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superfluous, extraneous (adj)
- DEFINITION: Unnecessary; extra
- SENTENCE: Your essay has too many superfluous words; go and delete them.
- SYNONYMS: excess, additional, useless
- ANTONYMS: necessary, needed, indispensable
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duplicitous (adj)
- DEFINITION: Deliberately deceptive in behavior or speech
- SENTENCE: The duplicitous man convinced Brenda that he was a Harvard graduate, a doctor, and a Lutheran.
- SYNONYMS: deceitful, dishonest, insidious
- ANTONYMS: straightforward, frank, honest
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profligate (adj)
- DEFINITION: Wasteful; describing someone who squanders time and money
- SENTENCE: Hollywood stars tend to be more profligate than parsimonious.
- SYNONYMS: extravagant, immoderate, lavish
- ANTONYMS: economical, thrifty, frugal
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epiphany (n)
- DEFINITION: A sudden realization; an insightful moment
- SENTENCE: I just had an epiphany... but then I forgot about it.
- SYNONYMS: discovery, insight, revelation
- ANTONYMS: n/a
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insidious (adj)
- DEFINITION: Causing harm in a subtle or stealthy manner; devious
- SENTENCE: The insidious disease did not show its effects until 9 months after it had lodged itself in her system.
- SYNONYMS: cunning, duplicitous, perfidious
- ANTONYMS: honest, sincere, frank
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vacuous (adj)
- DEFINITION: Empty; lacking serious purpose
- SENTENCE: Cher vowed to give up her vacuous lifestyle for a more serious purpose.
- SYNONYMS: vacant, void, blank
- ANTONYMS: substantial, filled, full
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harbinger, portent, presage (n)
- DEFINITION: Indications or omens that something important (or bad) is about to happen
- SENTENCE: Global warming is a harbinger of coming trouble for humans and animals.
- SYNONYMS: omen, sign, precursor
- ANTONYMS: n/a
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beleaguer (v)
- DEFINITION: To beset; to surround with problems
- SENTENCE: I was beleaguered by a host of problems when I first got to China.
- SYNONYMS: bother, harass, annoy
- ANTONYMS: leave alone
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burgeon (v)
- DEFINITION: To grow rapidly and expand
- SENTENCE: The community support for the team burgeoned as the town and school rallied behind their victorious team.
- SYNONYMS: bloom, blossom, grow
- ANTONYMS: shrink, shrivel, wither
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imperious (adj)
- DEFINITION: Domineering and arrogant; haughty
- SENTENCE: Henry VIII and Louis XIV were both imperious leaders.
- SYNONYMS: arrogant, overbearing, presumptuous
- ANTONYMS: timid, meek, humble
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petulant (adj)
- DEFINITION: Peevish, irritable
- SENTENCE: When adults start throwing temper tantrums, they act petulantly.
- SYNONYMS: touchy, cranky, crabby
- ANTONYMS: good-matured, affable, easy-going
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complaisant (adj)
- DEFINITION: Amiable; agreeable; marked by a pleasing personality
- SENTENCE: Giselle has such a complaisant personality that even the meanest New Yorkers will stop to sing with her.
- SYNONYMS: easy-going, good-natured, friendly
- ANTONYMS: petulant, peevish, irritable
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fawn (v)
- DEFINITION: To behave in a servile manner; subservient
- SENTENCE: If the girls of KAA ever met Ryan Gosling, they'd probably fawn over him. A lot.
- SYNONYMS: flatter, gush, praise
- ANTONYMS: n/a
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obdurate (adj)
- DEFINITION: Very stuborrn; obstinate; inflexible
- SENTENCE: The obdurate king would not listen to any of his advisers and simply went to war.
- SYNONYMS: inflexible, relentless, rigid
- ANTONYMS: compromising, agreeable, conciliatory
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redolent (adj)
- DEFINITION: Exuding fragrance; full of a specified smell
- SENTENCE: The redolent fragrance of a particularly delicious feast floated through the hall.
- SYNONYMS: aromatic, fragrant
- ANTONYMS: n/a
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chicanery (n)
- DEFINITION: Deception; deliberate trickery
- SENTENCE: Cynthia used chicanery to get Max to give her a raise.
- SYNONYMS: artifice, feint, ploy
- ANTONYMS: honesty, forthrightness, truthfulness
- conundrum (n)
- DEFINITION: A difficult problem; a dilemma with no easy solution
- SENTENCE: Allison and Ben faced a difficult conundrum: should she get married or become a single mother?
- SYNONYMS: puzzle, dilemma, enigma
- ANTONYMS: n/a
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slight (n)
- DEFINITION: A disrespectful or disparaging remark
- SENTENCE: She made a slight against my mother, so I had to punch her.
- SYNONYMS: insult, snub, slander
- ANTONYMS: compliment, flattery, praise
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capitulate (v)
- DEFINITION: To surrender; comply without protest
- SENTENCE: She capitulated when she realized that there was no use struggling anymore.
- SYNONYMS: surrender, fold, succumb
- ANTONYMS: fight, win, overpower
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disheartening (adj)
- DEFINITION: Very discouraging; dismaying; dispiriting
- SENTENCE: Her disheartening defeat in the competition ruined her self-esteem.
- SYNONYMS: bleak, dismal, somber
- ANTONYMS: comforting, encouraging
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apocryphal (adj)
- DEFINITION: Of doubtful authenticity
- SENTENCE: The story of Ponce de Leon discovering Florida is apocryphal; there's no evidence!
- SYNONYMS: dubious, spurious, fictitious
- ANTONYMS: authentic, legitimate, credible
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magisterial (adj)
- DEFINITION: Learned and authoritative
- SENTENCE: The Mayor's magisterial tone continued when he announced that the Wicked Witch is "positively dead."
- SYNONYMS: domineering, imperious, masterful
- ANTONYMS: timid, meek, powerless
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plastic, malleable, pliable (adj)
- DEFINITION: Flexible; easily shaped or influenced by outside forces
- SENTENCE: Locke believed that humans are by nature malleable; that is, easily shaped by others.
- SYNONYMS: impressionable, manageable, adaptable
- ANTONYMS: rigid, stiff, unchanging
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chagrin (n)
- DEFINITION: The feeling of distress caused by humiliation, failure, or embarrassment
- SENTENCE: Brian was full of chagrin when he discovered that his cologne was driving everyone away from him.
- SYNONYMS: distress, dismay, displeasure
- ANTONYMS: n/a
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obstreperous (adj)
- DEFINITION: Noisily and stubbornly defiant
- SENTENCE: The obstreperous children were difficult to control.
- SYNONYMS: unruly, boisterous, rambunctious
- ANTONYMS: calm, quiet, silenced
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