noun

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Bad / Strange

quirk - A peculiar behavioral habit

Sam was normal by most standards, except for his quirk of eating pizza slices backwards.

noun

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Bad / Strange

geek - An unfashionable or socially inept person, who often also has technical skills

Being such a geek, Richard made up for his lack of social skills with his expertise in computers.

verb

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Bad / Attack

scorch - To burn the surface of something with flame or heat

Nancy couldn't walk barefoot outside because the summer heat had scorched the pavement.

verb

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Good / Smart

Url

rectify - To make something right, especially by removing errors or mistakes made previously.

At the scene of the accident, he tried to rectify the result of his careless driving by apologizing, but the owner of the other car was too upset to listen.

noun

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Bad / Confused

Url

vertigo - A feeling of being off-balance, dizzy, and spinning.

When grandma got off the merry-go-round, she had a bad case of vertigo and had to sit on a bench for a half hour.

adjective

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Bad / Dangerous

precarious - Not safe and likely to fall or fail

Jill's spending habits were without bound, and as a result her financial situation was precarious.

noun

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Bad / Dangerous

brinkmanship - The art or practice of pursuing a dangerous policy to the limits of safety before stopping, typically in politics

At the height of the Cold War, both sides engaged in a risky brinkmanship that nearly cost millions of lives.

verb

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Bad / Aggressive

wrangle - To have a long and complicated dispute

Even after a year, the senators wrangled over the health-care legislation.

verb

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Bad / Steal

smuggle - To move goods illegally into or out of a country

The border guards were always on the lookout for people trying to smuggle guns into the country.

noun

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Good / Smart

Url

paradox - A situation or idea that seems strange because it involves two aspects that are very different and seem to contradict each other, and both may be true.

It's a paradox that often it's the busiest people that have to most time to contribute to the needs of others.

noun

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Bad / Dishonest

culprit - A person who is responsible for a crime or other misdeed

After a long foot chase through downtown, the police officer finally arrested the culprit.

adjective

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Bad / Mistake

Url

erroneous - Misleading or false in belief, statement, or action.

Relying on erroneous data can lead to poor decisions in business.