| Term | Definition |
|---|
| aggrandize | to increase in intensity, power, or prestige |
| alchemy | a medieval science aimed at the transmutation of metals, esp. base metals into gold |
| anachronism | something or someone out of place in terms of historical or chronological context |
| astringent | having a tightening effect on living tissue; harsh; severe |
| contiguous | sharing a border; touching; adjacent |
| convention | a generally agreed-upon practice or attitude |
| cynicism | an attitude or quality of belief that all people are motivated by selfishness |
| decorum | polite or appropriate conduct or behavior |
| derision | scorn; ridicule; contemptuous treatment |
| desiccate | to dry out or dehydrate; to make dry or dull |
| dilettante | one with an amateurish or superficial interest in the arts or a branch of knowledge |
| disparage | to slight or belittle |
| divulge | to disclose something secret |
| immutable | not capable of change |
| inimical | damaging; harmful; injurious |
| intractable | not easily managed or directed; stubborn; obstinate |
| neophyte | a recent convert; a beginner; novice |
| presumptuous | overstepping due bounds (as of propriety or courtesy); taking liberties |
| pristine | pure; uncorrupted; clean |
| probity | adherence to highest principles; uprightness |
| proclivity | a natural predisposition or inclination |
| profligate | excessively wasteful; recklessly extravagant |
| propensity | a natural inclination or tendency; penchant |
| prosaic | dull; unimaginative |
| pungent | characterized by a strong, sharp smell or taste |
| quixotic | foolishly impractical; marked by lofty romantic ideals |
| quotidian | occurring or recurring daily; commonplace |
| rarefy | to make or become thin, less dense; to refine |
| recondite | hidden; concealed; difficult to understand; obscure |
| refulgent | radiant; shiny; brilliant |
| renege | to fail to honor a commitment; to go back on a promise |
| shard | a piece of broken pottery or glass |
| sparse | thin; not dense; arranged at widely spaced intervals |
| spendthrift | one who spends money wastefully |
| subtle | not obvious; elusive; difficult to discern |
| tacit | implied; not explicitly stated |
| terse | brief and concise in wording |
| tout | to publicly praise or promote |
| trenchant | sharply perceptive; keen; penetrating |
| unfeigned | genuine; not false or hypocritical |
| untenable | indefensible; not viable; uninhabitable |
| vacillate | to waver indecisively between one course of action or opinion and another; to waver |
| variegated | multicolored; characterized by a variety of patches of different color |
| vexation | annoyance; irritation |
| vigilant | alertly watchful |
| vituperate | to use harsh condemnatory language; to abuse or censure severely or abusively; to berate |
| volatile | readily changing to a vapor; changeable; fickle; explosive |
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