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Definition
n. religious devotion; godliness.
The nuns in the convent were noted for their ______, spending their days in worship and prayer.
Synonyms: fidelity, allegiance, ardor, devotion, faithfulness, fealty, loyalty
Antonyms: none |
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Term
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Definition
v. pacify; conciliate.
The teacher tried to ___________ the angry mother.
Synonyms: appease, assuage, conciliate, mollify, propitiate, sweeten
Antonyms: enrage, anger, incense, infuriate, madden; excite, pique, provoke, stimulate |
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Term
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Definition
adj. weighty; unwieldy.
His humor lacked the light touch; his jokes were always _______________.
Synonyms: heavy, cumbersome, cumbrous, hefty, massive, unhandy
Antonyms: sparkling, vivid; easy, natural, relaxed, supple, unlabored |
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Term
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Definition
adj. practical; concerned with practical values.
This test should provide us with a ____________ analysis of the value of this course.
Synonyms: realistic, down-to-earth, hard, hard-boiled, hardheaded, matter-of-fact, sober, unfantastic, unidealistic
Antonyms: none |
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Term
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Definition
v. make it impossible; eliminate.
This contract does not __________ my being employed by others at the same time that I am working for you.
Synonyms: prevent, avert, deter, forestall, forfend, obviate, rule out, stave off, ward
Antonyms: none |
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Term
precocious
(pree-KOH-shus) |
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Definition
adj. advanced in development.
Through her rather adult manner of discussing serious topics, the child demonstrated that she was ______________.
Synonyms: advanced, forward, ahead, mature
Antonyms: retarded, undeveloped |
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Term
predilection
(preh-di-LEK-shun) |
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Definition
n. partiality; preference.
Although the artist used various media from time to time, she had a ________________ for watercolors.
Synonyms: leaning, bent, disposition, inclination, inclining, penchant, predisposition, proclivity, propensity, tendency
Antonyms: none |
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Term
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Definition
adj. widespread; generally accepted.
Reed had no patience with the conservative views _______________ in the America of his day.
Synonyms: dominant, prevailing, general, ascendant, master, over-bearing, paramount, regnant, sovereign, current, popular, rampant, rife, ruling, common, natural, normal, regular, typical, usual
Antonyms: none |
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Term
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Definition
v. violate; desecrate.
Tourists are urged not to ___________ the sanctity of holy places by wearing improper garb.
Synonyms: defile, pollute
Antonyms: none |
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Term
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Definition
adj. deep; not superficial.
Freud's remarkable insights into human behavior caused his fellow scientists to honor him as a _____________ thinker.
Synonyms: recondite, abstruse, acroamatic, esoteric, heavy, hermetic, occult, orphic, secret, abysmal
Antonyms: none |
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Term
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Definition
n. lavish expenditure.
Seldom have I seen food and drink served in such _____________ as at the wedding feast.
Synonyms: exuberance, lavishness, lush, luxuriant, opulence, prodigal, profusive, riotous
Antonyms: scant, scanty, exiguous, scrimpy, slight, small,sparse |
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Term
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Definition
adj. abundantly fruitful.
She was a ____________ writer and wrote as many as three books a year.
Synonyms: fertility, childing, fecund, fruitful, productive, proliferant, rich, spawning
Antonyms: barren, unfruitful |
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Term
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Definition
n. nearness.
The deer sensed the hunter's ____________ and bounded away.
Synonyms: appropinquity, contiguity, contiguousness, immediacy, propinquity, immediate, near
Antonyms: distance |
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Term
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Definition
n. dilemma.
When two colleges accepted him, he was in a _____________ as to which he should attend.
Synonyms: perplexity, embarrassment, dilemma, puzzle
Antonyms: advantage, certainty, solution |
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Term
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Definition
v. snub; beat back.
She __________ his invitation so smoothly that he did not realize he had been snubbed.
Synonyms: fend off, hold off, keep off, rebut, repel, repulse, stave off, ward off
Antonyms: none |
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Term
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Definition
n. hermit.
The _________ lived in a hut in the forest.
Synonyms: solitary, anchorite, cenobite, eremite
Antonyms: none |
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Term
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Definition
v. correct.
I want to __________ my error before it is too late.
Synonyms: amend, emend, mend, right, rebuild, repair
Antonyms: none |
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Term
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Definition
adj. superfluous; excessively wordy.
Your composition is _______________; you can easily reduce its length.
Synonyms: wordy, diffuse, long-winded, palaverous, prolix, verbose, windy extra, spare, supernumerary, surplus, iterating, reiterating, repetitious
Antonyms: concise |
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