DEFINITION: (verb) Avoid or try to avoid fulfilling, answering, or performing (duties, questions, or issues).
SYNONYMS: evade, hedge, skirt, parry, fudge, circumvent, dodge, elude, duck, put off.
USAGE: The candidate tried to sidestep the iss…

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DEFINITION: (adjective) Extending or lying across; in a crosswise direction; at right angles to the long axis.
SYNONYMS: cross, thwartwise.
USAGE: The transversal beams of the building’s frame were to be made of steel, not wood.

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DEFINITION: (adjective) Of minor importance.
SYNONYMS: small-time.
USAGE: He ran his nickel-and-dime operation out of the back of a pickup truck and dreamed of the day when he would own his own storefront.

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DEFINITION: (noun) One leading a solitary or secluded life.
SYNONYMS: recluse, troglodyte, hermit.
USAGE: Peter, a self-proclaimed solitudinarian, lives in a cabin deep in the woods, miles from his closest neighbor.

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DEFINITION: (noun) A merchant who sells men’s clothing.
SYNONYMS: haberdasher.
USAGE: It was for the next generation to patronize clothiers who kept each suit on its separate hanger.

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DEFINITION: (noun) Coarse, indigestible plant food low in nutrients; its bulk stimulates intestinal peristalsis.
SYNONYMS: fiber.
USAGE: Fruits and vegetables should be eaten every day to ensure that one gets enough roughage in his diet.

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DEFINITION: (adjective) Devoid of creatures.
SYNONYMS: lonely, solitary.
USAGE: The reference library is quite unfrequented as a rule, and the silence there is so intense that I often find myself holding my breath in a subconscious effort to …

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DEFINITION: (adjective) Experiencing or accompanied by sleeplessness.
SYNONYMS: sleepless, watchful.
USAGE: Every night, I’m woken by the sound of creaking floorboards as my insomniac husband leaves for another late-night snack.

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DEFINITION: (noun) A room in a church where sacred vessels and vestments are kept or meetings are held.
SYNONYMS: vestry.
USAGE: We were admitted to the sacristy and shown the magnificent robes which the Pope wore when he crowned Napoleon I.
…

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DEFINITION: (noun) Someone who is no longer popular.
SYNONYMS: back-number.
USAGE: There is a fine line between pop star and washed-up has-been, and the poor sales of her newest record seem to indicate that she has crossed it.

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DEFINITION: (verb) To act or be counter to; violate.
SYNONYMS: infringe, run afoul, conflict.
USAGE: This deportation order contravenes basic human rights and must be overturned.

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DEFINITION: (adjective) Marked by unjust severity or arbitrary behavior.
SYNONYMS: oppressive.
USAGE: He was neither wrathful, cruel, nor tyrannical, but just and gentle as a king could be.

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DEFINITION: (verb) Try to gain favor by cringing or flattering.
SYNONYMS: bootlick, toady, truckle, fawn, suck up.
USAGE: Josh was next in line for a promotion, but he refused to kowtow to his superiors, and they ultimately chose the suck-up …

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DEFINITION: (noun) Temporary living quarters.
SYNONYMS: domiciliation, lodgings, pad.
USAGE: We were tired and hungry…and when we got to Datchet we took out the hamper, the two bags, and the rugs and coats…and started off to look for digg…

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DEFINITION: (noun) A woman who is considered to be dangerously seductive.
SYNONYMS: femme fatale, temptress, Delilah, siren.
USAGE: Though his wife stood lovingly by his side all evening, he had eyes only for the enchantress in the emerald dr…

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DEFINITION: (adjective) Cleverly amusing in tone.
SYNONYMS: bantering, facetious.
USAGE: The student made a tongue-in-cheek remark about his dog having eaten his overdue math homework.

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DEFINITION: (adjective) Of or relating to the spleen.
SYNONYMS: lienal.
USAGE: Julian was overjoyed as his doctor explained that his splenic tumor had gone into remission.

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DEFINITION: (verb) Reduce in worth or character, usually verbally.
SYNONYMS: degrade, disgrace, put down.
USAGE: The CEO makes it a point to regularly demean employees in front of their colleagues, as he believes that a little public humiliat…

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DEFINITION: (verb) Form intrigues (for) in an underhand manner.
SYNONYMS: scheme, intrigue.
USAGE: We had to send that perfectly innocent man to penal servitude for a crime we know he never committed, and it was only afterward that we could c…

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DEFINITION: (noun) A debater who refutes or disproves by offering contrary evidence or argument.
SYNONYMS: confuter.
USAGE: Although our opponent’s speech was well-received by the crowd, our rebutter was confident that she could disprove most…

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