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abate
to reduce in amount, degree, or severity
EX: As the hurricane's force ABATED, the winds dropped and the sea became calm.
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abscond
to leave secretly
EX: The patron ABSCONDED from the restaurant without paying his bill by sneaking out the back door.
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abyss
an extremely deep hole
EX: The submarine dove into the ABYSS to chart the previously unseen depths
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advocate
to speak in favor of
EX: the vegetarian ADVOCATED a diet containing no meat
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aesthetic
concerning the appreciation of beauty
EX: Followers of the AESTHETIC movement regarded the pursuit of beauty as the only true purpose of art
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aggrandize
to increase in power, influence, and reputation
EX: The supervisor sought to AGGRANDIZE herself by claiming that the achievements of her staff were actually her own.
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alleviate
to make more bearable
EX: Taking aspirin helps to ALLEVIATE a headache.
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altruistic
unselfishly concerned for or devoted to the welfare of others
EX: As the world has seen, altruistic appeals to organ donation have not yielded enough organs for transplantation.
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amalgamate
to combine; to mix
EX: Giant Industries AMALGAMATED with Mega Products to form Giant-Mega Products Incorported.
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ambiguous
doubtful or uncertain; able to be interpreted several ways
EX: The directions she gave were so AMBIGUOUS that we disagreed on which way to turn.
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ameliorate
to make better; to improve
EX: The doctor was able to AMELIORATE the patient's suffering using painkillers
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anachronism
something out of place in time
EX: The aged hippie used ANACHRONISTIC phrases like groovy and far out that had not been popular for years
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analogous
similar or alike in some way; equivalent to
EX: In the Newtonian contruct for explaining the existence of God, the universe is ANALOGOUS to mechanical timepiece, the creation of a divinely intelligent "clockmaker"
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antagonize
to annoy or provoke to anger
EX: The child discovered that he could ANTAGONIZE the cat by pulling its tail
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antipathy
extreme dislike
The ANTIPATHY between the French and the English regularly erupted into open warfare.
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Arbitrate
to judge a dispute between two opposing parties
EX: Since the couple could not come to an agreement, a judge was forced to ARBITRATE their divorce proceedings
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arachaic
ancient, old-fashioned
EX: Her ARCHAIC Commodore computer could not run the latest software.
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ardor
intense and passionate feeling
EX: Bishop's ARDOR for the landscape was evident when he passionately described the beauty of the scenic Hudson valley
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articulate
able to speak clearly and expressively
EX: She is such an ARTICULATE defender of labor that unions are among her strongest supporters
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attenuate
to reduce in force or degree; to weaken
EX: The Bill of Rights ATTENUATEDthe traditional power of governments to change laws at will
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austere
severe or stern in appearance; undecorated
EX: The lack of decoration makes military barracks seem AUSTERE to the civilian eye
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banal
predictable,cliched,boring
EX: he used BANAL phrases like "have an nice day" or "another day,another dollar."
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bolster
to supporrt; to prop up
EX: The presence of giant footprints BOLSTERED the argumentd that Sasquatch was in teh area.
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bombastic
pompous in speech and manner
EX: The ranting of the radio talk-show host was mostly BOMBASTIC; his boasting and outrageous claims had no basis in fact.
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cacophony
harsh, jarring noise
EX: The junior high orchestra created an almost unbearable CACOPHONY as they tried to tune their instruments
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candid
impartial and honest in speech
EX: The observations of a child can be charming since they are CANDID and unpretentious.
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