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obscure
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adj 1: not clearly understood or expressed; "an obscure turn of
phrase"; "an impulse to go off and fight certain obscure
battles of his own spirit"-Anatole Broyard; "their
descriptions of human behavior become vague, dull, and
unclear"- P.A.Sorokin; "vague...forms of speech...have so
long passed for mysteries of science"- John Locke [syn:
obscure, vague]
2: marked by difficulty of style or expression; "much that was
dark is now quite clear to me"; "those who do not appreciate
Kafka's work say his style is obscure" [syn: dark,
obscure]
3: difficult to find; "hidden valleys"; "a hidden cave"; "an
obscure retreat" [syn: hidden, obscure]
4: not famous or acclaimed; "an obscure family"; "unsung heroes
of the war" [syn: obscure, unknown, unsung]
5: not drawing attention; "an unnoticeable cigarette burn on the
carpet"; "an obscure flaw" [syn: obscure, unnoticeable]
6: remote and separate physically or socially; "existed over the
centuries as a world apart"; "preserved because they
inhabited a place apart"- W.H.Hudson; "tiny isolated villages
remote from centers of civilization"; "an obscure village"
[syn: apart(p), isolated, obscure]
v 1: make less visible or unclear; "The stars are obscured by
the clouds"; "the big elm tree obscures our view of the
valley" [syn: obscure, befog, becloud, obnubilate,
haze over, fog, cloud, mist]
2: make unclear, indistinct, or blurred; "Her remarks confused
the debate"; "Their words obnubilate their intentions" [syn:
confuse, blur, obscure, obnubilate]
3: make obscure or unclear; "The distinction was obscured" [syn:
obscure, bedim, overcloud]
4: reduce a vowel to a neutral one, such as a schwa
5: make undecipherable or imperceptible by obscuring or
concealing; "a hidden message"; "a veiled threat" [syn:
obscure, blot out, obliterate, veil, hide]
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ordure
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n 1: solid excretory product evacuated from the bowels [syn:
fecal matter, faecal matter, feces, faeces, BM,
stool, ordure, dejection]
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overture
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n 1: orchestral music played at the beginning of an opera or
oratorio
2: something that serves as a preceding event or introduces what
follows; "training is a necessary preliminary to employment";
"drinks were the overture to dinner" [syn: preliminary,
overture, prelude]
3: a tentative suggestion designed to elicit the reactions of
others; "she rejected his advances" [syn: overture,
advance, approach, feeler]
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pedicure
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n 1: professional care for the feet and toenails
v 1: care for one's feet by cutting and shaping the nails, etc.
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photogravure
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n 1: printing from an intaglio plate prepared by photographic
methods
2: an intaglio print produced by gravure [syn: gravure,
photogravure, heliogravure]
3: using photography to produce a plate for printing [syn:
photogravure, rotogravure]
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prefecture
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n 1: the district administered by a prefect (as in France or
Japan or the Roman Empire)
2: the office of prefect
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premature
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adj 1: born after a gestation period of less than the normal
time; "a premature infant" [ant: full-term]
2: too soon or too hasty; "our condemnation of him was a bit
previous"; "a premature judgment" [syn: previous(p),
premature]
3: uncommonly early or before the expected time; "illness led to
his premature death"; "alcohol brought him to an untimely
end" [syn: premature, untimely]
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procure
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v 1: get by special effort; "He procured extra cigarettes even
though they were rationed" [syn: procure, secure]
2: arrange for sexual partners for others [syn: pander,
pimp, procure]
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rotogravure
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n 1: printing by transferring an image from a photogravure plate
to a cylinder in a rotary press
2: printed material (text and pictures) produced by an intaglio
printing process in a rotary press
3: using photography to produce a plate for printing [syn:
photogravure, rotogravure]
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secure
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adj 1: free from fear or doubt; easy in mind; "he was secure
that nothing will be held against him" [syn: secure,
unafraid, untroubled] [ant: insecure]
2: free from danger or risk; "secure from harm"; "his fortune
was secure"; "made a secure place for himself in his field"
[ant: insecure, unsafe]
3: not likely to fail or give way; "the lock was secure"; "a
secure foundation"; "a secure hold on her wrist" [ant:
insecure]
4: immune to attack; incapable of being tampered with; "an
impregnable fortress"; "fortifications that made the frontier
inviolable"; "a secure telephone connection" [syn:
impregnable, inviolable, secure, strong,
unassailable, unattackable]
5: financially sound; "a good investment"; "a secure investment"
[syn: dependable, good, safe, secure]
v 1: get by special effort; "He procured extra cigarettes even
though they were rationed" [syn: procure, secure]
2: cause to be firmly attached; "fasten the lock onto the door";
"she fixed her gaze on the man" [syn: fasten, fix,
secure] [ant: unfasten]
3: assure payment of
4: make certain of; "This nest egg will ensure a nice retirement
for us"; "Preparation will guarantee success!" [syn:
guarantee, ensure, insure, assure, secure]
5: fill or close tightly with or as if with a plug; "plug the
hole"; "stop up the leak" [syn: plug, stop up, secure]
6: furnish with battens; "batten ships" [syn: batten, batten
down, secure]
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sinecure
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n 1: a benefice to which no spiritual or pastoral duties are
attached
2: an office that involves minimal duties
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tonsure
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n 1: the shaved crown of a monk's or priest's head
2: shaving the crown of the head by priests or members of a
monastic order
v 1: shave the head of a newly inducted monk
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tamandua
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n 1: small toothless anteater with prehensile tail and four-
clawed forelimbs; of tropical South America and Central
America [syn: tamandua, tamandu, lesser anteater,
Tamandua tetradactyla]
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commissure
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n 1: a bundle of nerve fibers passing from one side to the other
of the brain or spinal cord
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aconcagua
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n 1: the highest mountain in the western hemisphere; located in
the Andes in western Argentina (22,834 feet high)
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papua
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n 1: the southeastern part of Papua New Guinea
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joshua
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n 1: (Old Testament) Moses' successor who led the Israelites
into the Promised Land; best remembered for his destruction
of Jericho
2: a book in the Old Testament describing how Joshua led the
Israelites into Canaan (the Promised Land) after the death of
Moses [syn: Joshua, Josue, Book of Joshua]
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mantua
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n 1: loose gown of the 17th and 18th centuries
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padua
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n 1: a city in Veneto [syn: Padua, Padova, Patavium]
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valuer
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n 1: someone who assesses the monetary worth of possessions
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crenature
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n 1: one of a series of rounded projections (or the notches
between them) formed by curves along an edge (as the edge
of a leaf or piece of cloth or the margin of a shell or a
shriveled red blood cell observed in a hypertonic solution
etc.) [syn: scallop, crenation, crenature, crenel,
crenelle]
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sepulture
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n 1: the ritual placing of a corpse in a grave [syn: burial,
entombment, inhumation, interment, sepulture]
2: a chamber that is used as a grave [syn: burial chamber,
sepulcher, sepulchre, sepulture]
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residua
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craquelure
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enure
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capua
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conure
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vacua
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coverture
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nunciature
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