| Term | Definition |
| acerbic | harsh or corrosive in tone, sour and bitter in taste |
| volatile | changable, explosive |
| elegiac | sad, mournful, expressing sorrow |
| moribund | approaching death; nearly obsolete |
| culpable | deserving blame |
| surreptitious | secret; furtive; sneaky |
| deleterious | harmful |
| inundated | overwhelm, flood, submerge |
| equivocal | ambiguous |
| perfunctory | superficial, not thorough |
| desultory | aimless, haphazard |
| esoteric | hard to understand; known only to the chosen few |
| sedentary | stationary, inactive, sitting |
| profundity | intellectual depth |
| assiduous | diligent, persistent, hard-working |
| decried | to express strong disapproval |