| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Erstwhile | former; of times past |
| Venal | willing to sell one's influence, esp. in return for a bribe; open to bribery; mercenary |
| Lugubrious | mournful, dismal, or gloomy, esp. in an affected, exaggerated, or unrelieved manner |
| Enervating | to deprive of force or strength; destroy the vigor of; weaken |
| Adroit | expert or nimble in the use of the hands or body |
| Recalcitrant | resisting authority or control; not obedient or compliant; refractory |
| Propitiatory | serving or intended to propitiate. |
| Detritus | rock in small particles or other material worn or broken away from a mass, as by the action of water or glacial ice. |
| Compunction | a feeling of uneasiness or anxiety of the conscience caused by regret for doing wrong or causing pain; contrition; remorse |
| Chignon | a large, smooth twist, roll, or knot of hair, worn by women at the nape of the neck or the back of the head. |
| Lithe | bending readily; pliant; limber; supple; flexible |
| Lurid | gruesome; horrible; revolting |
| Diaphanous | very sheer and light; almost completely transparent or translucent |
| Epoch | a particular period of time marked by distinctive features, events, etc |
| Subterfuge | an artifice or expedient used to evade a rule, escape a consequence, hide something |
| Mastication | to chew |
| Arduous | requiring great exertion; laborious; difficult |
| Implacable | not to be appeased, mollified, or pacified; inexorable |
| Provisional | providing or serving for the time being only; existing only until permanently or properly replaced; temporary |
| Perfunctory | performed merely as a routine duty; hasty and superficial |
| Munificence | extremely liberal in giving; very generous |
| Laud | to praise; extol |
| Avidity | eagerness;greediness |
| Miasma | noxious exhalations from putrescent organic matter; poisonous effluvia or germs polluting the atmosphere |
| Perfidious | deliberately faithless; treacherous; deceitful |
| Curios | any unusual article, object of art, etc., valued as a curiosity |
| Derelict | left or deserted, as by the owner or guardian; abandoned |
| Stolid | not easily stirred or moved mentally; unemotional; impassive |
| Otiose | being at leisure; idle; indolent |
| Incredulity | the quality or state of being incredulous; inability or unwillingness to believe |
| Sardonic | characterized by bitter or scornful derision; mocking; cynical; sneering |
| Erudition | knowledge acquired by study, research, etc.; learning; scholarship |
| Immolation | a sacrifice |
| Purloined | To steal, often in a violation of trust |
| Sibilance | characterized by a hissing sound |
| Feckless | ineffective; incompetent; futile |
| Furtive | taken, done, used, etc., surreptitiously or by stealth; secret |
| Trousseau | an outfit of clothing, household linen, etc., for a bride |
| Virulent | actively poisonous; intensely noxious |
| Fatuous | foolish or inane, esp. in an unconscious, complacent manner; silly |
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