Term
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Definition
His ____ attitude had a negative effect on everyone’s mood. |
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Term
sultry
hot and humid); very hot (literally or figuratively |
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Definition
| She decided she wanted to get to know the handsome man across the room, so she returned his glance with a ____ gaze. |
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Term
succulent
luscious; juicy (literally or figuratively)
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Definition
| Oooh! Just wait until I tell you this ____ bit of gossip about Henrietta and Fernando. |
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Term
tepid
half-hearted; unenthusiastic; lukewarm (literally or figuratively)
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Definition
| My play received a/an ____ review from the critics. They didn’t love it, but they didn’t hate it either. |
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Term
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Definition
We were shocked at the State Fair to see the two-headed, five-legged cow, an obvious ____. |
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Term
vicissitudes
unexpected changes; ups and downs
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Definition
| Being human implies change; all of us have to deal with the ____ of life. |
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Term
ingenuous
naïve; overly trusting
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Definition
| Gail was ____ so when she moved to the big city, people took advantage of her. |
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Term
denigrate
belittle; demean
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Definition
| Just because you don’t understand the foreign culture doesn’t mean you have to ____ it. |
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Term
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Definition
| When you make your presentation, you don’t want to include ____ information that has nothing to do with your main points. |
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Term
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Definition
| My grandfather was particularly proud of his ____ figure, which was the result of intense diet and exercise. |
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Term
sylvan
forest-like; rustic; wooded; woodsy
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Definition
| We like to spend our Sunday afternoon in a/an ____ place, hiking over mountains and fording streams. |
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Term
fastidious
fussy; finicky; choosy; picky
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Definition
| Mike is so ____ that he vacuums twice a day, organizes his pantry alphabetically, and measures out a spot on the coffee table for the remote. |
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Term
prosaic
matter-of-fact; dull; ordinary; commonplace
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Definition
| We thought the play was going to be fresh and original, but it turned out to be a rather ____ performance. |
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Term
sycophant
a person who tries to gain favor by flattering persons of influence; a “yes man”
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Definition
| People want to believe that they have beauty and skill, so they might not recognize a/an ____ for what he is, an insincere flatterer. |
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Term
malevolent
spiteful; wicked; nasty; mean
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Definition
| The man on trial for murder demonstrated his ____ intent when he snarled at the victim’s family. |
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Term
precarious
unsafe; insecure
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Definition
| Don’t get yourself in ____ situations, such as having to depend on someone who has been drinking to get you home. |
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Term
ambivalent
unsure; undecided; of two minds
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Definition
| I had ____ feelings about going to England; I wanted to go, but I was afraid of being so far from home. |
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Term
taciturn
untalkative; uncommunicative
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Definition
| ____ people are often also speculative people, too deep in thought to be garrulous. |
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Term
pedant
a person who pays undue attention to book learning and formal rules
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Definition
| A ____ will talk about how much they’ve read and how much they know, but sometimes they don’t know when to come in out of the rain. |
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Term
persevere
persist in the face of obstacles; hang tough
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Definition
| You need to ____ in your quest for an education. |
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