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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.

adjective

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sinister - The intention to do secret actions that are meant to do harm

The prince always treated the king with great respect, but he was using the queen in a sinister plot to have the king killed so that he could take over.

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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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.

adjective

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pugnacious - Having a tendency or desire to fight or argue with other people

Jerry's general pugnacious attitude made it difficult for him to get close to people.

verb

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confront - To deal directly with a problem or difficult situation or person.

Instead of avoiding the issue, he chose to confront it head-on.

adjective

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hostile - To be unfriendly towards someone you see as an enemy

In couples therapy, the first thing Emily tried to do was to get both people to feel less hostile towards each other.

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.

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.

adjective

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ornery - Having an unpleasant mood or temper, likely to get angry and argue with people.

When the workers came to work, they were warned that the boss was in an ornery mood because of poor performance for the last quarter.

adjective

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surly - Bad-tempered and unfriendly

Penny's friendly nature was no match for the surly interviewer who never smiled back.

verb

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belittle - To speak about someone or something in a way that shows little respect.

A good rule of interpersoanl relationships is: Don’t belittle others just to make yourself feel better.