| Term | Definition |
| apathy | a lack of interest or emotion |
| bludgeon | to strike with a club; a short heavy club with one end heavier than the other |
| cursory | performed quickly with little attention to detail |
| eloquent | clear, expressive, and moving in speech |
| forlorn | wretched, hopeless, and pitiful |
| innumerable | too numerous to be counted |
| murky | dark and gloomy; cloudy; unclear |
| phoenix | a bird of Egyptian mythology that periodically burned itself up and then reemerged from the ashes; a person or thing of unmatched quality |
| rebuff | to refuse bluntly; a blunt refusal |
| specter | a ghostly apparition; a mental image of an unsettling thing or event |
| ultimatum | a final demand or threat |
| vanguard | the forwardmost units of an advancing army; any group leading a new trend in a certain field |
| textile | cloth made from weaving or knitting |
| scrupulous | very attentive to what is right and wrong; extremely attentive to detail; meticulous |
| ordeal | a painful or difficult experience |