abjure  | v. formally reject or disavow a formerly held belief, usually under pressure  |  
 abrogate  | v. revoke formally, repeal or do away with (a law, right, or formal agreement)  |  
 abstemious  | a. sparing in consumption of especially food and drink, marked by temperance in indulgence  |  
 acumen  | n. shrewdness shown by keen insight, a tapering point  |  
 antebellum  | a. belonging to a period before a war especially the American Civil War  |  
 auspicious  | a. auguring favorable circumstances and good luck  |  
 belie  | v. represent falsely, be in contradiction with  |  
 bellicose  | a. having or showing a ready disposition to fight  |  
 bowdlerize  | v. edit by omitting or modifying parts considered indelicate  |  
 chicanery  | n. the use of tricks to deceive someone (usually to extract money from them)  |  
 chromosome  | n. a threadlike strand of DNA in the cell nucleus that carries the genes in a linear order  |  
 churlish  | a. having a bad disposition, rude in a mean-spirited and surly way  |  
 circumlocution  | n. a style that involves indirect ways of expressing things, an indirect way of expressing something  |  
 circumnavigate  | v. travel around either by plane or ship, go around or avoid (an obstacle)  |  
 deciduous  | a. shedding foliage at the end of the growing season, being shed at the end of a period of growth  |  
 deleterious  | a. harmful to living things, causing harm or damage  |  
 diffident  | a. showing modest reserve, lacking self-confidence  |  
 enervate  | v. weaken mentally or morally, disturb the composure of  |  
 enfranchise  | v. grant freedom to; as from slavery or servitude, grant voting rights  |  
 epiphany  | n. a divine manifestation, twelve days after Christmas  |  
 equinox  | n. either of two times of the year when the sun crosses the plane of the earth's equator and day and night are of equal length  |  
 evanescent  | a. tending to vanish like vapor, soon passing out of sight, memory, or existence; quickly fading or disappearing  |  
 expurgate  | v. edit by omitting or modifying parts considered indelicate  |  
 fatuous  | a. devoid of intelligence, silly and pointless  |  
 feckless  | a. generally incompetent and ineffectual, not fit to assume responsibility  |  
 fiduciary  | a. involving trust, referring to paper currency depending on securities for its value  |  
 filibuster  | n. a tactic for delaying or obstructing legislation by making long speeches  |  
 gamete  | n. a mature sexual reproductive cell having a single set of unpaired chromosomes  |  
 gauche  | a. lacking social polish, lacking ease or grace  |  
 gerrymander  | v. divide unfairly and to one's advantage, of voting districts  |  
 hegemony  | n. the dominance or leadership of one social group or nation over others  |  
 hemoglobin  | n. function primarily to transport oxygen from the lungs to the body tissues  |  
 homogeneous  | a. all of the same or similar kind or nature  |  
 hubris  | n. overbearing pride or presumption, excessive pride or self-confidence  |  
 hypotenuse  | n. the side of a right triangle opposite the right angle  |  
 impeach  | v. challenge the honesty or veracity of, bring an accusation against; level a charge against  |  
 incognito  | a. with your identity concealed  |  
 incontrovertible  | a. necessarily or demonstrably true, impossible to deny or disprove  |  
 inculcate  | v. teach and impress by frequent repetitions or admonitions  |  
 infrastructure  | n. the basic structure or features of a system or organization  |  
 interpolate  | v. estimate the value of, insert words into texts, often falsifying it thereby  |  
 irony  | n. a trope that involves incongruity between what is expected and what occurs  |  
 jejune  | a. lacking in nutritive value, displaying or suggesting a lack of maturity  |  
 kinetic  | a. relating to the motion of material bodies and the forces associated therewith  |  
 kowtow  | v. try to gain favor by cringing or flattering  |  
 laissezfaire  | n. unwillingness to get involved in or influence other people's activities  |  
 lexicon  | n. a reference book containing an alphabetical list of words with information about them  |  
 loquacious  | a. full of trivial conversation, tending to talk a great deal; talkative  |  
 lugubrious  | a. excessively mournful, looking or sounding sad and dismal  |  
 metamorphosis  | n. a complete change of physical form or substance especially as by magic or witchcraft  |  
 mitosis  | n. type of cell division that results in two daughter cells each having same number and kind of chromosomes as parent nucleus  |  
 moiety  | n. one of two basic subdivisions of a tribe, one of two (approximately) equal parts  |  
 nanotechnology  | n. the branch of engineering that deals with things smaller than 100 nanometers (especially with the manipulation of individual molecules)  |  
 nihilism  | n. rejection of all religious and moral principles  |  
 nomenclature  | n. a system of words used to name things in a particular discipline  |  
 nonsectarian  | a. not involving or relating to different religious sects or political groups  |  
 notarize  | v. authenticate as a notary, acknowledge or attest as a notary public  |  
 obsequious  | a. attempting to win favor from influential people by flattery  |  
 oligarchy  | n. a political system governed by a few people  |  
 omnipotent  | a. having unlimited power, having virtually unlimited authority or influence  |  
 orthography  | n. a part of language study that deals with letters and spelling  |  
 paradigm  | n. the generally accepted perspective of a particular discipline at a given time  |  
 parameter  | n. any factor that defines a system and determines (or limits) its performance  |  
 pecuniary  | a. relating to or involving money, consisting of or measured in money  |  
 photosynthesis  | n. synthesis of compounds with the aid of radiant energy (especially in plants)  |  
 plagiarize  | v. take without referencing from someone else's writing or speech; of intellectual property  |  
 plasma  | n. the colorless watery fluid of the blood and lymph that contains no cells, but in which the blood cells are suspended  |  
 polymer  | n. a naturally occurring or synthetic compound consisting of large molecules made up of a linked series of repeated simple monomers  |  
 precipitous  | a. done with very great haste and without due deliberation, extremely steep  |  
 quasar  | n. massive and extremely remote celestial object  |  
 quotidian  | a. found in the ordinary course of events, occurring every day  |  
 recapitulate  | v. repeat an earlier theme of a composition, repeat stages of evolutionary development during the embryonic phase of life  |  
 reciprocal  | a. of or relating to the multiplicative inverse of a quantity or function  |  
 reparation  | n. compensation exacted from a defeated nation by the victors, compensation (given or received) for an insult or injury  |  
 respiration  | n. the bodily process of inhalation and exhalation, the process of taking in oxygen from inhaled air and releasing carbon dioxide  |  
 sanguine  | n. a blood-red color, confidently optimistic and cheerful  |  
 soliloquy  | n. a (usually long) dramatic speech intended to give the illusion of unspoken reflections, speech you make to yourself  |  
 subjugate  | v. put down by force or intimidation, make subservient, force to submit or subdue  |  
 suffragist  | n. an advocate of the extension of voting rights (especially to women)  |  
 supercilious  | a. having or showing arrogant superiority to and disdain of those one views as unworthy, expressive of contempt  |  
 tautology  | n. (logic) a statement that is necessarily true, useless repetition  |  
 taxonomy  | n. practice of classifying plants and animals according to their presumed natural relationships  |  
 tectonic  | a. pertaining to the structure or movement of the earth's crust ,of or pertaining to construction or architecture  |  
 tempestuous  | a. (of the elements) as if showing violent anger, characterized by violent emotions or behavior  |  
 thermodynamics  | n. the branch of physics concerned with the conversion of different forms of energy  |  
 totalitarian  | a. characterized by a government in which the political authority exercises absolute and centralized control  |  
 unctuous  | a. unpleasantly and excessively suave or ingratiating in manner or speech  |  
 vehement  | a. marked by extreme intensity of emotions or convictions; inclined to react violently  |  
 fervid  | a. characterized by great force or energy, intensely enthusiastic or passionate, especially to an excessive degree  |  
 vortex  | n. a powerful circular current of water, the shape of something rotating rapidly  |  
 winnow  | v. blow away or off with a current of air, separate the chaff from by using air currents  |  
 wrought  | a. shaped to fit by or as if by altering the contours of a pliable mass (as by work or effort)  |  
 xenophobe  | n. person having dislike of or prejudice against people from other countries  |  
 yeoman  | n. officer in the (ceremonial) bodyguard of the British monarch  |  
 ziggurat  | n. a rectangular tiered temple or terraced mound erected by the ancient Assyrians and Babylonians  |  
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