World Literature Flashcards
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Abhor
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find repugnant
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abyss
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a bottomless gulf or pit; any unfathomable (or apparently unfathomable) cavity or chasm or void extending below (often used figuratively)
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accumulate
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collect or gather; get or gather together
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ured
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Urge or request (someone) solemnly or earnestly to do something
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antagonist
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a drug that neutralizes or counteracts the effects of another drug; a muscle that relaxes while another contracts; someone who offers opposition
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anxiety
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a vague unpleasant emotion that is experienced in anticipation of some (usually ill-defined) misfortune; a relatively permanent state of anxiety occurring in a variety of mental disorders
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archetype
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an original model on which something is patterned
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awe
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an overwhelming feeling of wonder or admiration; a profound emotion inspired by a deity; inspire awe in
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babel
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a confusion of voices and other sounds; (Genesis 11:1-11) a tower built by Noah's descendants (probably in Babylon) who intended it to reach up to heaven; God foiled them by confusing their language so they could no longer understand one another
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bailiff
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an officer of the court who is employed to execute writs and processes and make arrests etc
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benevolent
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generous in providing aid to others; intending or showing kindness; generous in assistance to the poor; showing or motivated by sympathy and understanding and generosity
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blasphemous
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characterized by profanity or cursing; grossly irreverent toward what is held to be sacred
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brazen
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made of or resembling brass (as in color or hardness); unrestrained by convention or propriety; face with defiance or impudence
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buffeted
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pounded or hit repeatedly by storms or adversities
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calamity
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an event resulting in great loss and misfortune
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candor
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the quality of being honest and straightforward in attitude and speech; ability to make judgments free from discrimination or dishonesty
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caricature
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a representation of a person that is exaggerated for comic effect; represent in or produce a caricature of
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chastised
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punished for misbehavior
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chide
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censure severely or angrily
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comprised
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Consist of; be made up of
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conjecture
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reasoning that involves the formation of conclusions from incomplete evidence; a hypothesis that has been formed by speculating or conjecturing (usually with little hard evidence); a message expressing an opinion based on incomplete evidence; to believe especially on uncertain or tentative grounds
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consent
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permission to do something; give an affirmative reply to; respond favorably to
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convene
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meet formally; call together
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deference
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a courteous expression (by word or deed) of esteem or regard; courteous regard for people's feelings; a disposition or tendency to yield to the will of others
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desecrate
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remove the consecration from a person or an object; violate the sacred character of a place or language
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despicable
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morally reprehensible
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Diabolical
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extremely evil or cruel; expressive of cruelty or befitting hell; showing the cunning or ingenuity or wickedness typical of a devil
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discord
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strife resulting from a lack of agreement; disagreement among those expected to cooperate; lack of agreement or harmony; a harsh mixture of sounds; be different from one another
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disperse
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move away from each other; to cause to separate and go in different directions; cause to separate; cause to become widely known; distribute loosely
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disreputable
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lacking respectability in character or behavior or appearance
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distinguishing
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serving to distinguish or identify a species or group
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elated
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exultantly proud and joyful; in high spirits; full of high-spirited delight
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endowed
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provided or supplied or equipped with (especially as by inheritance or nature)
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enraptured
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feeling great rapture or delight
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Epidemic
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(especially of medicine) of disease or anything resembling a disease; attacking or affecting many individuals in a community or a population simultaneously; a widespread outbreak of an infectious disease; many people are infected at the same time
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esteemed
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having an illustrious reputation; respected
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estranged
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caused to be unloved
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evasion
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the act of physically escaping from something (an opponent or a pursuer or an unpleasant situation) by some adroit maneuver; nonperformance of something distasteful (as by deceit or trickery) that you are supposed to do; the deliberate act of failing to pay money; a statement that is not literally false but that cleverly avoids an unpleasant truth
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excretion
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the bodily process of discharging waste matter; waste matter (as urine or sweat but especially feces) discharged from the body
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famine
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a severe shortage of food (as through crop failure) resulting in violent hunger and starvation and death; an acute insufficiency
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fathomless
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Very deep; bottomless; unfathomable or incomprehensible
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feigning
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the act of giving a false appearance; pretending with intention to deceive
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fervor
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feelings of great warmth and intensity; the state of being emotionally aroused and worked up
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fervor
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feelings of great warmth and intensity; the state of being emotionally aroused and worked up
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firmament
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the apparent surface of the imaginary sphere on which celestial bodies appear to be projected
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frivolous
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not serious in content or attitude or behavior
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grotesque
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distorted and unnatural in shape or size; abnormal and hideous; ludicrously odd; art characterized by an incongruous mixture of parts of humans and animals interwoven with plants
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homage
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respectful deference
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imbue
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suffuse with color; fill, soak, or imbue totally; spread or diffuse through
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impertinence
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inappropriate playfulness; the trait of being rude and impertinent; inclined to take liberties; an impudent statement
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impervious
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not admitting of passage or capable of being affected
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impulsive
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without forethought; proceeding from natural feeling or impulse without external stimulus; characterized by undue haste and lack of thought or deliberation; determined by chance or impulse or whim rather than by necessity or reason; having the power of driving or impelling
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incur
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make oneself subject to; bring upon oneself; become liable to; receive a specified treatment (abstract)
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indignantly
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adv in an indignant manner
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indiscreet
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lacking discretion; injudicious
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infatuated
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marked by foolish or unreasoning fondness
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infirmity
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the state of being weak in health or body (especially from old age)
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ingenuity
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the property of being ingenious; the power of creative imagination
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intolerable
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incapable of being put up with
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intrepid
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invulnerable to fear or intimidation
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inverted
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being in such a position that top and bottom are reversed; (of a plant ovule) completely inverted; turned back 180 degrees on its stalk
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invoke
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cite as an authority; resort to; request earnestly (something from somebody); ask for aid or protection; summon into action or bring into existence, often as if by magic
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laden
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burdened psychologically or mentally; filled with a great quantity; fill or place a load on; remove with or as if with a ladle
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languishing
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Lose or lack vitality; grow weak or feeble
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lustrous
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brilliant; reflecting light; made smooth and bright by or as if by rubbing; reflecting a sheen or glow
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malice
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feeling a need to see others suffer; the quality of threatening evil
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malicious
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having the nature of or resulting from malice
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manifested
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Clear or obvious to the eye or mind
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mantra
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(Sanskrit) literally a `sacred utterance' in Vedism; one of a collection of orally transmitted poetic hymns; a commonly repeated word or phrase
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mediate
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acting through or dependent on an intervening agency; being neither at the beginning nor at the end in a series; occupy an intermediate or middle position or form a connecting link or stage between two others; act between parties with a view to reconciling differences
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misfortune
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unnecessary and unforeseen trouble resulting from an unfortunate event; an unfortunate state resulting from unfavorable outcomes
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mitigated
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made less severe or intense
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netherworld
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(religion) the world of the dead
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obsessed
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influenced or controlled by a powerful force such as a strong emotion; having or showing excessive or compulsive concern with something
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obstinate
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resistant to guidance or discipline; stubbornly persistent in wrongdoing; tenaciously unwilling or marked by tenacious unwillingness to yield; persist stubbornly
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ominous
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presaging ill fortune; threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments
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palpable
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capable of being perceived by the senses or the mind; especially capable of being handled or touched or felt; can be felt by palpation
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pastoral
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of or relating to a pastor; suggestive of an idyll; charmingly simple and serene; used of idealized country life; relating to shepherds or herdsmen or devoted to raising sheep or cattle; a literary work idealizing the rural life (especially the life of shepherds); a letter from a pastor to the congregation; a musical composition that evokes rural life
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pathos
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a quality that arouses emotions (especially pity or sorrow); a style that has the power to evoke feelings; a feeling of sympathy and sorrow for the misfortunes of others
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perilous
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fraught with danger
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perjure
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Willfully tell an untruth when giving evidence to a court; commit perjury
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pervades
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Spread through and be perceived in every part of
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primal
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having existed from the beginning; in an earliest or original stage or state; serving as an essential component
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pristine
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immaculately clean and unused; completely free from dirt or contamination
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pristine
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immaculately clean and unused; completely free from dirt or contamination
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probate
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the act of proving that an instrument purporting to be a will was signed and executed in accord with legal requirements; a judicial certificate saying that a will is genuine and conferring on the executors the power to administer the estate; establish the legal validity of (wills and other documents); put a convicted person on probation by suspending his sentence
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prodigal
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marked by rash extravagance; very generous; recklessly wasteful; a recklessly extravagant consumer
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prodigious
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so great in size or force or extent as to elicit awe; far beyond what is usual in magnitude or degree; of momentous or ominous significance
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rebuke
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an act or expression of criticism and censure; censure severely or angrily
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recompense
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the act of compensating for service or loss or injury; payment or reward (as for service rendered); make payment to; compensate; make amends for; pay compensation for
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renown
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the state or quality of being widely honored and acclaimed
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Requited
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Make appropriate return for (a favor or service); reward
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retribution
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the act of correcting for your wrongdoing; a justly deserved penalty; the act of taking revenge (harming someone in retaliation for something harmful that they have done) especially in the next life
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sated
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fed beyond capacity or desire
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scruples
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motivation deriving logically from ethical or moral principles that govern a person's thoughts and actions
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serene
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completely clear and fine; not agitated; without losing self-possession
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sinister
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on or starting from the wearer's left; threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments; stemming from evil characteristics or forces; wicked or dishonorable
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skulk
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move stealthily; avoid responsibilities and duties, eg, by pretending to be ill; lie in wait, lie in ambush, behave in a sneaky and secretive manner
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soothsayer
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someone who makes predictions of the future (usually on the basis of special knowledge)
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sovereign
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greatest in status or authority or power; (of political bodies) not controlled by outside forces; a nation's ruler or head of state usually by hereditary right
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spendthrift
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recklessly wasteful; someone who spends money prodigally
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steadfast
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firm and dependable especially in loyalty; marked by firm determination or resolution; not shakable
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stingy
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unwilling to spend; deficient in amount or quality or extent
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subsided
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Become less intense, violent, or severe
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succor
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assistance in time of difficulty; help in a difficult situation
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sympathetic
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expressing or feeling or resulting from sympathy or compassion or friendly fellow feelings; disposed toward; (of characters in literature or drama) evoking empathic or sympathetic feelings; of or relating to the sympathetic nervous system; having similar disposition and tastes; relating to vibrations that occur as a result of vibrations in a nearby body; showing or motivated by sympathy and understanding and generosity
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taciturn
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habitually reserved and uncommunicative
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teemed
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Be full of or swarming with
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tenacity
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persistent determination
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tremulous
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(of the voice) quivering as from weakness or fear
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unrestrained
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not subject to restraint; richly and brilliantly colorful; marked by uncontrolled excitement or emotion
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vivacity
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characterized by high spirits and animation
