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| to lessen in intensity or degree |
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| lessening in amount or degree |
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deviating from the norm.
Aberant behavior |
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to renounce or reject solemnly; to recant; to avoid.
Jenny has abjured her former lifestyle |
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to abolish or annul by authority; put down
to court ruling abrogated the defendant's rights to any profit from the sale of the house |
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act of cutting off or removing
Doctor recommended an immediate abscission of the abscess in order to minimize any further infection |
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to depart cladestinely; to steal off and hide
Doug was left penniless when the two con men absconded with his life savings. |
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an expression of praise; an award
the diva received her accolades graciously, blowing kisses to her adoring fans. |
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growth, increase by successive addition, building up
Limestone is formed by the accretion of tiny particles from objects such as shells and coral over a very, very long time. |
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| having a sour or bitter taste or character |
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quick, keen or accurate knowledge or insight
The media often comments on the CEO's business acumen... |
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to reprove; to express warning or disapproval.
how many times has your roommate admonished you to put the toilet seat down? |
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adept, dexterous
Karl had always been an adroit manipulator; even when he was a kid he could get people to do what he wanted. |
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excessive praise; intense adoratioN
Leif Garrett was the object of much adolescent adulation. |
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to reduce purity by combininb with inferior ingredients.
There was a huge scandal when customers discovered that the health food store had been adulterating the wheat grass juice with clippings from the front lawn. |
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to foreshadow vaguely, intimate, suggest, or outline sketchily
the possibilities for further cooperation between the two parties were adumbrated at the first, private meetings, but nothing was finalized until much later. |
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dealing with, appreciative of, or responsive to art or the beautiful.
Many people say they see no aesthetic value in some modern artwork, claiming the pieces look like a kindergartner's finger painting. |
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to increase in intensity, power, or prestige; to make appear greater.
Michael's attempts to aggrandize his achievements produced the exact opposite effect; everyone ended up thinking he had accomplished less than he really had. In orther words, he would have been better off without the self-aggrandizing. |
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eager and enthusiastic willingness
Amy responded to the invitation to join the planning committee with alacrity, and even volunteered to take on additional responsibilities. |
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a medieval science aimed at the transmutation of metals, especially base metals into gold; any magical or wonderful transformation
Although alchemy's goal of turning lead into gold may seem crazy now, the alchemical sciences were the precursors to our modern chemistry. |
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to commingle; to debase by mixing with something inferior.
Alloying the punch with prune juice turned out not to be such a good idea after all. |
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to combine several elements into a whole.
Alicia's initial attempts to amalgamate baroque and rap music were not very successful; in fact, they were pretty horrible. |
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to make better or more tolerable.
Jonas was sure that nothing could ameliorate the taste of beets... |
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| agreeable; responsive to suggestion. |
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| something or someone out of place in terms of historical or chronological context. |
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| a solemn or ecclesiastical (religious) curse; accursed or thoroughly loathed person or thing. |
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| deviation from the normal order, form, or rule; abnormality. |
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diametrically opposed, as in antithesis
opposed position |
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of dubious authenticity or origin; spurious.
not true. |
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| farthest or highest point; cumination; zenith. |
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| one who abandons long-held religious or political convictions, a betrayer of a cause. |
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n;
deification, glorification to godliness, the perfect example
The apotheosis of technology in modern society seems to be reacing new highs; computers and gadgets are practically worshipped by consumers. |
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| appropriate, pertinent, relevant, apropos |
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| v; give notice to, inform |
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| n; an expression of approval or praise |
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| v; to take for one's own use, confiscate |
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| n; complex, ornate design |
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| adj; mysterious, abstruse, esoteric, knowable only to initiates |
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| adj; strenuous, taxing, requiring signification effort |
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| adj; impudent; in every way, being completely such, bare-faced, utter |
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| adj; completely without guile; natural without artificiality |
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| n; one who practices rigid self-denial, especially as an act of religious devotion |
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| adj; severity, rigor; roughness, harshness; acrimony, irritability. |
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| n; an act of defamation or maligning |
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| adj; diligent, hard-working |
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| v; to ease or lessen; to appease or pacify |
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| adj; having a tightening effect on living tissue; harsh; severe |
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| v; to rarefy, weaken or make thinner, lessen. |
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| adj; daring and fearless; recklessly bold |
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| n; omen, portent, the reading or omens. |
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| n; protection or support, patronage |
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| adj; favorable, propitious, successful, prosperous |
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| adj; without adornment; bare; severely simple; ascetic |
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| n; greed, especially for wealth |
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| v; to state as a fact; to confirm or support |
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