| Term | Definition |
|---|
| amiss | improper, defective;faulty |
| antithesis | the direct opposite figure of speech; a contradiction that establishes a works theme |
| auspicious | favorable circumstances |
| avaricious | greedy |
| behoove | to be necessary or proper |
| belie | to show to be false; picture falsely |
| blase | uninterested because of frequent exposure;nonchalant |
| calumnious | slanderous;defamatory;malicious |
| castellated | like a castle |
| circumvent | to avoid or get around by artful maneuvering |
| cleft | split or divided |
| coalesce | to grow together; fuse; unite |
| collateral | property acceptable as security for a loan |
| contrition | sincere remorse for wrong doing |
| crystalline | resembling crystal |
| cynical | suspicious of others' motives; negative and pessimistic |
| dearth | a shortage |
| depreciate | to lessen the value of something |
| despotic | possessing and abusing unlimited power |
| desultory | occuring random |
| dire | fraught with danger; nearly hopeless; desperate |
| dominion | a territory of influence or control; a supreme authority |
| droll | amusingly odd |
| encompass | to surround |
| entreat | to ask earnestly |
| equivocation | an intentionally vague statement |
| expostulate | to reason with someone in an effort to dissuade |
| felicity | happiness;bliss |
| filial | pertaining to a son or daughter |
| garish | loud and flashy |
| hone | to make perfect and more intense |
| idiom | an expression used by a group of people |
| imminent | threatening or about to happen |
| impeccable | flawless;perfect |
| incantation | a ritual recitation |
| incarnate | embodied in human form |
| incognito | with one's identity concealed |
| indiscriminate | unselective;haphazard;unrestrained |
| inexorable | relentless |
| inexplicable | difficult or impossible to explain |
| infuse | to fill or cause to be filled |
| jocund | cheerful and lighthearted |
| lilting | a cheerful or lively manner of speaking |
| myriad | constituting a large, indefinite number; innumerable |
| nascent | coming into existence;emerging |
| nonchalant | indifferent;careless |
| opaque | impenetrable by light;dense or obscure |
| pall | a gloomy effect or atmosphere |
| pedagogical | academically snobbish |
| perdition | eternal damnation |
| peruse | to read or examine with care |
| pervasive | having the ability to spread throughout |
| portentous | full of unspecified significance |
| precept | rule of conduct |
| prodigal | wastefully extravagant |
| proficient | having an advanced degree or level of competence |
| provocative | tend to provoke or stimulate |
| pulsate | to contract and expand rhythmically |
| qualms | reservations;reluctance |
| quandry | a state of uncertainty |
| rapt | deeply absorbed |
| reiterate | to say something repeatedly |
| requiem | mass for a dead person |
| rueful | feeling or expressing sorrow or regret for sins |
| suave | smoothly agreeable |
| submersive | intending to overthrow or undermine an established government. one who advocates subversion |
| sullen | showing a brooding ill humor |
| superfluous | beyond what is necessary or sufficient |
| surcease | to bring or come to an end |
| tactual | tactile; relating to the sense of touch |
| transfix | to pierce or inpale with a weapon |
| umbrage | offense or resentment |
| usurp | to seize and hold without legal authority |
| voracious | marked by an insatiable appetite; ravenous |
| zephyr | a gentle breeze; a light fabric or garment |
| chasten | to chastise for the sake of moral improvement |
| beatific | blissful;saintly |
| apocryphal | of questionable authenticity;erroneous |
| aggregation | the state of being collected |
| accede | to yield or give consent to another's opinion or request |
| acquiesce | to submit or comply silently with out protest |
| acumen | keen insight;shrewdness |
| castigate | to criticize or reprimand severely |
| daunt | to overcome with fear; intimidate |
| demise | termination of existence or operation |
| denigrate | to treat something as having little value or importance |
| enclave | a small, distinct area isolated within a larger one |
| epitaph | a gravestone inscription |
| epithet | a word or thing firmly associated with a person or thing |
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