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| -----Characterized by knowledge that is known only to a small group of specialists; obscure-----The main character in "National Treasure" is full of esoteric knowledge that nobody else would know. |
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| -----Haughtily disdainful; arrogantly superior-----The supercilious Max told Cynthia that she was stupid, giggling to himself afterwards. |
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| -----Excessive greed, especially for wealth-----The man coveted more and more treasure as his cupidity grew. |
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| -----To assume financial responsibility for-----The Gates Millennium Scholars fund underwrites a one billion dollar program to provide scholarships for minorities. |
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| -----Uneasy; in a state of embarrassment-----Alex feels discomfited around Alyssa and Cynthia sometimes -- and by sometimes I mean all the time. |
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| -----Habitually quiet; uncommunicative-----Some of the kids at KAA are extremely taciturn, so they should speak up in class. |
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| -----An office or position that requires little or no work and that usually provides an income-----I'd really hate to work a sinecure; it sounds so boring. |
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| -----Sad and mournful, often describing music-----The lugubrious dirge at the funeral made me cry. |
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| -----Worldly; sophisticated; open-minded-----Many people dream of living in New York and living a cosmopolitan life like the high society kids do. |
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| provincial, parochial, insular (adj) |
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| -----Limited in perspective; narrow; restricted in scope-----Often people who grow up in sheltered areas have a provincial point of view. |
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| -----Intellectually productive or inventive-----George Lucas and JK Rowling both have extremely fecund imaginations. |
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| -----Showy; intended to attract notice; pretentious-----Your ostentatious display onstage does not impress me; in fact, it is too showy. |
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| -----Treacherous cunning; skillful deceit-----He managed to trick Mr. Hall with clever guile. |
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| -----Cheerfully confident; optimistic-----The sanguine girl was extremely happy. |
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| -----Sparkling; shining; brilliantly clever-----The scintillating performance that Max gave was captivating in every sense of the word. |
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| -----Remaining in a pure state; uncorrupted-----The pristine rainforest was untouched by humans for hundreds of years. |
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| -----Unrestrained; unchecked-----Rampant crime was a huge problem for the city; it seemed like there was no escape from it. |
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| -----Highly injurious; destructive; deadly-----The pernicious consequences of cocaine trafficking can be seen clearly in Kate Moss. |
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| -----Lacking conscious awareness; unmindful; unaware-----Even with all the commotion around her, Cynthia remained oblivious. |
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| -----Obstinately resistant to authority or control-----The sheer refractory nature of humans causes utopian societies to fail. |
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| garrulous, verbose, loquacious (adj) |
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| -----Annoyingly talkative-----Cynthia gets the feeling that Alex thinks she's too garrulous sometimes. |
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| -----Fond of feasting, drink, and good company-----A hedonist is probably extremely convivial. |
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| -----Abrupt in manner or speech; discourteously blunt-----Your brusque manner makes me feel uncomfortable; please be more polite. |
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| -----Lukewarm; mild; half-hearted-----The film was only mediocre; it received tepid reviews from critics. |
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| -----Readily taking on various forms and meanings-----The protean nature of HIV makes it extremely difficult to treat. |
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| -----Showing great care and concern; attentive-----The Dursleys are extremely solicitous of their child Dudley. |
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| -----Not straightforward or candid; insincere-----The disingenuous man didn't have a lot of friends since nobody could trust him. |
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| -----To regard with great respect; to hold in high esteem-----People often venerate international heroes like George Washington and Nelson Mandela. |
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| -----Quarrelsome; argumentative; likely to provoke a controversy-----The contentious argument over the film caused Gerry and Merry to get into a fight. |
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| -----To make impossible; to prevent-----Max precluded Cynthia from having a good time, ever. Classic. |
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| compunction, contrition, remorse (n) |
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| -----Feelings of sincere and deep regret-----Cynthia made a statement of contrition after she punched Alex in the face. |
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| -----The study of the characteristics of human populations-----Tweens are a demographic group that Disney Channels tries to court. |
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| -----A statement universally accepted as true-----A well-known axiom (for stock traders): "Buy low and sell high." A lesser-known axiom: "Your KAA counselors are the greatest people you will ever meet." |
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