Abase
To humble; to disgrace
EX: My intention was not to ABASE the comedian
Synonym: demean, humiliate
Abate
To reduce in amount, degree, or severity
Ex: As the hurricane's force ABATED, the winds dropped and the sea became calm.
Synonyms: ebb, lapse, let up, moderate, relent, slacken, subside, wane
Abdicate
To give up a position, right, or power
Ex: With the angry mob clamoring outside the palace, the king ABDICATED his throne and fled.
Synonyms: cede, quit, relinquish, resign, yield
Aberrant
Deviating from what is normal or expected
Ex: Since he had been a steady, cheerful worker for many years, his fellow postal workers did not expect his ABERRANT burst of rage.
Synonyms: abnormal, anomalous, deviant, divergent, errant, irregular
Abeyance
Temporary suppression or suspension
Ex: The baseball game was held in ABEYANCE while it continued to rain.
Synonyms: deferral, delay, dormancy, postponement, remission
Abjure
To reject; to abandon formally
Ex: The spy ABJURED his allegiance to the United States when he defected to Russia
Synonyms: forswear, recall, recant, retract, take back
Abscond
To leave secretly
Ex: The patron ABSCONDED from the restaurant without paying his bills by sneaking out the back door.
Synonyms: decamp, escape, flee
Abstain
To choose not to do something
Ex: Before the medical procedure, you must ABSTAIN from eating.
Synonyms: forbear, refrain, withhold
Abstemious
Moderate in appetite
Ex: Because Alyce is a vegetarian, she was able to eat only an ABSTEMIOUS meal at the Texas Steakhouse.
Synonyms: abstinent, continent, self-restraining, sober, temperate
Abyss
An extremely deep hole
Ex: The submarine dove into the ABYSS to chart the previously unseen depths.
Synonyms: chasms, void
Accretion
A gradual growth in size; an increase in amount
Ex: The committee's strong fund-raising efforts resulted in an ACCRETION in scholarship money.
Synonyms: accumulation, buildup
Acidulous
sour in taste or manner
Ex: The ACIDULOUS taste of the spoiled milk made the young boy's lips pucker.
Synonyms: acerbic, acetous, biting, piquant, pungent, tart
Acme
The highest point; the summit the highest level or degree attainable
Ex: Just when he reached the ACME of his power, the dictator was overthrown.
Synonyms: apex, peak, summit
Adulterate
to make impure
Ex: The restaurateur made his ketchup last longer by ADULTERATING it with water.
Synonyms: debase, doctor, load
Advocate
to speak in favor of
Ex: The vegetarian ADVOCATED a diet containing no meat.
Synonyms: back, champion, support
Aerie
A nest built high in the air; an elevated, often secluded, dwelling
Ex: Perched high among the trees, the eagle's AERIE was filled with eggs.
Synonyms: perch, stronghold
Aesthetic
concerning the appreciation of beauty
Ex: The AESTHETIC movement regarded the pursuit of beauty as the only true purpose of art.
Synonyms: artistic, tasteful
Affected
phony; artificial
Ex: The AFFECTED hairdresser spouted French phrases, though she had never been to France.
Synonyms: insincere, pretentious, put-on
Aggrandize
to increase in power, influence, and reputation
Ex: The supervisor sought to AGGRANDIZE himself by claiming that the achievements of his staff were actually his own.
Synonyms: amplify, apotheosize, augment, dignify, elevate, enlarge, ennoble, exalt, glori
Alacrity
speed or quickness
Ex: The restaurant won a reputation for fine service since the wait staff responded to their clients' requests with ALACRITY.
Synonyms: celertiy, dispatch, haste, swiftness
Alleviate
to make more bearable
Ex: Taking aspirin helps ALLEVIATE a headache.
Synonyms: allay, assuage, comfort, ease, lessen, lighten, mitigate, palliate, relieve
Amalgamate
to combine; to mix together
Ex: Giant Industries AMALGAMATED with Mega Products to form Giant-Megan Products Incorporated.
Synonyms: admix, blend, coalesce, combine, commingle, commix, compound, fuse, intermingle, intermix, merge, mingle, mix, unite
Ambiguous
doubtful or uncertain; can be interpreted several ways
Ex: The directions he gave were so AMBIGUOUS that we disagreed on which way to turn.
Synonyms: cloudy, doubtful, dubious, equivocal, indeterminate, nebulous, obscure, unclear, vague
Ameliorate
to make better; to improve
Ex: The doctor was able to AMELIORATE the patient's suffering using painkillers.
Synonyms: amend, better, improve, pacify, upgrade
Amortize
to diminish by installment payments
Ex: While college students are notorious for accumulating credit card debt, they are well know for AMORTIZING it.
Synonyms: decrease, reduce
Amulet
an ornament worn as a charm against evil spirits
Ex: Though she claimed it was not because of superstition Vivian always wore an AMULET around her neck.
Synonyms: talisman
Anachronism
something out of place in time
Ex: The play was set in the nineteenth century, but was ruined by ANACHRONISMS, like the lead actor's digital watch.
Synonyms: archaism, incongruity
Analgesia
a lessening of pain without loss of consciousness
Ex: After having her appendix removed, Tatiana welcomed the ANALGESIA that the painkillers provided.
Analogous
similar or alike in some way; equivalent
Ex: His mother argued that not going to college was ANALOGOUS to throwing his life away.
Synonyms: alike, comparable, corresponding, equivalent, homogeneous, parallel, similar
Anodyne
something that calms or soothes pain
Ex: The massage was an ANODYNE that helped remove the knots from the lawyer's tense shoulders.
Synonyms: narcotic, nepenthe, opiate
Anomaly
deviation from what is normal
Ex: Albino animals may display too great an ANOMALY in their coloring to attract normally colored mates.
Synonyms: aberrancy, aberration. abnormality, deviance, deviation, irregularity, preternaturalness
Antagonize
to annoy or provoke to anger
Ex: The child discovered that he could ANTAGONIZE the cat by pulling its tail.
Synonyms: clash, conflict, incite, irritate, oppose, pester, provoke, vex
Antipathy
extreme dislike
Ex: The ANTIPATHY between fans of the rival soccer teams made the game even more electrifying to watch.
Synonyms: abhorrence, animosity, animus, antagonism, aversion, dislike, enmity, hatred hostility, loathing, repellence, repugnance, rep
Apathy
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Apocryphal
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Apostate
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Approbation
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Arbitrary
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Arbitrate
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Archaic
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Ardor
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Arrogate
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Articulate
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Assail
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Assuage
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Attenuate
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Audacious
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Augury
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August
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Austere
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Axiom
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Banal
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Belfry
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Bevy
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Bifurcate
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Bilk
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Blight
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Blithe
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Bolster
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Bombastic
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Bonhomie
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Boor
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Burgeon
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Burnish
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Cabal
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Cacophony
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Calumny
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Canard
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Candid
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Capricious
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Cartography
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Castigate
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Catalyst
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Catholic
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Caustic
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Chaos
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Chauvinist
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Chicanery
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Circumspect
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Cloyinh
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Coalesce
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Coffer
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Cogent
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Collusion
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Condone
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Connoisseur
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Contrite
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Contumacious
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Convoluted
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Corroborate
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Cosset
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Coterie
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Craven
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Credulous
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Crescendo
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Cupidity
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Curmudgeon
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Debutante
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Declivity
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Decorous
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Decorum
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Deface
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Deference
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Deleterious
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Demagogue
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Demur
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Deride
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Desiccate
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Desultory
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Diaphanous
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Diatribe
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Dictum
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Diffident
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Dilate
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Dilatory
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Dilettante
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Dirge
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Disabuse
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Discern
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Disparate
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Dissemble
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Dissonance
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Distaff
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Distend
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Dither
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Diurnal
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Divine
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Doctrinaire
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Dogma
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Dogmatic
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Droll
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Dupe
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Dyspeptic
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Ebullient
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Eclectic
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Edify
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Efficacy
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Effigy
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Effrontery
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Elegy
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Eloquent
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Embellish
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Emulate
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Encomium
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Endemic
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Enervate
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Engender
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Enigma
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Enumerate
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Ephemeral
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Epicure
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Equivocate
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Erratic
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Ersatz
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Erudite
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Eschew
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Esoteric
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Estimable
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Ethos
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Eulogy
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Euphemism
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Euphony
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Exacerbate
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Exculpate
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Exigent
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Exonerate
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Explicit
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Exponent
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Expurgate
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Fallow
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Fanatical
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Fatuous
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Fawn
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Fecund
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Fervid
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Fetid
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Flag
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Florid
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Forment
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Ford
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Forestall
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Fortuitous
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Fractious
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Frenetic
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Frugality
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Furtive
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Gambol
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Garner
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Garrulous
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Gestation
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Glib
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Glower
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Graduation
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Gregarious
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Grievous
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Grovel
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Guile
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Gullible
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Hapless
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Hegemony
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Hermetic
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Heterogeneous
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Hoary
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Homogeneous
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Husband
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Hyperbole
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Iconoclase
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Idiosyncrasy
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Ignoble
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Imbue
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Impasse
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Impecunious
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Imperturbable
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Impervious
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Impetuous
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Impious
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Implacable
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Imprecation
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Impugn
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Incarnadine
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Inchoate
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Inculcate
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Indolent
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Inexorable
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Ingenuous
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Ingrate
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Ingratiate
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Inimical
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Iniquity
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Innocuous
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Inquest
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Insipid
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Insurrection
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Inter
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Interregnum
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Intractable
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Intransigent
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Intrepid
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Inundate
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Inure
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Invective
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Investiture
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Invidious
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Irascible
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Itinerant
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Jargon
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Jettison
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Jingoism
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Jocular
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Judicious
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Juncture
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Keen
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Kindle
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Kinetic
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Knell
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Kudos
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Lachrymose
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Laconic
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Lament
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Lampoon
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Languid
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Lapidary
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Larceny
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Largess
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Lassitude
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Latent
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Laud
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Lavish
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Leery
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Legerdemain
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Lethargic
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Levity
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Liberal
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Libertine
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Licentious
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Limpid
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Lionize
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Lissome
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Listless
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Livid
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Loquacious
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Lucid
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Lugubrious
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Lumber
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Luminous
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Machination
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Maelstrom
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Magnate
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Malediction
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Malinger
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Malleable
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Mannered
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Mar
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Martinet
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Maudlin
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Mendacious
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Mendicant
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Mercurial
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Meretricious
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Metaphor
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Meticulous
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Militate
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Mirth
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Misanthrope
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Missive
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Mitigate
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Mollify
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Molt
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Monastic
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Monotony
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Mores
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Multifarious
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Myopic
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Nadir
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Naive
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Nascent
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Neologism
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Neophyte
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Nettle
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Noisome
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Nominal
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Nuance
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Numismatics
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Obdurate
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Oblique
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Obsequious
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Obstinate
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Obviate
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Occlude
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Officious
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Onerous
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Opaque
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Opine
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Opprobrium
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Orotuned
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Ossify
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Ostensible
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Ostentation
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Overwrought
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Palatial
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Palliate
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Pallid
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Panache
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Panegyric
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Panoply
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Paradox
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Paragon
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Pare
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Pariah
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Parley
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Parry
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Pastiche
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Pathogenic
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Peccadillo
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Pedant
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Pejorative
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Penury
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Peregrinate
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Perfidious
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Perfunctory
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Peripatetic
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Permeate
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Perspicacious
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Pervade
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Phalanx
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Philanthropy
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Philistine
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Phlegmatic
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Pithy
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Placate
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Plastic
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Plebeian
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Plethora
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Plucky
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Polemic
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Politic
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Polyglot
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Posit
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Potentate
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Pragmatic
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Prattle
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Precipitate
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Precis
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Prescient
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Prevaricate
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Pristine
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Probity
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Proclivity
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Prodigal
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Profligate
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Proliferate
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Propitiate
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Propriety
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Prudence
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Puerile
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Pugilism
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Pulchritude
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Pungent
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Pusillanimous
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Querulous
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Quiescent
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Quixotic
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Quotidian
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Raconteur
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Rarefy
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Redress
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Rejoinder
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Repast
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Replete
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Repose
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Repudiate
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Requite
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Restive
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Reticent
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Rhetoric
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Ribald
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Rococo
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Rustic
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Sacrosanct
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Sagacious
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Salient
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Salubrious
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Sanguine
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Sardonic
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Satiate
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Scintilla
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Sedition
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Sentient
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Seraphic
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Sinecure
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Slake
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Sobriquet
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Solecism
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Soporific
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Spartan
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Specious
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Sportive
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Stasis
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Stentorian
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Stigma
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Stolid
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Stratagem
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Sublime
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Sully
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Supplant
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Surfeit
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Surly
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Sybarite
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Sycophant
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Symbiosis
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Syncopation
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Tacit
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Taciturn
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Talon
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Tangential
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Tawdry
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Terrestrial
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Tirade
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Toady
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Tome
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Torpor
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Transitory
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Trenchant
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Turgid
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Tyro
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Umbrage
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Unconscionable
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Unequivocal
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Upbraid
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Usury
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Vacillate
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Variegated
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Venerable
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Venerate
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Veracity
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Verbose
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Verdant
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Vernal
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Vestige
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Vex
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Vicissitude
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Vim
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Viscous
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Vituperate
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Volatile
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Voluble
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Wan
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Wanton
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Waver
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Whimsical
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Wily
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Winsome
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Wizened
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Wraith
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Xenophobia
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Yoke
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Zeal
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Zealot
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Zenith
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Zephyr
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