| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Abscond | to depart clandestinely; steal off and hide |
| Ameliorate | to make better or more tolerable |
| Arduous | strenuous; taxing; requiring significant effort |
| Ascetic | one who practices rigid self-denial, esp. as an act of religious devotion |
| Austere | without adornment; bare; severely simple; ascetic |
| Axiom | a universally recognized principle |
| Axiomatic | taken as a given; possessing self-evident truth |
| Bucolic | rustic and pastoral; characteristic of rural areas and their inhabitants |
| canonical | following or in agreement with accepted, traditional standards |
| Contentious | argumentative; quarrelsome; causing controversy or disagreement |
| Convoluted | complex or complicated |
| Culpable | deserving blame |
| Disabuse | to undeceive; to set right |
| Eclectic | composed of elements drawn from various sources |
| Effrontery | extreme boldness; presumptuousness |
| Ephemeral | brief; fleeting |
| Erudite | very learned; scholarly |
| Eulogy | speech honoring the dead |
| Extemporaneous | improvised; done without preparation |
| Facetious | playful; humorous |
| Fulminate | to loudly attack or denounce |
| Hyperbole | an exaggerated statement, often used as a figure of speech |
| Lucid | clear; easily understood |
| Oscillation | the act or state of swinging back and forth with a steady, uninterrupted rhythm |
| Paean | a song or hymn of praise and thanksgiving |
| Penurious | penny-pinching; excessively thrifty; ungenerous |
| Perfidy | intentional breach of faith; treachery |
| Pernicious | extremely harmful; potentially causing death |
| Perspicacious | acutely perceptive; having keen discernment |
| Pious | extremely reverent or devout; showing strong religious devotion |
| Precipitate | actin with excessive haste or impulse |
| Precipitate | to cause or happen before anticipated or required |
| Precursor | one that precedes and indicates or announces another |
| Predilection | a disposition in favor of something; preference |
| Prolific | producing large volumes or amounts; productive |
| Qualms | misgivings; reservations; causes for hesitancy |
| Quiescence | stillness; motionlessness; quality of being at rest |
| Recant | to retract, esp. a previously held belief |
| Redoubtable | awe-inspiring; worthy of honor |
| Reticent | quiet; reserved; reluctant to express thoughts and feelings |
| Satire | a literary work that ridicules or criticizes a human vice through humor or derision |
| Sordid | characterized by filth, grim, or squalor; foul |
| Squalid | sordid; wretched and dirty as from neglect |
| Stoic | indifferent to or unaffected by pleasure or pain; steadfast |
| Stymie | to block; thwart |
| Supplant | to take the place of; supersede |
| Synthesis | the combination of parts to make a whole |
| Torpid | lethargic; sluggish; dormant |
| Torque | a force that causes rotation |
| Ubiquitous | existing everywhere at the same time; constantly encountered; widespread |
| Veracity | truthfulness; honesty |
| Vilify | to defame; to characterize harshly |
| Virulent | extremely harmful or poisonous; bitterly hostile or antagonistic |
Combine with other sets
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