 | Term | Definition |
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circuitous |
Round about; not following a direct path |
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circumlocution |
An indirect expression; use of wordy or evasive language |
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circumscribe |
To draw a line around; to set the limits; to define; to restrict. |
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circumspect |
Cautious |
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circumvent |
To frustrate as though by surrounding |
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civil |
Polite; civilized; courteous |
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clemency |
Mercy; forgiveness; mildness |
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cliche |
An overused saying or idea |
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clique |
An exclusive group bound together by some shared quality or interest |
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coalesce |
To come together as one; to fuse; to unite ; |
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coerce |
To force someone to do or not to do something |
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cogent |
Powerfully convincing |
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cognitive |
Dealing with how we know the world around us through our senses; mental |
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cognizant |
Aware; conscious |
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coherent |
Holding together; making sense |
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colloquial |
Conversational; informal in language |
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collusion |
Conspiracy; secret cooperation |
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commensurate |
Equal; proportionate |
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compelling |
Forceful; causing to yield |
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compendium |
A summary; an abridgment |
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complacent |
Self-satisfied; overly pleased with oneself; contented to a fault |
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complement |
To complete or fill up; to be the perfect counterpart |
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complicity |
Participation in wrongdoing; the act of being an accomplice |
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comprehensive |
Covering or including everything |
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comprise |
To consist of; to be composed of cf constitute compose |
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conciliatory |
Making peace; attempting to resolve a dispute through goodwill |
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concise |
Brief and to the point; succinct |
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concord |
Harmony; agreement |
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concurrent |
Happening at the same time; parallel |
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condescend |
To stoop to someone else level usually in an offensive way; to patronize |
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condone |
To overlook; to permit to happen |
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conducive |
Promoting |
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confluence |
A flowing together especially of rivers; place where they begin to flow together |
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congenial |
Agreeably suitable; pleasant |
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congenital |
A trait or condition acquired between conception and birth; innate |
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conjecture |
To guess; to deduce or infer on slight evidence |
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conjure |
To summon or bring into being as if by magic |
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connoisseur |
An expert particularly in matter of art or taste |
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consecrate |
To make or declare sacred |
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consensus |
Unanimity or general agreement |
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consonant |
Harmonious; in agreement |
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construe |
To interpret |
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consummate |
Perfect; complete; supremely skillful |
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contentious |
Argumentative; quarrelsome |
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contiguous |
Side by side; adjoining |
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contingent |
Dependent; possible |
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contrite |
Admitting guilt; especially feeling remorseful |
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contrived |
Artificial; labored |
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conventional |
common; customary; unexceptional |
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convivial |
Fond of partying; festive |
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copious |
Abundant; plentiful |
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corollary |
something that follows; a natural consequence |
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corroborate |
to confirm; to back up with evidence |
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cosmopolitan |
at home in many places or situations; internationally sophisticated |
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countenance |
face; facial expression especially an encouraging one |
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coup |
a brilliant victory or accomplishment; the violent overthrow of a government by a small internal group ; |
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covenant |
a solemn agreement; a contract; a pledge |
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covert |
secret; hidden |
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covet |
to wish for enviously |
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credulous |
eager to believe; gullible |
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criterion |
standard; basis for judgment |
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cryptic |
mysterious; mystifying; clandestine mysterious; |
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culinary |
relating to cooking or the kitchen |
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culminate |
to climax; to reach full effect |
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culpable |
deserving blame; guilty |
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cursory |
hasty; superficial |
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curtail |
to shorten; to cut short ... |
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cynic |
one who deeply distrusts human nature; one who believes humans are motivated only by selfishness |
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daunt |
to make fearful; to intimidate |
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dearth |
lack; scarcity |
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debacle |
violent breakdown; sudden overthrow; overwhelming defeat |
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debauchery |
wild living; excessive intemperance |
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debilitate |
to weaken; to cripple |
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decadent |
decaying or decayed especially in terms of morals |
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decimate |
to kill or destroy a large part of 10:1 |
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decorous |
proper; in good taste; orderly |
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deduce |
to conclude from evidence; to infer |
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defame |
to libel or slander; to ruin the good name of |
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deference |
submission to another's will; respect; courtesy |
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definitive |
conclusive; providing the last word |
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degenerate |
to break down; to deteriorate |
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deleterious |
harmful |
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delineate |
to describe accurately; to draw in outline |
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delude |
to deceive |
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deluge |
a flood; an inundation |
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demagogue |
a leader of the people but more a rabble rouser |
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denizen |
inhabitant |
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depravity |
extreme wickedness or corruption |
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deprecate |
to express disapproval of |
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deride |
to ridicule; to laugh at contemptuously |
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derogatory |
disapproving; degrading |
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desiccate |
to dry out |
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despondent |
extremely depressed; full of despair |
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despot |
an absolute ruler; an autocrat |
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destitute |
extremely poor; utterly lacking |
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desultory |
without a plan or purpose; disconnected; random |
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dialectical |
relating to discussions; relating to the rules and methods of reasoning; approaching truth in the middle of opposing extremes |
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dictum |
an authoritative saying; an adage; a maxim; a proverb |
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didactic |
intended to teach; morally instructive; pedantic |
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diffident |
timid; lacking in self-confidence |
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digress |
to stray from the main subject |
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dilettante |
someone with superficial knowledge of the arts; an amateur; a dabbler |
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discern |
to have insight; to see things clearly to discriminate; to differentiate |
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discreet |
prudent; judiciously reserved |
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discrete |
unconnected; separate; distinct |
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discriminate |
to notice or point out the difference between two or more things; to discern; to differentiate ; |
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disdain |
arrogant scorn; contempt |
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disinterested |
not taking sides; unbiased |
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disparage |
to belittle; to say uncomplimentary things about usually in a somewhat indirect way |
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disparate |
different; incompatible; unequal |
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disseminate |
to spread the seeds of something; to scatter; to make widely known |
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dissipate |
to thin out drift away or dissolve; to cause to thin out drift away or dissolve; to waste or squander |
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dissolution |
the breaking up or dissolving of something into parts; disintegration |
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distend |
to swell; to extend a great deal |
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distinguish |
to tell apart; to cause to stand out |
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docile |
easily taught; obedient; easy to handle |
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doctrinaire |
inflexibly committed to a doctrine or theory without regard to its practicality; dogmatic |
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dogmatic |
arrogantly assertive of unproven ideas; stubbornly claiming that something often a system of beliefs is beyond dispute |
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domestic |
having to do with the household or family; not foreign |
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dormant |
A inactive; as though asleep; asleep ~volcano ~window |
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dubious |
A full of doubt; uncertain a ~ friend be ~ about cf dubitable |
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duplicity |
N the act of being two-faced; double-dealing; deception cf duplication duplicate a n v |
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ebullient |
A boiling; bubbling with excitement; exuberant; n ebullience-cy n ebullition |
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eccentric |
A not conventional; a little kooky; irregular |
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eclectic |
A choosing the best from many sources; drawn from many sources n cf eclecticism |
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edify |
Vt to enlighten; to instruct especially in moral or religious matters; cfedifying |
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efface |
Vt to erase; to rub away the features of eclipse Cf effaceable effacement |
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effusion |
N a pouring forth Effuse v Effusive a |
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egalitarian |
A believing in the social and economic equality of all people |
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egocentric |
A selfish; believing that one is the center of everything n egoism egoistic -tical |
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egregious |
A extremely bad; flagrant |
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elicit |
Vt to bring out; to call forth ~a laugh from ~a reply elicitation n |
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elliptical |
Adj oval; missing a word or words; obscure |
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Ellipsis |
ellipsoid |
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elusive |
Adj hard to pin down; evasive elude V elusion |
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emigrate |
V to move to a new country; to move a new place to live; to expatriate |
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emigrant |
a n immigrate |
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empirical |
Adj relying on experience or observation; not merely theoretical ; ~philosophy Empiricism |
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emulate |
Vt to strive to equal or excel usually through imitation emulator emulation emulous be emulous of |
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encroach |
Vi to make gradual or stealthy inroads into; to trespass on upon |
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endemic |
A native; restricted to a particular region or era; indigenous n endemicity |
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enervate |
V to reduce the strength or energy of especially to do so gradually |
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enfranchise |
V to grant the privileges of citizenship especially the right to vote |
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engender |
V to bring into existence; to create; to cause produce ment |
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enigma |
N a mystery riddle |
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enormity |
N extreme evil; a hideous offense; immensity |
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ephemeral |
A lasting a very short time |
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epigram |
N a brief and usually witty or satirical saying |
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epitome |
N a brief summary that captures the meaning of the whole; the perfect example of something; a paradigm ; |
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equanimity |
N composure; calm |
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equitable |
Adj fair |
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equivocal |
Adj ambiguous; intentionally confusing; capable of being interpreted in more than one way |
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erudite |
Adj scholarly; deeply learned ; |
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esoteric |
Adj hard to understand; understood by only a select few; peculiar |
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espouse |
V to support; to advocate |
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ethereal |
Adj heavenly as light and insubstantial as a gas or ether heavenly |
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euphemism |
N a pleasant or inoffensive expression used in place of an unpleasant or offensive one |
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evanescent |
Adj fleeting; vanishing; happening for only the briefest period |
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exacerbate |
V to make worse ; |
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exacting |
Adj extremely demanding; difficult; requiring great skill or care |
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exalt |
V to raise high; to glorify |
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exasperate |
V to annoy thoroughly; to make very angry; to try the patience of |
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exemplify |
V to illustrate by example; to serve as a good example |
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exhaustive |
Adj thorough; rigorous; complete; painstaking |
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exhort |
V to urge strongly; to give a serious warning to |
