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161 Terms

1
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ignominy

shame and humilitation

  • she had to endure the ignominy of being forced to resign.

2
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noisome

offensive, foul-smelling

3
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enigma

mystery

4
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adumbrate

to foreshadow

5
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bemused

confused

6
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apathy (coolness, disinterest, disregard, impassivity, indifference, insensibility, lassitude, lethargy, listlessness, phlegm, stolidity, unconcern, unresponsiveness): noun

a lack of interest, feeling and emotions

  • the apathy of voters is so great that less than half the people who are eligible to vote actually bother to do so. 

7
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loathing

extremely dislike

  • she regarded his hypocrisy with loathing.

8
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whim and fancy

a passing thought

9
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cupidity (avarice, covetousness; rapacity): noun

greed; strong desire

- the thief stared at the shining jewels with cupidity in his gleaming eyes.

10
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dictum (adage, aphorism, apothegm, decree; edict): noun

an authoritative statement

- "you have time to lean, you have time to clean," was the dictum our boss made us live by.

11
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diffident (backward, bashful; coy; demure; modest; retiring; self-effacing; shy; timid): adj.

lacking self-confidence

- steve was diffident during the job interview because of his nervous nature and lack of experience in the field.

12
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dilatory (dragging, flagging, laggard, lagging; slow, slow-footed; slow-going; slow-paced; tardy): adj

intended to delay

- the congresswoman used dilatory measures to delay the passage of the bill.

13
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dilettante (amateur; dabbler; superficial, tyro); noun

someone with an amateurish and superficial interest in a topic

- jerry's friends were such dilettantes, they seemed to have new jobs and hobbies every week.

14
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craven (fainthearted; spineless; timid): adj.

lacking courage

- the craven lion cringed in the corner of his cage, terrified of the mouse.

15
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acrimony

"bitterness"

  • the dispute continued with increased acrimony

16
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penury

extreme poverty

17
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descry

to detect by looking carefully

18
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zeal (ardency: fervor; fire; passion): noun

passion; excitement

  • she brought her typical zeal to the project, sparking enthusiasm in the other team members.

19
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antagonism toward

dislike or conflict

20
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sojourning

staying temporarily

21
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persevering

being persistent or overcoming obstacles

22
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confiscatory

seizing property

23
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dogmatic

someone that is very opinionated

24
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hypothesis

guess

25
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spurious and fallacious

falseness

26
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terse and succint

not using many words

27
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bellicose

looking for a fight

28
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blithe

cheerful or without worries

29
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spurn and renounce

to put aside or reject

30
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extol and eulogize

to praise highly

31
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crescendo (acme; capstone; climax; crest; culmination; meridian; peak): noun

a steady increase in volume or force

- the detective novel's intricate plotting has masterfully created a crescendo of suspense in the pages leading to the revelation of the perpetrator's identity.

32
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debutante (lady, maiden): noun

a young woman making debut in high society

- the debutante spent hours dressing for her very first ball, hoping to catch the eye of an eligible bachelor.

33
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declivity (decline, descent, drop; grade; pitch; slant; slope; tilt): noun

a downward slope

- because the village was situated on the declivity of a hill, it never flooded.

34
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diaphanous (gauzy; sheer; tenuous; translucent; transparent): adj.

allowing light to show through; delicate

- these diaphanous curtains do nothing to block out the sunlight.

35
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diatribe (fulmination, harangue, invective, jeremiad, malediction; obloquy, tirade): noun

an abusive, condemnatory speech

- the trucker bellowed a diatribe at the driver who had cut him off.

36
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divine (auger, foresee, intuit; predict; presage): verb

to foretell or know by inspiration

- the fortune-teller divined from the pattern of the tea leaves that her customer would marry five times.

37
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gregarious

sociable

38
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appraise

determine the value of something

39
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ascertain

to make certain of

40
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assay


to evaluate, analyze

41
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peruse

reading thoroughly

42
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dogma and tenet

idea held to be true

43
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curmudgeon (coot; crab; grouch): noun

a cranky person, usually an old one

- ernesto was a notorious curmudgeon who snapped at anyone who disturbed him for any reason.

44
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dilate (amplify, develop, elaborate, enlarge, expand; expatiate): verb

to make larger; to expand

- when you enter a darkened room, the pupils of your eyes dilate so as to let in more light.

45
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disabuse (correct, undeceive): verb

to set right; to free from error

- galileo's observations disabused scholars of the notion that the sun revolved around the earth.

46
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capitulate

"neither side would back down"

47
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impasse

"reached a point of no negotiating"

48
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annex

add

49
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paltry: adj.

"inferior"

  • built paltry houses unfit for occupancy

50
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truculent

"aggressive; savage; cruel; hostile" or quick to argue

51
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dupe (beguile, betray, bluff; deceive; delude; fool; hoodwink; humbug; mislead; take in; trick): verb

to deceive

- the scammer attempted to dupe people into believing his emails were from official sources, but the numerous spelling errors made the deception obvious.

52
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dyspeptic (acerbic, melancholy, morose, solemn, sour): adj.

suffering from indigestion; gloomy and irritable

- the dyspeptic young man cast a gloom over the party the minute he walked in.

53
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edify (educate, enlighten, guide, teach): verb

to instruct morally and spiritually

- the guru was paid to edify the actress in the ways of buddhism

54
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efficacy (dynamism; effectiveness; efficiency; force; power; productiveness; proficiency; strength; vigor): noun

effectiveness

- the efficacy of penicillin was unsurpassed when it was first introduced; the drug completely eliminated almost all bacterial infections.

55
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effigy (dumy, figure, image): noun

a stuffed doll; a likeness of a person

- protestors burned effigies of the unpopular leader.

56
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effrontery (brashness, gall, nerve, presumption, temerity): noun

impudent boldness; audacity

- the receptionist had the effrontery to laugh out loud when the ceo tripped over a computer wire and fell flat on his face.

57
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discern (catch, descry, detect, differentiate, discriminate, distinguish, espy, glimpse, know, separate, spot, spy, tell): verb

to perceive or recognize

- it is easy to discern the difference between butter and butter-flavored topping

58
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dirge (elegy; lament): noun

a funeral hymn or mournful speech

- melville wrote a dirge for the funeral of james mcpherson, a union general who was killed in 1864.

59
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elegy (dirge, lament): noun

a sorrowful poem or speech

- though the beautiful elegy is about death and loss, it urges it readers to endure this life, and to trust in spirituality.

60
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eloquent (articulate, expressive, fluent, meaningful, significant, smooth-spoken): adj.

persuasive and moving, especially in speech

- the gettysburg address is moving not only because of its lofty sentiments but because of its eloquent words

61
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winsome (attractive; delightful): adj.

charming; happily engaging

  • lenore gave the doorman a winsome smile, and he let her pass to the front of the line.

62
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wizened (atrophied, desiccated, gnarled; wasted): adj.

shriveled; withered; wrinkled

  • the wizened old man was told that the plastic surgery necessary to make him look young again would cost more than he could imagine.

63
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wraith (apparition, bogeyman, phantasm, shade, spirit): noun

a ghost or specter; a ghost of a living person seen just before his or her death

  • gideon thought he saw a wraith late one night as he sat vigil outside his dying uncle’s bedroom door.

64
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xenophobia (bigotry, chauvinism, prejudice): noun

a fear or hatred of foreigners or strangers.

  • countries in which xenophobia is prevalent often have more restrictive immigration policies than countries that are more open to foreign influences.

65
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yoke (bind, harness, pair): verb

to join together

  • as soon as the farmer had yoked his oxen together, he began to plow the fields.

66
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zeal (ardency; fervor; fire; passion): noun

passion; excitement

  • she brought her typical zeal to the project, sparking enthusiasm in the other team members.

67
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wily (crafty; cunning; tricky): adj.

clever; deceptive

  • yet again, the wily fox managed to elude the ranchers who wanted to capture it.

68
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whimsical (erratic, flippant, frivolous): adj.

lightly acting in a fanciful or capricious manner; unpredictable; playful

  • the ballet was whimsical, delighting the children with its imaginative characters and unpredictable sets. 

69
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waver (dither; falter; fluctuate; oscillate; vacillate): verb

to fluctuate between choices 

  • if you waver too long before making a decision about which testing site to register for, you may not get your first choice. 

70
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wanton (capricious; lewd; licentious): adj.

undisciplined; unrestrained; reckless

  • the townspeople were outraged by the wanton display of disrespect when they discovered the statue of the town founder covered in graffiti.  

71
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mercurial (clever, crafty, volatile, whimsical): adj

quick, shrewd, and unpredictable

  • her mercurial personality made it difficult to guess how she would react to the bad news.

72
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meretricious (flashy, insincere, loud, specious, tawdry): adj.

gaudy; falsely attractive

  • the casino’s meretricious decor horrified the cultivated interior designer.

73
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zenith (acme, pinnacle): noun

the point of culmination; peak

  • the diva considered her appearance at the metropiltan opera to be the zenith of her career.

74
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zephyr (breath; draft): noun

a gentle breeze: something airy or unsubstantial

  • the zephyr from the ocean made the intense heat on the beach bearable from the sunbathers.

75
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zealot (enthusiast, fanatic, militant, radical): noun

someone passionately devoted to a cause

  • the religious zealot had no time for those who failed to share his strong beliefs.

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acme (apex; peak; summit): noun

the highest point; the summit; the highest level or degree attainable

  • just when he reached the acme of his power, the dictator was overthrown

77
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acidulous (acerbic, acetous, biting, piquant; pungent, tart): adj.

sour in taste or manner

  • the acidulous taste of the spoiled milk made the young boy’s lips pucker.

78
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accretion (accumulation; buildup): noun

a gradual growth in size; an increase in amount

  • the committee’s strong fund-raising efforts resulted in an accretion in scholarship money.

79
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abyss (chasm, void) : noun

an extremely deep hole

  • the submarine dove into the abyss to chart the previously unseen depths.

80
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abstemious (abstinent, continent; self-restraining; sober; temperate): adj.

moderate in appetite; practicing moderation or abstinence

  • because alyce is a vegetarian, she was able to eat only an abstemious meal at the texas steakhouse.

81
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abstain (forbear, refrain, withhold): verb

to choose not to do something

  • before the medical procedure, you must abstain from eating.

82
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abscond (decamp, escape, flee): verb

to leave secretly

  • the patron absconded from the restaurant without paying his bill by sneaking out the back door.

83
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droll (comic, entertaining, funny, risible, witty): adj.

amusing in a wry, subtle way

  • although the play couldn’t be described as the funniest theatrical performance the city had ever seen, it was certainly droll.

84
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ebullient (ardent, avid, bubbly, zestful): adj

exhilarated; full of enthusiasm and high spirits

  • the ebullient child exhausted the babysitter, who lacked the energy to keep up with her,

85
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abase (demean, humiliate): verb

to humble; to disgrace

  • my intention was not to abase the comedian.

86
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abate (ebb, lapse, let up; moderate; relent; slacken; subside; wane): verb

to reduce in amount, degree, or severity

  • as the hurricane’s force abated, the winds dropped and the sea became calm.

87
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abdicate (cede, quit, relinquish, resign; yield): verb

to give up a position, right, or power

  • with the angry mob clamoring outside the palace, the king abdicated his throne and fled.

88
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aberrant (abnormal, anomalous, deviant, divergent, errant, irregular): adj.

deviating from what is normal or expected

  • since he had been a steady, cheerful worker for many years, his fellow postal workers did not expect his aberrant burst of rage.

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abeyance (deferral, delay, dormancy; postponement; remission): noun

temporary suppression or suspension

  • the baseball game was held in abeyance while it continued to rain.

90
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abjure (forswear; recall; recant; retract; take back):verb

to reject; to abandon formally

  • the spy abjured his allegiance to the united states when he defected to russia.

91
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variegated (diversified): adj.

varied; marked with different colors

  • the variegated foliage of the jungle allows it to support thousands of different animal species.

92
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venerable (distinguished; elderly; esteemed; respectable): adj.

worthy of respect or reverence due to age, wisdom, dignity, or position

  • all of the villagers sought the venerable old woman’s advice whenever they had a problem.

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venerate (adore, honor, idolize, revere): verb

to respect deeply

  • in a traditional confucian society, the young venerate their elders, deferring to the elders’ wisdom and experience.

94
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veracity (candor, exactitude, fidelity, probity): noun

filled with truth and accuracy

  • she had a reputation for veracity, so everyone trusted her description of events. 

95
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verbose (long-winded; loquacious; prolix; superfluous): adj.

wordy

  • the professor’s answer was so verbose that his student forgot what the original question had been.

96
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verdant (grassy; leafy; naive; wooded; unsophisticated): adj.

green with vegetation; inexperienced

  • he wandered deep into the verdant woods in search of mushrooms and other edible flora.

97
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vernal (springlike, youthful): adj.

related to spring; fresh

  • bea basked in the balmy vernal breezes, happy that winter was coming to an end

98
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vestige (relic, remains; sign): noun

a trace; a remnant

  • vestiges of the former tenant still remained in the apartment, though

  • he hadn’t live there for years.

99
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vex (annoy, bother, chafe, exasperate, irk, nettle, peeve, provoke): verb

to annoy, irritate, puzzle, or confuse

  • the old man who loved his peace and quiet was vexed by his neighbor’s loud music.

100
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vicissitude (inconstancy, mutability): noun

a change or variation

  • investors must be prepared for vicissitudes of the stock market.