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cacophony (n.) tremendous noise, disharmonious sound (The elementary school orchestra created a cacophony at the recital.)

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cadence (n.) a rhythm, progression of sound (The pianist used the foot pedal to emphasize the cadence of the sonata.)

cajole (v.) to urge, coax (Fred’s buddies cajoled him into attending the bachelor party.)

calamity (n.) an event with disastrous consequences (The earthquake in San Francisco was a calamity worse than any other natural disaster in history.)

calibrate (v.) to set, standardize (The mechanic calibrated the car’s transmission to make the motor run most efficiently.)

callous (adj.) harsh, cold, unfeeling (The murderer’s callous lack of remorse shocked the jury.)

calumny (n.) an attempt to spoil someone else’s reputation by spreading lies (The local official’s calumny ended up ruining his opponent’s prospect of winning the election.)

camaraderie (n.) brotherhood, jovial unity (Camaraderie among employees usually leads to success in business.)

candor (n.) honesty, frankness (We were surprised by the candor of the mayor’s speech because he is usually rather evasive.)

canny (adj.) shrewd, careful (The canny runner hung at the back of the pack through much of the race to watch the other runners, and then sprinted past them at the end.)

canvas 1. (n.) a piece of cloth on which an artist paints (Picasso liked to work on canvas rather than on bare cement.) 2. (v.) to cover, inspect (We canvassed the neighborhood looking for clues.)

capacious (adj.) very spacious (The workers delighted in their new capacious office space.)

capitulate (v.) to surrender (The army finally capitulated after fighting a long costly battle.)

capricious (adj.) subject to whim, fickle (The young girl’s capricious tendencies made it difficult for her to focus on achieving her goals.)

captivate (v.) to get the attention of, hold (The fireworks captivated the young boy, who had never seen such things before.)

carouse (v.) to party, celebrate (We caroused all night after getting married.)

carp (v.) to annoy, pester (The husband divorced his wife after listening to her carping voice for decades.)

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catalog 1. (v.) to list, enter into a list (The judge cataloged the victim’s injuries before calculating how much money he would award.) 2. (n.) a list or collection (We received a catalog from J. Crew that displayed all of their new items.)

catalyze (v.) to charge, inspire (The president’s speech catalyzed the nation and resuscitated the economy.)

caucus (n.) a meeting usually held by people working toward the same goal (The ironworkers held a caucus to determine how much of a pay increase they would request.)

caustic (adj.) bitter, biting, acidic (The politicians exchanged caustic insults for over an hour during the debate.)

cavort (v.) to leap about, behave boisterously (The adults ate their dinners on the patio, while the children cavorted around the pool.)