| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Cacaphony | a loud, harsh noise made up of sounds that don't blend very well |
| chicanery | trickery, deceit |
| decadence | moral decay or decline |
| euphemism | a pleasant or neutral word or expression used |
| evade | to escape or avoid |
| impunity | exemption; the ability to do something without punishment |
| nonchalant | casual, unconcerned |
| pessimistic | feeling gloomy or negative |
| temerity | recklessness, foolish boldness |
| trepidation | fear, anxiety |
| demagogue | a leader who tells people what they want to hear and play's on people's prejudices |
| harangue | long, lecturing speech |
| hyperbole | wild exaggeration |
| infamy | evil reputation |
| insidious | dangerous, slow, and subtle in its effect |
| jargon | specialized language |
| malign | to say evil, harmful things about someone |
| rhetoric | speech that is persuasive but often insincere or meaningless in content |
| sanction | authorize, endorse, approve, allow |
| supercilious | above it all; having a sense of superiority |
| virulent | infectious, dangerous |
| zealous | enthusiastic and dedicated, sometimes overly so |
| hiatus | break, interruption |
| hierarchy | a series arranged by rank, sometimes used to refer to the group of people in authority at the top of the ranking |
| mundane | ordinary, everyday |
| obscure | vague, mysterious; not prominent or well-known |
| pandemic | spread throughout a population |
| paradigm | model |
| plethora | surplus, overabundance |
| quandary | puzzling situation, often one in which there seems to be something wrong with every solution; state of uncertainty |
| ubiquitous | found everywhere |
| vicarious | felt or experienced secondhand |
| frugal | careful with resources; unwilling or unable to spend money |
| garrulous | talkative (in a negative connotation) |
| impetuous | impulsive, acting without thinking |
| impudent | rude in a bold, daring way, often to one's superiors or elders |
| inane | silly, senseless |
| laconic | expressing as much as possible in as few words as possible |
| loquacious | talkative (in a friendly way) |
| misanthrope | someone who hates or distrusts everybody |
| querulous | complaining, whining |
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