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verb:
to increase in intensity, power, influence, or prestige
He gives a lot of money to charity, but personal aggrandizement/self-aggrandizement is his motive. |
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noun:
a medieval science aimed at the transmutation of metals, esp. base metals into gold
She manages, by some extraordinary alchemy, to turn the most ordinary of ingredients into the most delicious of dishes. |
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adjective:
agreeable; responsive to suggestion
She might be more amenable to the idea if you explained how much money it would save. |
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adjective:
sharing a border; touching; adacent
The two states are contiguous with/to each other, but the laws are quite different.
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noun:
a generally agreed-upon practice or attitude
In many countries, it is the/a convention to wear black at funerals. |
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adjective:
tending to believe too readily; gullible
anyone who believed every word of his Bradford lecture must indeed be a credulous person.
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noun:
an attitude or quality of belief that all people are motivated by selfishness
He's often been accused of cynicism in his attitude towards politics. |
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noun:
polite or appropriate conduct or behavior
As young ladies we were expected to act/behave with proper decorum. |
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noun:
scorn; ridicule; contemptuous treatment
Her speech was met with hoots/howls of derision. |
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noun:
one with an amateurish or superficial interest in the arts or a branch of knowledge
He's a bit of a dilettante as far as wine is concerned. |
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verb:
to slight or belittle
The actor's work for charity has recently been disparaged in the pressas an attempt to get publicity. |
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verb:
to disclose something secret
The managing director refused to divulge howmuch she earned. |
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adjective:
marked by ease or informality; nonchalant; lacking in depth; superficial
No one was convinced by his glib answers/explanations.
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noun:
overbearing presumption or pride; arrongance
He was punished for his hubris. |
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adjective:
about to happen; impending
A strike is imminent.
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adjective:
not capable of change
Some people regard grammar as an immutable set of rules.
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adjective:
hastily or rashly energetic; impulsive and vehement
He's so impetuous - why can't he think things over before he rushes into them?
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adjective:
having no interest or concern; showing no bias or prejudice
Why don't you vote - how can you be so indifferent (to what is going on)!
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adjective:
Hostil; unfriendly
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adjective:
steadfast and courageous
a team of intrepid explorers
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adjective:
using few words; terse
She had a laconic wit.
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verb:
to deliberately obscure; to make confusing
She was criticized for using arguments that obfuscated the main issue. |
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adjective:
stubborn; hardheaded; uncompromising
her obstinate refusal to compromise
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adjective:
practical rather than idealistic
In business, the pragmatic approach to problems is often more successful than an idealistic one.
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adjective:
overstepping due bounds (as of propriety or courtesy); taking liberties
It would be presumptuous of me to comment on the matter. |
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noun:
a natural predisposition or inclination
his proclivity for shapely blondes |
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adjective:
excessively wasteful; recklessly extravagant
She is well-known for her profligate spending habits.
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adjective:
dull; lacking in spirit or imagination
He asked if I'd got my black eye in a fight - I told him the prosaic truth that I'd banged my head on a door.
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adjective:
foolishly impractical; marked by lofty romantic ideals
This is a vast, exciting and some say quixotic project.
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adjective:
occurring or recurring daily; commonplace
Television has become part of our quotidian existence.
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adjective:
radiant; shiny; brilliant
If Moore was not quite a burned-out case, his once refulgent light flickered only dimly in his sad last years.
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verb:
to fail to honor a commitment; to go back on a promise
If you renege on the deal now, I'll fight you in the courts. |
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adjective:
diligent; persistent; hardworking
Unsurprisingly, given sedulous clerical attention over a period of weeks, many prisoners proved responsive to the call for repentance.
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adjective:
causing drowsiness; tending to induce sleep
the soporific effect of the heat
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adjective:
thin; not dense; arranged at widely spaced intervals
Information coming out of the disaster area is sparse.
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noun:
one who spends moneywastefully
My home was simply a middle-class affair ruined by spendthrift habits which I have inherited. |
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adjective:
not obvious; elusive; difficult to discern
The play's message is perhaps too subtle to be understood by young children.
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adjective:
sharply perceptive; keen; penetrating
Dorothy Parker's writing is characterized by a trenchant wit and sophistication.
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adjective:
genuine; not false or hypocritical
I addressed the people with the most unfeigned respect.
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adjective:
indefensible; not viable; uninhabitable
If three people in four no longer support the government, isn't this an untenable situation?
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adjective:
multicolored; characterized by a variety of patches of different color
variegated leaves in autumn
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noun:
annoyance; irritation
After several unsuccessful attempts to start his car, he swore in vexation. |
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adjective:
alertly watchful
Following the bomb scare at the airport, the staff have been warned to be extra vigilant.
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adjective:
readily changing to a vapor; changeable; fickle; explosive
Food and fuel prices are very volatile in a war situation.
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