 | Term | Definition |
| |
cognizant |
(adj) aware, knowledgeable, informed |
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deign |
(v) to think it appropriate or suitable to one's dignity to do something; to condescend |
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contrite |
(adj) regretful for some misdeed or sin; plagued by a sense of guilt; thoroughly penitent |
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abstruse |
(adj) extremely difficult to understand |
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canard |
(n) a false rumor, fabricated story |
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decorous |
(adj) well behaved, dignified, socially proper |
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efficacy |
(n) the power to produce a desired effect |
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cynosure |
(n) the center of attraction, attention, or interest; something that serves to guide or direct |
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affront |
(n) an open or intentional insult; a slight; (v) to insult to one's face; to face in defiance, confront |
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desiccated |
(adj. part.) thoroughly dried out; divested of spirit or vitality; arid and uninteresting |
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captious |
(adj) excessively ready to find fault; given to petty criticism; intended to trap, confuse, or show up |
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machination |
(n) a crafty, scheming, or underhanded action designed to accomplish some (usually evil) end |
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preempt |
(v) to seize upton to the exclusion of others, take over or appropriate; to be presented in place of, displace |
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facade |
(n) the front or face of a building; a surface appearance (as opposed to what may lie behind) |
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ethereal |
(adj) light, airy, delicate, highly refined, suggesting what is heavenly (rather than earthbound) |
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putative |
(adj) generally regarded as such; reputed; hypothesized, inferred |
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opprobrium |
disgrace arising from shameful conduct; contempt, infamy, reproach |
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simplistic |
(adj) highly oversimplified, simpleminded |
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mesmerize |
(v) to hyptonize, to fascinate, enthrall |
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engender |
(v) to bring into existence, give rise to, produce; to come into existence, assume form |
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ghoulish |
(adj) revolting in an unnatural or morbid way; suggestive of someone who robs graves or otherwise preys on the dead |
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incongruous |
(adj) not in keeping, unsuitable, incompatible |
