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Adj.
Thin; lean; of poor quality or small amount.
The visiting team lamponed the meager dinner served by their hosts. |
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Adjective
out of date
Propeller planes have become obsolete
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Noun
An outcase
The Western mind finds it difficult to accept the idea of a pariah class |
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Noun
Condition of being doubtful or confused
The benefits and dangers of a nuclear plant leave us in a quandary |
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Noun
a person skilled at telling stories or anecdotes
Comedians and masters of ceremonies must be consummate raconteurs |
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noun
loud applause; approval
Jonas Salk won great acclaim for his medical discoveries |
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adjective
happy and cheerful; gay
Lori's blithe attitude toward her terrible predicament was bizarre indeed
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adjective
unfeeling; insensitive
It was a surprise to see the tears flowing from someone we had considered to be callous |
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noun
great respect
Out of deference to my father, we never smoked in the house. |
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adjective
lively, giving off bubbles
Because I do not enjoy carbonated drinks. I do not like the effervescent quality of ginger ale. |
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noun
intense emotion; great warmth of feeling
Alicia does her volunteer work with tremendous fervor |
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adjective
talkative
Nothing galvanizes me into leaving a beauty parlor as much as a garrulous hairdresser |
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noun
a person who upholds religious doctrines contrary to the establish beliefs of his church.
Serverely chastised for being a heretic, brother Vincent was asked to leave the monastery |
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adjective
never changing
My father's immutable optimism can be treaced back to the pleasant atmosphere in my grandmother's home |
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noun
strong, satirical writing, usually attacking or ridiculing someone.
The college quarterly featured a lampoon of fraternity hazing. |
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verb
winding back and forth; rambling.
Meandering through the crowded streets of a foreign city is my idea of a tourist's delight |
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adjective
meddling; giving unnecessary or unwanted advice or services.
Mr. Klar's officious manner helped him gain friends easily but lose them in short order. |
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adjective
too thrifty; stingy
Dickens Scroogs, before his metamorphosis, is regarded as the prototype of the parsimonious man. |
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adjective
peevish; faultfinding; expressing or suggestive of complaint.
We tend to turn a deaf ear to querulous demands for attention. |
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noun
deep spite or malice; strong hate or bitter feeling
A forgiving heart will save you from the corrosive effects of rancor |
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verb
to accept the conclusions or arrangements of others; to accede; to give consent by keeping silent
The president said that we will never acquiesce to the demands of the terrorists |
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adjective
high sounding; marked by use of language without much real meaning
The citizens failed to be arounsed by their mayor's bombastic speech |
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verb
to surrender; to cease resisting
Colonel Leeds was adamant in his decision not to capitulate under any terms |
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verb
to let air out of; to reduce in size or importance
The boss's criticism deflated John's ego |
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adjective
extraordinarily bad
An egregious bookkepping error cost our company $1,000,000. |
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adjective
spasmodic; intermittent
Monte's fitful sleep tended to exacerbate his normal irritability |
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adjective
freely given; unnecessary; uncalled for.
Hillary's gratuitous suggestion was rejected by the other guests who blithely ignored it |
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noun
organization by rank, class, or grade
In the company's hierarchy, I'm the low man on the totem pole |
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adjective
fair; just; showing no favoritism
An impartial attorney was asked to serve as a judge in the dispute |
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noun
state or feeling of being tired and listless; weariness
Lassitude comes from a feeling of hopelessness |
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adjective
very careful about details; fussy
Sidney was meticulous about his clothing but quite sloppy about his room |
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noun
one who takes advantage of any opportunity without regard for moral principles
The opportunist is so anxious to get ahead that he is rewady to ignore the needs, feelings and welfare of his fellow man |
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noun
one who strongly supports a party or cause; characteristic of a guerilla fighter.
A partisan of the animal rights cause, John believes all use of animals for testing should be banned. |
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adjective
idealistic and utterly impractical
It is quixotic to think that we can ignore the environmental consequences of pollution |
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verb
to tear down completely; to destroy
The corporation voted to raze the decaying structure and replace it with a modern skyscraper |
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verb
to advise against something; to warn; to scold gently; to urge strongly.
This is the last time I plan to admonish you about coming late to work |
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noun
a clown; someone who amuses with tricks and jokes
After Bert had a few drinks, he became a willing buffoon at the party |
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adjective
changeable, fickle
Our weather is so capricous that it's difficult to make weekend plans |
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verb
to describe in words; to sketch
When challenged to delineate Sam's crass behavior, we were speechless |
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verb
to make clear
Public relations experts were hired to elucidate the chairman's position. |
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