English Vocabulary From Webster`s New World College
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Achilles' heel
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n. one's vulnerable or susceptible spot
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stentorian
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adj. very loud
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mnemonic
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adj. 1 helping or meant to help the memory 2 of mnemonics or the memoryn. any of the formulas used in mnemonics to improve the memory
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fathom
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n. a unit of length used to measure the depth of water or the length of a nautical rope or cable, equal to 6 ft transitive verb (vt.) 1 to measure the depth of; sound 2 to get to the bottom of; understand thoroughly
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serendipity
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n. 1 a seeming gift for finding something...accidentally 2 luck, or...fortune, in finding something...accidentally 3 an instance of this
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desultory
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adj. 1 passing from one thing to another in an aimless way; disconnected; not methodical... 2 lacking direct relevance; random; incidental...
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pariah
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n. 1 a member of one of the lowest social castes in India 2 any person despised or rejected by others; outcast
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tawdry
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adj. cheap and showy; gaudy; sleazy
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pecuniary
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adj. 1 of or involving money 2 involving a money penalty, or fine
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impecunios
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adj. having no money; poor; penniless
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spartan
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adj. 1 of ancient Sparta or its people or culture 2 like or characteristic of the Spartans, who were famous for being warlike, brave, stoical, severe, frugal, and highly disciplined 3 not luxurious or ornate; plain; austeren. 1 a pereson born or living in Sparta 2 a person with Spartan traits
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gadfly
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n. 1 any of several large flies, as the horsefly, that bite livestock 2 a person who annoys others, esp. by rousing them from complacency
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homage
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n. 1 [Historical] a) a public avowal of allegiance by a vassal to his lord b) an act done or thing given to show the relationship between lord and vassal 2 anything given or done to show reverence, honor, or respect: usually with \"do\" or \"pay\"
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spurn
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vt. 1 [Archaic] to push or drive away contemptuously with or as with the foot 2 to refuse or reject with contempt or disdain;scornvi. to show contempt or disdain in refusing or rejecting n. 1 [Archaic] a kick 2 scornful treatment or rejection
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pedigree
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n. 1 a list or ancestors; record of ancestry; family tree 2 descent; lineage; ancestry 3 a recorded or known line of descent, esp. of a purebred animal
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pittance
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n. 1 a small or barely sufficient allowance of money 2 any small amount or share
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preposterous
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adj. 1 [Now Rare] with the first last and the last first, inverted 2 so contrary to nature, reason, or common sense as to be laughable; absurd; ridiculous
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macabre
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adj. grim and horrible; gruesome; ghastly
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farce
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n. 1 [Now Rare] stuffing, as for a fowl 2 an exaggerated comedy based on broadly humorous, highly unlikely situations 3 broad humor of the kind found in such plays 4 something absurd or ridiculous, as an obvious pretensevt. to fill out with or as with stuffing or seasoning
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bombast
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n. talking or writing that sounds grand or important but has little meaning; pompous language
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Pronunciation of Achilles' Heel
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uh-KEEL-ees HEEL
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Pronounce Stentorian
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sten-TOR-ee-uhn
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Pronounce Mnemonic
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neh-MAHN-ik
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Pronounce Fathom
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FA-them
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Pronounce Serendipity
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seh-ren-DIP-it-ee
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Pronounce Desultory
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DEHZ-ull-tree
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Pronounce Pariah
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puh-RYE-uh
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Pronounce Tawdry
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TAW-dree
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Pronounce Pecuniary
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peh-CYOO-nee-airy
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Pronounce Impecunious
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im-pec-CYOO-nyuhs
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Pronounce Spartan
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SPAR-tn
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Pronounce Gadfly
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GAD-fly
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Pronounce Homage
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(H)O-mij
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Pronounce Spurn
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SPURN
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Pronounce Pedigree
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PE-dih-gree
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Pronounce Pittance
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PIH-tuhnse
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Pronounce Preposterous
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prih-POS-tur-uhs
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Pronounce Macabre
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mah-CAHB
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Pronounce Farce
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FAHRCE
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Pronounce Bombast
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BAHM-bast
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Origin of Achilles Heel
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from a pre-Greek language or Greek AKHOS (pain, grief)+ Greek LAOS (people) Old English HELA
