1.
abeyance: a state of being temporarily postponed, inactive
2.
abortive: failing to accomplish an intended aim or purpose
3.
adjunct: an assistant or helper
4.
aegis: protection, sponsorship, auspices
5.
affinity: a natural attraction to a person, thing, or activity
6.
aficionado: an enthusiastic and usually expert follower or fan
7.
ambivalent: having opposite and conflicting feelings about someone or something
8.
ancillary: auxiliary, accessory
9.
apprise: to inform of, notify
10.
beleaguer: to set upon from all sides
11.
bellwether: the male sheep that leads the flock to the slaughter house, a leader, as in a desperate or violent undertaking, an indicator of trends
12.
bibulous: fond of or inclined to drink, alcoholic
13.
bilious: peevish or irritable
14.
bowdlerize: to remove material considered offensive from a book, play, or film
15.
browbeat: to intimidate by a stern or overbearing manner, to bully, to cow
16.
bruit about: to spread news, reports, or unsubstantiated rumors
17.
carte blanche: full freedom or authority to act at one's own discretion
18.
cataclysm: disaster, catastrophe
19.
caterwaul: to howl or screech like a cat, wail
20.
chimerical: absurd, wildly fantastic
21.
claque: enthusiastic or fawning admirers
22.
cognate: allied, affiliated
23.
commensurate: comparable in size, extent, duration, or importance
24.
condescend: to deal with people in a patronizing manner
25.
corollary: a proposition that follows from one already proven, a natural consequence or result
26.
cozen: to trick, cheat, or swindle
27.
cul-de-sac: a dead-end street, any situation in which further progress is impossible
28.
debauch: to corrupt, to seduce
29.
deracinate: to eliminate all traces of, eradicate
30.
derring-do: daring deeds or exploits
31.
diaphanous: very sheer and light, gossamer
32.
dictum: an authoritative short statement
33.
divination: the art or act of predicting the future
34.
éclat: dazzling performance or achievement
35.
effete: lacking in wholesome vigor or energy
36.
elixir: a potion once thought capable of curing all ills, a panacea
37.
emolument: pay, wages, compensation
38.
enclave: an enclosed district, region, or area inhabited by a particular group of people
39.
ensconce: to settle comfortably, nestle
40.
execrable: utterly detestable, hateful, abhorrent
41.
fait accompli: an accomplished and presumably irreversible deed, fact, or action
42.
fastidious: excessively careful, easily disgusted
43.
folderol: foolish talk, ideas, or procedures
44.
foray: a quick raid, especially for plunder, a venture into some field of endeavor, to make such a raid
45.
forte: a person's strong point
46.
gambol: to jump or skip about playfully
47.
gamut: an entire range or series
48.
genre: a type, class, or variety pertaining to art
49.
gratis: without charge
50.
hidebound: stubbornly and unthinkingly conservative
51.
hierarchy: any system of things or people arranged one above another in order of rank, wealth, class
52.
hoi polloi: the common people, the masses
53.
homily: a sermon stressing moral principles
54.
icon: image of a sacred personage
55.
iconoclastic: attacking or seeking to overthrow popular or traditional beliefs, ideas, or institutions
56.
imbue: to soak or stain thoroughly, to fill the mind
57.
immure: to enclose or confine within walls, to imprison
58.
in medias res: in or into the middle of a plot
59.
inchoate: just beginning, not fully shaped or formed
60.
indigenous: originating in the country or region where found, native
61.
ineffable: not expressible in words, too great or too sacred to be uttered
62.
insouciant: carefree, happy-go-lucky
63.
internecine: mutually destructive, characterized by great slaughter and bloodshed
64.
interstice: a small narrow gap between things
65.
lachrymose: causing to shed tears
66.
lampoon: to satirize, ridicule
67.
lexicon: the special vocabulary of a person, group, or subject
68.
liturgy: a religious service or rite
69.
lucubration: laborious study or thought, especially at night
70.
macrocosm: the entire complex structure of something
71.
maladroit: lacking tact or judgement, clumsy
72.
malleable: capable of being formed, altered, or influenced
73.
matrix: the surrounding situation
74.
maudlin: excessively sentimental, mushy
75.
melee: a violent free for all, donnybrook
76.
microcosm: a miniature world
77.
miniscule: infinitesimal, insignificant
78.
mirage: something illusory
79.
mnemonic: relating to or designed to assist the memory, a device to aid the memory
80.
modulate: to vary the intensity or pitch, to temper or soften
81.
morass: a confusing situation in which one is entrapped
82.
mountebank: charlatan
83.
nemesis: an agent or force inflicting vengeance or punishiment
84.
noisome: foul-smelling, fetid
85.
obfuscate: to confuse or bewilder
86.
oblivious: forgetful, totally unaware
87.
obloquy: public abuse indicating strong disapproval or censure, the disgrace resulting from such treatment
88.
obsequies: funeral rites
89.
opt: to make a choice or decision
90.
paean: a song of praise, joy, or triumph
91.
panache: dash, verve, élan
92.
parameter: a limit, boundary
93.
paternalism: the policy or practice of treating or governing people in the manner of a father dealing with his children
94.
persiflage: lighthearted joking, banter, badinage
95.
persona: the outward character or role that person assumes
96.
philippic: a bitter verbal attack
97.
philistine: lacking in, hostile to, or smugly indifferent to cultural and artistic values
98.
picaresque: involving or characteristics of clever rogues or adventurers
99.
plethora: superabundance, excess
100.
polarize: to cause to concentrate around two conflicting or contrasting positions
101.
poltroon: a base coward
102.
portentous: foreboding, ominous
103.
pragmatic: concerned with practical considerations
104.
prescience: foreknowledge
105.
proselyte: a convert, disciple
106.
prurient: salacious, titillating
107.
pundit: one who gives authoritative opinions
108.
purview: extent or scope
109.
quasi: kind-of
110.
quesy: nauseated or uneasy
111.
quid pro quo: something given in exchange or return for something else
112.
quizzical: puzzled, slightly mocking
113.
raillery: good-humored ridicule, banter
114.
rapacity: inordinate greed
115.
refractory: stubborn, not responsive to treatment
116.
ribald: vulgar or indecent in language, bawdy
117.
risible: droll, ludicrous
118.
sacrosanct: very sacred or holy, inviolable
119.
salubrious: conducive to health or well-being
120.
sanguine: having a naturally cheerful outlook
121.
saturnalian: characterized by riotous or unrestrained revelry, debauched
122.
savoir-faire: the ability to say and do the right thing in any situation
123.
schism: a formal split within a religious organization, any division or separation of a group or organization into two hostile factions
124.
solecism: misusage
125.
supine: lying flat on one's back
126.
symptomatic: typical or characteristic, being or concerned with a symptom of a disease
127.
systemic: extensive, system wide
128.
tendentious: biased or partisan
129.
therapeutic: having the power to heal or cure, salubrious
130.
touchstone: a means of testing worth or genuineness, benchmark
131.
traumatic: so shocking to the emotions as to cause lasting and substantial psychological damage
132.
vassal: a person under the protection of a feudal lord to whom he or she owes allegiance
133.
vendetta: blood feud
134.
verisimilitude: the quality of appearing to be true or real
135.
vicissitudes: successive or changing phases or conditions
136.
vignette: anecdote
137.
virtuoso: a brilliant performer
138.
vitiate: to impair the quality or value of, degrade
139.
volte-face: an about-face, a complete reversal
140.
waggish: playfully humorous, whimsical
