| Term | Definition |
|---|
| acrid | sharp; pungent |
| boorish | ill-mannered |
| cynical | believing that people act only out of selfish motives |
| acrophobia | fear of heights |
| epistle | a letter (form of communication) |
| heresy | against orthodox opinion |
| lance | spear; spike; javelin |
| posthumous | after death |
| rigor | thoroughness |
| bourgeois | middle class |
| hiatus | interruption; pause |
| hypochondriac | a person obsessed with health; having imaginary illnesses |
| languid | tired; slow |
| acuity | sharpness (mental or visual) |
| epitomized | typified; characterized; personified |
| eulogy | praise |
| hidebound | rigid in opinions |
| languish | decay; fade away; get weaker |
| obsequious | servile; submissive |
| affable | friendly; social; easygoing |
| polemical | causing debate or argument |
| restorative | a tonic |
| torpor | dormancy; sluggishness; inactivity |
| adamant | forceful; inflexible |
| equivocate | speak ambiguously; avoid telling the truth |
| larceny | theft; robbery; stealing |
| ponderous | weighty; slow and heavy |
| rife | common |
| retention | preservation; withholding |
| timorous | cowardly; fearful |
| adroit | skillful |
| odious | hateful |
| pontificate | speak pompously or dogmatically |
| reticent | restrained; holding something back; uncommunicative |
| tirade | stream of verbal abuse |
| hyperbole | grossly exaggerated speech |
| adulation | strong admiration; worship |
| decoy | lure; trap; trick |
| erratic | wandering; irregular |
| histrionic | theatrical; exaggerated |
| esoteric | obscure and difficult to understand |
| obstreperous | noisy and boisterous |
| deference | respect |
| portend | foretell |
| adversity | hardship |
| broach(verb) | start to discuss; approach |
| hoary | old |
| lavish | on a grand scale; wasteful |
| portent | a warning sign; omen |
| revere | worship |
| tome | large book |
| defoliate | cause leaves to fall off |
| espouse | promote; take up; support |
| hone | sharpen; increase; whet |
| lax | careless; not strict |
| obviate | avoid; make unnecessary |
| poseur | someone who puts on an act |
| torpid | inactive; lazy; stagnant |
| bulwark | fortification; barricade; wall |
| defunct | no longer in existence |
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