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| -----To lose the right to vote-----The Jim Crow laws disenfranchised African-American voters. |
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| -----To force to act or think in a certain way by use of pressure, threats, or torture; to compel-----Stalin used terror to coerce the Russian people to unquestioningly follow his leadership. |
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| -----Favoring social equality; belief in a society in which all people have equal political, economic, and civil rights-----American utopian leaders dreamed of creating egalitarian communities. |
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| -----Hostile and aggressive; warlike-----When North Korea defied world opinion by conducting an underground test of a nuclear bomb, world leaders denounced the action as belligerent. |
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| -----A severe interrogation; a systematic questioning-----Senator McCarthy conducted an inquisition in the 1950s to supposedly weed out Communists. |
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| -----To make a situation better-----Amelia was able to ameliorate the tense situation by speaking calmly. |
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| -----To make a situation worse-----Batman learned that his efforts exacerbated Gotham's crime problem by leading to an escalation of violence. |
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| -----Sharing an edge or boundary; touching-----Hawaii and Alaska are the only two states in the USA that are not contiguous with another. |
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| -----To thoroughly dry out; to make lifeless, totally arid-----The Dry Valleys exist because 100 mph downwinds desiccate all moisture. |
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| -----Relevant; to the point-----When you're questioning someone about an event, be sure to ask them pertinent questions. |
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| -----Association or participation in a wrongful act-----Biggie Smalls and Sean Combs were suspected of complicity in the murder of Tupac. |
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| -----To free from guilt or blame-----Harry Potter successfully exonerated Sirius Black of the murder of Peter Pettigrew and 12 Muggles. |
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| -----Not open to question; undeniable; irrefutable-----The word "indisputable" is a lot like the word "incontrovertible." |
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| -----An act or instance that is used as an example in dealing with later similar instances-----Jefferson set the precedent of shaking the President's hand rather than bowing. |
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| -----Without previous example; describing something that has never happened before-----Will Smith has achieved unprecedented success in the film industry (not sure if this is actually true.) |
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| -----Misconduct or wrongdoing especially by a public official-----Governor Blagojevich was convicted of several charges of malfeasance. |
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| -----To bring to a stop; halt-----Environmentalists hope to arrest the growth of carbon dioxide emissions in the earth's atmosphere. |
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| -----A serious situation or problem-----When her daughter was diagnosed with leukemia, Isobel recognized the gravity of the situation and agreed to donate bone marrow to save her daughter. |
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| -----To cause an event to happen-----The discovery of Soviet missiles in Cuba precipitated the Cuban Missile Crisis. |
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Definition
| -----Elevation of a land surface-----Relief maps of the USA show rises in the mountains in the east and west. |
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| -----To restrain; halt; hold back; contain-----During the Cold War, the US policy of containment was designed to check the expansion of Soviet power and influence. |
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| -----To become weak, feeble, or spiritless-----Whenever Beyonce wins an award, she thanks her parents for never letting her enthusiasm flag. |
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| -----Characterized by the ability to make fine distinctions; refined taste-----Some people are known for their discriminating tastes in rare wine, fine clothes, and valuable art. |
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| -----To overshadow; outshine; surpass-----Sometimes her younger sister feels that her own achievements will be eclipsed by those of her older sister. |
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| -----To devise a new word or phrase-----Whenever a new word is created, we say that someone "coined" a new word. |
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