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cogent
- adj: appealing forcibly to the mind or reason; convincing
- The judge rejected that argument in a cogent and wholly convincing judgment.
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complaisance
- noun: the willingness to comply with the wishes of others
- adj form: complaisant
- A rebellion of public opinion against such complaisance is possible but not certain.
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contentious
- adj: argumentative; quarrelsome; causing controversy or disagreement
- a contentious issue
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contrite
- adj: regretful; penitent; seeking forgiveness
- noun form: contrition
- a broken and a contrite heart
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culpable
- adj: deserving blame
- noun form: culpability
- sometimes you’re just as culpable when you watch something as when you actually participate
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dearth
- noun: smallness of quantity or number; scarcity; a lack
- there is a dearth of evidence
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demur
- verb: to question or oppose
- normally she would have accepted the challenge, but she demurred
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didactic
- adj: intended to teach or instruct
- a didactic novel that set out to expose social injustice
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discretion
- noun: cautious reserve in speech; ability to make responsible decisions
- adj form: discreet
- she knew she could rely on his discretion
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disinterested
- adj: free of bias or self-interested; impartial
- a banker is under an obligation to give disinterested advice
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dogmatic
- adj: expressing a rigid opinion based on unproved or improvable principles
- noun form: dogma
- he gives his opinion without trying to be dogmatic
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ebullience
- noun: the quality of lively or enthusiastic expression of thoughts and feelings
- adj form: ebullient
- the ebullience of happy children
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eclectic
- adj: composed of elements drawn from various sources
- her musical tastes are eclectic
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elegy
- noun: a mournful poem, esp. one lamenting the dead
- adj form: elegiac
- As a result, modern elegies more often than not break with the decorum of earlier modes of mourning and become melancholic, self-centered, or mocking.
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emollient
- adj/noun: soothing, esp. to the skin; making less harsh; mollifying; an agent that softens or smoothes the skin
- an emollient cream
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nefarious
- adj.wicked, evil:
- "a nefarious plot."
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noisome
- adj.harmful, offensive, destructive:
- "The noisome odor of the dump carried for miles."
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obdurate
- adj.hardened against influence or feeling; intractable.
- An example of obdurate is a judge who sentences a man without feeling.
- He is known for his obdurate determination.
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