsettled
The itinerant tomcat came back to the Johansson homestead every two months.
Synonyms: nomadic; vagrant
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Jargon (n)
nonsensical talk; specialized language
You need to master technical jargon in order to communicate successfully with engineers.
Synonyms: argot; cant; dialect; idiom; slang
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Jettison (v)
to discard; to get rid of as unnecessary or encumbering
The sinking ship jettisoned its cargo in a desperate attempt to reduce its weight.
Synonyms: dump; eject
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Jingoism (n)
belligerent support of one's country
The professor's jingoism made it difficult for the students to participate in an open political discussion.
Synonyms: chauvinism; nationalism
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Jocular (adj)
playful; humorous
The jocular old man entertained his grandchildren for hours.
Synonyms: amusing; comical
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Judicious (adj)
sensible; showing good judgment
The wise and distinguished judge was well known for having a judicious temperament.
Synonyms: circumspect; prudent; sagacious; sapient
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Juncture (n)
point of time, especially where two things are joined
At this juncture, I think it would be a good idea for us to take a coffee break.
Synonyms: confluence; convergence; crisis; crossroads; moment
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Keen (adj)
having a sharp edge; intellectually sharp; perceptive
With her keen intelligence, she figured out the puzzle in seconds flat.
Synonyms: acute; canny; quick
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Kindle (v)
to set fire or to ignite; excite or inspire
With only damp wood to work with, Tilda had great difficulty trying to kindle the camp fire.
Synonyms: arouse;awaken; light; spark
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Kinetic (adj)
relating to motion; characterized by movement
The kinetic sculpture moved back and forth, startling the museum visitors.
Synonyms: active; dynamic; mobile
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Knell (n)
sound of a funeral bell; omen of death or failure
When the townspeople heard the knell from the church belfry, they knew that their mayor had died.
Synonyms: chime; peal; toll
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Kudos (n)
fame, glory, or honor
The actress happily accepted kudos from the press for her stunning performance in the film.
Synonyms: acclaim; accolade; encomium; homage; praise
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