The flashcards below were created by user
rsearcy
on FreezingBlue Flashcards.
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Abhor
Nature abhors a vacuum.
hate
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Bigot
Don't let a few small-minded bigots ruin the good image of the city.
narrow-minded, prejudiced person
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Counterfeit
My careless signature is difficult to counterfeit.
fake; false
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Enfranchise
The civil rights laws were enacted to end discrimination and enfranchise equal rights to all citizens.
give voting rights
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Hamper
Road repairs were hampering the traffic on the interstate.
hinder; obstruct
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Kindle
The cub scouts learned to kindle a fire with a flint and steel.
to start a fire
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Noxious
The engineering cadets were overcome by the noxious coolant fumes during the attack.
harmful; poisonous; lethal
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Placid
He watched the placid surface of the sea.
calm; peaceful
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Remuneration
He was given generous remuneration for his work.
payment for work done
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Talisman
He wore a glowing talisman on a leather chain around his neck.
lucky charm
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Abrasive
Her abrasive personality drove people away.
rough; coarse; harsh
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Bilk
Vendors often bilk gullible tourists by selling imitation merchandise.
cheat; defraud
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Covert
The covert affairs of the Obsidian Order slowly came to light with the investigation.
hidden; undercover
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Engender
It was engendered simply by the evolutionary process.
cause
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Hangar
The Talon fighter taxied from the hangar to the runway.
storage area (like garage) for a plane
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Knotty
Their obscure and knotty language was shunned by the colonists.
complex; difficult to solve
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Nuance
Vulcan facial expressions can have many nuances, with even a slightly raised eyebrow speaking volumes.
something subtle; a fine shade of meaning
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Plagiarism
The student was expelled for the plagiarism of his rival's research.
taking credit for someone else's writing or ideas
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Renown
This great navigator had already won renown in the service of Starfleet.
fame
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Tangent
It surprised everyone when our organic chemistry professor went off on a tangent about physics.
going off the main subject
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Abasement
She began to apologize with copious tears and self-abasement for her wrong-doing.
humiliation; degradation
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Billowing
As the tempest moved into our area, the billowing clouds turned dark.
swelling; fluttering; waving
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Cower
Luke refused to cower in the presence of the feared Darth Vader.
recoil in fear or servility; shrink away from
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Enhance
The heads-up display enhanced the pilot's visibility in darkness.
improve; make better or clearer
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Harangue
He delivered a violent harangue before the council of elders.
noisy, attacking speech
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Labyrinth
They wandered the labyrinth for hours never seeing the same corridor twice.
a maze
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Nullify
The shot of bourbon helped to nullify the effects of the cold if only briefly.
to counter; make unimportant
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Plaintiff
The plaintiff presented her evidence against the defendant.
petitioner (in court of law)
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Replete
History is replete with examples of societies' advances and regressions.
full
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Tangible
He needed something more tangible to believe her story about alien abduction.
can be touched
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Abrogate
Our society needs to abrogate outdated ideas and accept all humans as equal.
cancel; deny; repeal
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Blasphemy
Many early scientists were persecuted because their ideas were considered blasphemy by religion.
speech which offends religious sentiments
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Credible
The witness told an outlandish story that nobody found credible.
believable
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Enigma
The origin of the Universe is still very much an enigma despite our research.
puzzle; mystery
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Harbingers
The dark clouds were harbingers of the storm to come.
indicators; bringers of warnings
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Labyrinthine
The landing party became lost in the labyrinthine streets of the centuries old alien city.
complicated; highly convoluted
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Nuzzle
The treecat nuzzled Honor's cheek purring all the while.
cuddle; snuggle
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Plaudit
The battered warrior emerged from the transport and walked the length of the tarmac amid the plaudits of the admiring locals.
statement giving strong praise
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Reprehensible
The traitor was given a harsh sentence for his reprehensible behavior.
shameful; very bad
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Tardy
"I don't feel tardy," Dave said as he walked in five minutes late.
slow; late; overdue; delayed
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Absolution
He felt there was no hope for absolution from his crimes against her.
forgiveness; pardon; release
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Blatant
The new law was a blatant license to discriminate.
obvious
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Creditable
The professor had a career that was creditable but not brilliant by any measure.
praiseworthy
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Ensconce
I was comfortably ensconced in the hammock bathed in the warming rays of sunshine.
establish firmly in a position
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Hasten
The travelers hastened their pace as the menacing sounds behind them grew closer.
hurry; accelerate; rush
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Laceration
The laceration on his arm did not hit any major arteries.
a cut
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Obdurate
Even with impending doom, the villagers were obdurate and stood their ground.
stubborn
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Plausible
The suspect's alibi was plausible because of the collaborating evidence.
can be believed; reasonable
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Reprieve
The rain was a welcome reprieve to the staggering heat.
a respite; postponement of a sentence
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Tawdry
Most intellectuals consider reality shows to be tawdry forms of entertainment.
of little value; gawdy
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Abstain
To avoid offending his voters, the politician will abstain from voting on the unpopular bill.
desist; got without; withdrawl
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Blighted
Because of the urban blight that has taken over the downtown area, many of the stores have relocated to suburban malls.
damaged; destroyed; ruined
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Credulous
For the most part, credulous individuals will believe anything they are told.
gullible; ready to believe anything
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Enshroud
Despite efforts by scientists to uncover clues, the Loch Ness Monster will always be enshrouded in mystery.
cover
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Haughtiness
The great mansion was filled with an aura of haughtiness and wealth.
arrogance; pride
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Lachrymose
I rarely cry so you should definitely not be calling me lachrymose!
tearful; sad
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Obfuscate
Because I am honest, I never try to obfuscate my true intentions!
deliberately make something difficult to understand
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Plethora
Since the recent elections, there has been a plethora of anti-government sentiment.
an excess
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Repudiate
The company will repudiate any claims of negligence.
shun; eschew
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Tedium
The tedium of that kind of work drove him to search for more interesting prospects.
boredom
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Abstemious
The monks had an abstemious diet which consisted chiefly of chicken, bread, water, and cabbage.
self denying; refraining from indulging
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Blithe
If you want to succeed in college, you have to lose this blithe attitude about your assignments!
free-spirited; carefree
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Crepuscular
The best time to spot many species of owls is dusk and dawn since they are crepuscular.
active at dawn and dusk
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Enunciation
If Scotty wants people to understand what he is saying, he needs to slow down and enunciate his words.
clear pronunciation; accent; articulation
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Headstrong
Mackenzie is very headstrong often refusing help on her homework when she is having difficulty.
stubborn; willful
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Lackluster
In spite of heavy promotion, Windows Vista only achieved disappointing, lackluster sales.
dull; monotonous; bland
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Objective
He felt so strongly about the issue that he could not give an objective answer to the question.
unbiased; not subjective
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Pliable
You should always warm up before you exercise so that your muscles are pliable and you’re less likely to be injured.
flexible; not stubborn
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Rescind
Because the law was poorly written, the public demanded that the governor rescind it immediately.
retract; repeal
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Temper
She has tempered her support for the proposal somewhat, only because the
last time they tried something like this, it didn't work out.
to moderate; soften
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Abstruse
If you come across a term which is abstruse, you can always use a dictionary to review the word’s meaning.
difficult to understand; obscure
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Blunderbuss
Leave it to that blunderbuss to bungle a job that a child could do.
- 1. ancient weapon (type of gun);
- 2. a clumsy person
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Cringe
The thought of eating Klingon Racht made me cringe.
recoil; flinch; shy away
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Envenom
The constant bickering between her sister and her boyfriend began to envenom their relationship.
to cause bitterness and bad feeling
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Hedonism
Hedonism is very common among the extremely rich.
self indulgence; pleasure-seeking
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Laconic
A person with few words is laconic.
using few words; brief; to the point
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Oblique
His oblique answers to the prosecutor's questions suggested he was hiding the truth.
indirect; slanting
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Plumage
The peacock flaunted his whole plumage for the females.
feathers of a bird
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Resignation
Surrounded by police officers on all sides, the bank robber lowered his gun as a sign of resignation.
acceptance of fate
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Tenacious
Although the odds were against them, the tenacious browncoats held on until reinforcements arrived.
stubborn; resolute; holding firm to a purpose
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Accolade
The Medal of Honor is the highest accolade a soldier can win.
tribute; honor; praise
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Bolster
Before the nervous warrior went into battle, he drank a beer to bolster his confidence.
support; prop up
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Cryptic
The Captain's cryptic command left the crew confused.
puzzling; enigmatic
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Ephemeral
The ephemeral thunderstorm started suddenly and was gone within seconds.
short-lived
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Hedonist
My neighbor is a hedonist who likes to party all night.
a pleasure seeker
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Lamentation
There was much lamentation in the kingdom after the death of their beloved king.
expression of regret or sorrow
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Obliterate
The quantum bomb, also known as the planet buster, has the power to obliterate a planet.
destroy; demolish; eradicate
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Plummet
They witnessed the castle plummet into the sea when the cliff gave way.
fall suddenly and steeply
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Resolution
Even in the face of extreme danger, his resolution to survive would not fail.
determination
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Tentative
The employees were not happy when they learned their pay raises were tentative and could be cancelled at any moment.
not certain
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Acquiesce
Currently, the king is considering a declaration of war, but he may acquiesce after hearing from his council.
to agree to; give in to
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Bombast
The speech was full of sound and fury and bombast.
arrogant; pompous language
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Curtail
The team had to curtail their shore leave because of an impending attack.
cut short
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Epicure
The head chef is an epicure who has spent over twenty years perfecting his signature dishes.
someone who appreciates good food and drink
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Heed
Take heed and prepare for the upcoming storm!
listen to
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Lampoon
For the past few decades, the writers of “Saturday Night Live” have written one lampoon after another at the expense of whichever politicians happened to be in the news at the time.
ridicule; spoof
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Oblivious
She was oblivious to the destruction occurring just outside her door.
totally unaware
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Podium
The old warrior slowly approached the podium to give his speech.
raised platform
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Resonant
The goddess spoke with a resonant voice.
echoing
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Tenuous
The truce between the two factions was tenuous at best.
flimsy; not solid
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