100 Words That Make You Sound Smart – Flashcards
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accolade
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award, high praise
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acrimony
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bitterness
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angst
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anxiety
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angst
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anxiety
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anomaly
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oddity
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antidote
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remedy, cure
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avant-garde
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unconventional, very modern and experimental
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baroque
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overdecorated
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bona fide
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genuine, authentic
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boondoggle
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work of little or no value done merely to look busy
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bourgeois
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belonging to the middle class
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bravado
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pretentious display of courage
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brogue
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a thick and heavy shoe
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brusque
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abrupt
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byzantine
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labyrinthine, complex, mazelike
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cacophony
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din
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camaraderie
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feeling of trust and friendship
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capricious
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mercurial, whimsical, fickle
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carte blanche
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complete freedom or authority to act
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catch-22
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an impossible situation
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caustic
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harsh or corrosive in tone
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charisma
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personal qualities that attract, influence and inspire
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cloying
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saccharine
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deja vu
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feeling of having lived through the present moment before
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dichotomy
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division into two parts
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dilettante
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dabbler
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disheveled
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untidy
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elan
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panache, flair
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ennui
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boredom
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epitome
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a typical example
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equanimity
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composure
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equivocate
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stonewall, prevaricate
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esoteric
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recondite
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euphemism
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an inoffensive or indirect expression that is substituted for one that is considered offensive or too harsh
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fait accompli
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done deal
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fastidious
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meticulous
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faux pas
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blunder, gaffe
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fiasco
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debacle
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finagle
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contrive, deceive, swindle
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Freudian slip
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accidental revelation of subconscious feelings
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glib
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articulate, voluble
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gregarious
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sociable
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harbinger
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precursor
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hedonistic
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sybaritic, voluptuary
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heresy
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unorthodoxy
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idiosyncratic
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quirky
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idyllic
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pleasant
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indelicate
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indecorous
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infinitesimal
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tiny
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insidious
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pernicious
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junket
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a journey taken for pleasure
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kitsch
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something pretentious and shallow showing a lack of good taste
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litany
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prolonged account
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lurid
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sensational, shocking
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Machiavellian
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devious
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malaise
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vague uneasiness
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malinger
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avoid responsibilities and duties, e.g., by pretending to be ill
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mantra
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commonly repeated word or phrase
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maudlin
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mawkish
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mercenary
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hireling, soldier of fortune
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minimalist
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advocating minimal reforms (as in government or politics)
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misnomer
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incorrect/unsuitable name
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narcissistic
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egotistic
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nirvana
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any place of complete bliss and delight and peace
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non sequitur
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illogical statement
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nouveau riche
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a person who has suddenly risen to a higher economic status but has not gained social acceptance of others in that class
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oblivion
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the state of being disregarded or forgotten
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ogle
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a lecherous look
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ostentatious
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grandiose
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ostracize
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outcast
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panacea
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universal cure
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paradox
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a statement that contradicts itself
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peevish
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splenetic, testy
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perfunctory
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hasty and without attention to detail; not thorough
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philistine
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lacking in or hostile to culture
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precocious
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characterized by or characteristic of exceptionally early development or maturity (especially in mental aptitude)
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propriety
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decorum
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quid pro quo
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something for something
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quintessential
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representing the perfect example of a class or quality
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red herring
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misleading clue
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revel
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bask, relish, savour
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rhetoric
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exaggerated speech
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scintillating
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brilliantly clever
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spartan
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austere
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stigma
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taint
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stoic
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unflappable, impassive
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suave
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sophisticated, urbane
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Svengali
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someone (usually maleficent) who tries to persuade or force another person to do his bidding
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sycophant
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minion, groveler, bootlicker, brownnoser
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teetotaler
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a total abstainer
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tete-a-tete
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a private conversation between two people
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tirade
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diatribe
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tryst
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assignation
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ubiquitous
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pervasive, universal
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unrequited
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unreciprocated
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untenable
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indefensible, unjustifiable
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vicarious
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experienced at secondhand
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vile
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unpleasant
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waft
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blow gently
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white elephant
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a valuable possession whose upkeep is excessively expensive
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zealous
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enthusiastic, fanatic
