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REDUCE IN AMOUNT, DEGREE, OR SEVERITY
As the hurricane's force abated, the winds dropped and the seas remained calm. |
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TO LEAVE SECRETLY
The patron absconded from the restaurant without paying his bill by sneaking out the back door. |
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TO CHOOSE NOT TO DO SOMETHING
She abstained from choosing a mouthwatering dessert from the tray. |
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AN EXTREMELY DEEP HOLE
The submarine dove deep into the abyss to chart the previously unseen depths. |
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TO MAKE IMPURE
The chef made his ketchup last longer by adulterating it with water. |
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TO SPEAK IN FAVOR OF
The vegetarian advocated a diet containing no meat. |
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CONCERNING THE APPRECIATION OF BEAUTY
Followers of the aesthetic movement regarded the pursuit of beauty as the only true purpose of art. |
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TO INCREASE IN POWER, INFLUENCE, & REPUTATION
The supervisor sought to aggrandize herself by claiming that the achievements of her staff were actually her own. |
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TO MAKE MORE BEARABLE
Taking aspirin may alleviate a headache. |
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TO COMBINE, TO MIX TOGETHER
Giant industries amalgamated with Mega Products to form Giant Mega Products Inc. |
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DOUBTFUL OR UNCERTAIN; ABLE TO BE INTERPRETED SEVERAL WAYS
The directions she gave were so ambiguous that I could not decide which way to turn. |
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TO MAKE BETTER OR IMPROVE
The doctor was able to ameliorate the patient's suffering with the use of painkillers. |
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SOMETHING OUT OF PLACE IN TIME
The aged hippie used anachronistic phrases like "groovy" and "far out" that had not been popular for years. |
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Definition
SIMILAR OR ALIKE IN SOME WAY; EQUIVALENT TO
In the Newtonian construct for explaining the existence of God, the universe is analogous to a mechanical timepiece, the creation of a divinely intelligent clockmaker. |
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DEVIATION FROM WHAT IS NORMAL
Albino animals may display too much anomaly in their coloring to attract normally colored mates. |
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TO ANNOY OR PROVOKE TO ANGER
The child realized that she could antagonize the cat by pulling its tail. |
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EXTREME DISLIKE
The antipathy between the French and the English commonly erupted into war. |
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LACK OF INTEREST OR EMOTION
The apathy of voters is so great that less than half the people who are eligible to vote actually bother to do so. |
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TO JUDGE A DISPUTE BETWEEN TWO OPPOSING PARTIES
Since the couple could not come to an agreement, a judge was forced to arbitrate their divorce proceedings. |
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ANCIENT, OLD-FASHIONED
Her archaic Commodore computer could not run the latest software. |
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INTENSE AND PASSIONATE FEELING
Bishop's ardor for the landscape was evident when he passionately described the beauty of the scenic Hudson Valley. |
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ABLE TO SPEAK CLEARLY AND EXPRESSIVELY
She is such an articulate defender of labor that unions are among her strongest supporters. |
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TO MAKE SOMETHING UNPLEASANT LESS SEVERE
Serena used aspirin to assuage her pounding headache. |
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TO REDUCE IN FORCE OR DEGREE; TO WEAKEN
The Bill of Rights attenuated the traditional power of governments to change laws at will. |
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FEARLESS AND DARING
Her audacious nature allowed her to fulfill her dream of skydiving. |
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SEVERE OR LESS STERN IN APPEARANCE; UNDECORATED
The lack of decoration makes military barracks seem austere to the civilian eye. |
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PREDICTABLE, CLICHE, BORING
He used banal phrases like "Have a nice day" or "Another day another dollar". |
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TO SUPPORT, PROP UP
The presence of giant footprints bolstered the argument that Sasquatch was in the area. |
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POMPOUS IN MANNER AND SPEECH
The ranting of the radio talk show host was mostly bombastic; his boasting and outrageous claims had no basis in fact. |
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