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verb

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renounce - To formally declare one is giving up and abandoning a claim, a right, or possession

To start her diet she made a resolution to herself that she would renounce cake for a month.

adjective

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obnoxious - Extremely unpleasant

Jared simply wanted to motivate his employees, but he didn't realize yelling at them through a megaphone was extremely obnoxious.

verb

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revoke - To officially take back or annul something, such as a decision, permission, or privilege.

The government decided to revoke his passport after discovering his involvement in illegal activities abroad.

adjective

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confrontational - Tending to deal with situations in an aggressive or argumentative way.

The manager’s confrontational tone created tension among the staff.

noun

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heretic - A person who holds beliefs that contradict the official teachings of a field, discipline, or religion.

Galileo was branded a heretic for challenging the dominant ideas of the time.

verb

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rankle - To act in a way that is annoying and irritating.

Drake would get angry when his coworkers would rankle him with ridiculous requests.

verb

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chastise - To scold or criticize someone severely for doing something wrong.

He was chastised by his coach for not following the game plan.

verb

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berate - To criticize someone in an angry manner

When the private acted in an inappropriate way, his officer berated him to give him the message clearly not to act that way again.

noun

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slander - A false spoken statement about someone that damages their reputation

Bill's company took a while to recover after his competitor broadcast a TV ad that contained slander about Bill's company's products.

verb

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shun - To persistently avoid, ignore, or reject (someone or something) through antipathy or caution

When David tried to join in the conversation at the club, they ignored him, and he suspected that he was being shunned because he had a different religion than they did.

verb

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undermine - To weaken or damage something, especially gradually or secretly; to sabotage or erode the foundation or support.

Constant criticism from a parent or a boss can undermine a person's self-esteem.

verb

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polarize - To divide into two completely opposing groups

It's frightening to see how many issues have caused the US to polarize into Right and Left groups that hate each other.