1.
Abate: To lessen in intensity or degree
2.
Accolade: An expression of praise
3.
Adulation: Excessive praise; intense adoration
4.
Aesthetic: Dealing with art or the beautiful
5.
Ameliorate: To make better or more tolerable
6.
Ascetic: One who practices self-denial especially as an act of religious devotion
7.
Avarice: Greed, especially for wealth
8.
Axiom: A universally recognized principle
9.
Bucolic: Rustic and pastoral; characteristic of rural areas and their inhabitants
10.
Burgeon: To grow rapidly or flourish
11.
Cacophany: Harsh, jarring, discordant sound; dissonance
12.
Canon: A secular law, rule, or code of law
13.
Castigation: Severe criticism or punishment
14.
Catalyst: A substance that accelerates the rate of a chemical reaction without itself changing; a person or thing that causes change
15.
Caustic: Burning and stinging; causing corrosion
16.
Chary: Wary; cautious; sparing
17.
Cogent: Appealing forcibly to the mind or reason; convincing
18.
Complaisance: The willingness to comply with the wishes of others
19.
Contentious: Argumentative; quarrelsome; causing controversy or disagreement
20.
Contrite: Regretful; penitent; seeking forgiveness
21.
Culpable: Deserving blame
22.
Dearth: Smallness of quantity or number; scarcity; a lack
23.
Demur: To question or oppose
24.
Didactic: Intended to teach or instruct
25.
Discretion: Cautious reserve in speech; ability to make responsible decisions
26.
Disinterested: Free of bias; impartial
27.
Dogmatic: Expressing a rigid opinion based on unproved or unprovable principles
28.
Ebullience: High spirits; exhilaration; exuberance
29.
Eclectic: Composed of elements drawn from various sources
30.
Elegy: A mournful poem, especially one lamenting the dead
31.
Emollient: Soothing to the skin; making less harsh; mollifying
32.
Empirical: Based on observation or experiment
33.
Enigmatic: Mysterious; obscure; difficult to understand
34.
Ephemeral: Brief; lasting a very short time
35.
Esoteric: Intended for or understood by a specific group
36.
Eulogy: A speech honoring the dead
37.
Exonerate: To remove blame
38.
Facetious: Playful; Humerous
39.
Fallacy: An invalid or incorrect notion; a mistaken belief
40.
Furtive: Marked by stealth; covert
41.
Gregarious: Sociable; outgoing; enjoying the company of other people
42.
Harangue: A long, pompous speech
43.
Heretical: Violating accepted dogma or convention
44.
Hyperbole: An exaggerated statement
45.
Impecunious: Lacking funds; without money
46.
Incipient: Beginning to come into being or to become apparent
47.
Inert: Unmoving; sluggish; lethargic
48.
Innocuous: Harmless; causing no damage
49.
Intransigent: Refusing to compromise
50.
Inveigle: To obtain by deception or flattery
51.
Morose: Sad; sullen; melancholy
52.
Odious: Deserving or causing hatred; hateful
53.
Opaque: Impenetrable by light; not reflecting light
54.
Oscillation: The act or state of swinging back and forth with a steady, uninterrupted rhythm
55.
Penurious: Penny-pinching; excessively thrifty; ungenerous
56.
Pernicious: Extremely harmful; potentially causing death
57.
Peruse: To examine with great care
58.
Pious: Showing strong religious devotion
59.
Precursor: One that precedes and indicates or announces another
60.
Preen: To dress up; to primp; to groom oneself with elaborate care
61.
Prodigious: Abundant in size, force, or extent; extraordinary
62.
Prolific: Producing in large volumes or amounts; productive
63.
Putrefy: To rot; to decay and give off a foul odor
64.
Quaff: To drink deeply
65.
Quiescence: Stillness; motionlessness; quality of being at rest
66.
Redoubtable: Awe-inspiring; worthy of honor
67.
Sanction: Authoritative permission or approval
68.
Satire: A literary work that ridicules or criticizes a human vice through humor or derision
69.
Squalid: Sordid; wretched; neglected and filthy
70.
Stoic: Indifferent to or unaffected by pleasure or pain
71.
Supplant: To take the place of; supersede
72.
Torpid: Lethargic; sluggish; dormant
73.
Ubiquitous: Existing everywhere at the same time; constantly encountered; widespread
74.
Urbane: Sophisticated; refined; elegant
75.
Villify: To defame; to characterize harshly
76.
Viscous: Thick; sticky