1.
Nihilism: an extreme form of skepticism; the denial of all real existence or the possibility of an objective basis for truth
2.
Nondescript: undistinguished or uninteresting; lacking distinctive qualities
3.
Nonplussed: surprised, confused, and uncertain what to do or say
4.
Oblique: indirect: not straightforward or direct; neither perpendicular nor parallel to another line or plane
5.
Onerous: burdensome, oppressive, or troublesome; causing hardship
6.
Opprobrium: scorn, contempt, or severe criticism
7.
Ostensible: seeming to be true or genuine, but open to doubt
8.
Panacea: supposed cure-all; named after the Greek goddess of healing
9.
Partisan: biased supporter; resistance fighter
10.
Pathos: touches the feelings or excites emotions and passions, esp., that which awakens tender emotions, such as pity, sorrow, and the like
11.
Pedagogic: teaching; the science or profession of teaching
12.
Pedantic: overly bookish; characterized by a narrow, often ostentatious concern for book learning and formal rules.
13.
Perfidious: deliberately faithless; treacherous; deceitful
14.
Petulant: Unreasonably irritable or ill-tempered; sulky, "a petulant child"
15.
Plaudits: expression of praise or approval
16.
Pontificate: speak pompously; to speak about something in a knowing and self-important way
17.
Pragmatist: One who thinks primarily about results; a straightforward practical way of thinking about things
18.
Precept: a commandment, instruction, or order intended as an authoritative rule of action.
19.
Precipitate: make something happen quickly
20.
Prescience: knowledge of things before they exist or happen; foreknowledge; foresight
21.
Probity: integrity and uprightness; honesty
22.
Profligate: extravagant or wasteful; with low morals
23.
Proliferate: increase greatly; to increase in number
24.
Promulgate: to make something widely known
25.
Prose: language that is not poetry; ordinary style of expression; writing or speech that is ordinary or matter-of-fact, without embellishment
26.
Prototype: an original type, form, or instance of something serving as a typical example, basis, or standard for other things of the same category
27.
Prowess: exceptional ability or skill; valor or skill in combat
28.
Pundit: somebody who expresses opinions; a critic or authority on a subject, especially in the media
29.
Qualm: an uneasy feeling or pang of conscience as to conduct
30.
Quibble: make trivial objections; to argue over unimportant things and make petty objections
31.
Quixotic: extravagantly chivalrous or romantic, visionary, and impractical
32.
Refractory: hard or impossible to manage; stubbornly disobedient
33.
Relegate: to assign to an obscure place, position, or condition
34.
Reprehensible: deserving rebuke or censure; blameworthy
35.
Rescind: cancel something; to remove the validity or authority of something
36.
Retrograde: moving or tending backward
37.
Sanctimonious: holier-than-thou; making an exaggerated show of holiness or moral superiority
38.
Scrupulous: having scruples; having or showing a strict regard for what one considers right; principled.
39.
Serendipity: an aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident; good fortune; luck
40.
Sophistry: a subtle, tricky, superficially plausible, but generally fallacious method of reasoning; a false argument
41.
Spate: a sudden flood, rush, or outpouring
42.
Specious: apparently true but actually false; appearing to be true but really false
43.
Steadfastness: fixed or unchanging; steady
44.
Stupefy: to dull the senses or capacity to think thereby reducing responsiveness; to dazzle
45.
Subterfuge: a deceptive stratagem or device
46.
Supplant: to take the place of another, as through force
47.
Surfeit: excess; an excessive amount; overindulgence, in something, especially food or drink
48.
Sybarite: a person devoted to luxury and pleasure; derived from Sybaris, an ancient Greek city noted for the luxurious, pleasure-seeking habits of many of its inhabitants.
49.
Synergism: the interaction of elements that when combined produce a total effect that is greater than the sum of the individual elements; the doctrine that individual salvation is achieved through a combination of human will and divine grace
50.
Table (v.): in the United States, to suspend or postpone consideration of a pending motion; in the United Kingdom and the rest of the English-speaking world, to begin consideration of a proposal.
51.
Tawdry: gaudy and of poor quality; cheap in appearance; of inferior quality
52.
Temerity: boldness; reckless confidence that might be offensive
53.
Temper (v.): to bring to the proper texture, consistency, hardness, etc. by mixing with something or treating in some way; to temper paints with oil, to temper steel by heating and sudden cooling
54.
Threadbare: worn away to reveal threads; having been used so often as to be no longer convincing
55.
Truculent: aggressively defiant; sullenly refusing to accept something or do what is asked
56.
Turgid: pompous and overcomplicated; boring; overflowing: swollen and overflowing
57.
Unctuous: affected, exaggerated, or insincere earnestness,
58.
Unheralded: not previously announced, notified, or expected
59.
Untenable: indefensible; incapable of being defended, as an argument or thesis
60.
Upstart: a person who has risen suddenly from a humble position to wealth, power, or a position of consequence; a presumptuous and objectionable person who has so risen
61.
Utopian: ideal; belonging to or characteristic of an ideal perfect state or place; admirable but impracticable
62.
Vaunt: to speak boastfully of; brag about
63.
Venial: easily excused or forgiven; pardonable
64.
Verdant: with lush green growth; green with vegetation or foliage; naive: lacking experience or sophistication
65.
Verisimilitude: appearance of being true or real
66.
Vestigial: trace; remaining after nearly all the rest has disappeared or dwindled; no longer functional: having become degenerate or functionless in the course of time
67.
Victuals: food or other provisions
68.
Vignette: a brief scene from a movie or play
69.
Virile: masculine; relating to or having the characteristics of an adult male; forceful: showing energy, power, and forcefulness
70.
Visceral: instinctual: proceeding from instinct rather than from reasoned thinking; emotional: characterized by or showing basic emotions; of internal organs: relating to or affecting one or more internal organs of the body
71.
Vitiate: to make imperfect, faulty, or impure; spoil; corrupt; to weaken morally; debase; pervert
72.
Vitriolic: expressing bitter hatred: filled with or expressing extreme bitterness
73.
Vocation: a strong impulse or inclination to follow a particular activity or career.
74.
Watershed: turning point: an important period, time, event, or factor that marks a change or division
75.
Waylay: to stop or accost somebody
76.
Wheedle: to coax or try to persuade somebody to do something using flattery, guile, or other indirect means
77.
Wily: crafty: skilled at using clever tricks to deceive people
78.
Windfall: something good that is received unexpectedly, especially a sum of money
79.
Winsome: charming; inspiring trust and approval, especially if in an innocent manner.
80.
Witticism: a witty or clever remark
81.
Xenophobic: fear of foreigners: an intense fear or dislike of foreign people, their customs and culture, or foreign things
82.
Zephyr: The west wind. A gentle breeze
