| Term | Definition |
|---|
| abhor | to regard with extreme repugnance, to detest, to loathe |
| accolade | praise, an award |
| ascetic | one who leads a life of self-denial and contemplation, absent of luxury |
| bequeath | to hand down, to give or to leave in a will |
| charlatan | one who claims to know something that he does not, a quack |
| conflagration | a large fire |
| dearth | a lack, a scarcity |
| diffidence | shyness, reserve, unassertiveness |
| effervescent | showing high spirits |
| ethereal | heavenly, unusually delicate, light, lacking material substance, intangible |
| expunge | to remove, erase |
| guile | deceitfulness, duplicity |
| implausible | not believable |
| incongruity | nonconformity, disagreement, incompatibility |
| insularity | qualities of an island, narrow-mindedness of opinion |
| morose | being sullen or gloomy |
| placate | to appease or to pacify by making concessions |
| poignant | piercing, incisive, keen |
| provincial | lacking sophistication, narrow-minded |
| reiterate | repeat |
| spontaneous | having no external cause, acting on impulse |
| synthesis | combining parts into a whole |
| toxic | poisonous |
| vigilant | very alert, watchful |
| voluble | ability to use words easily, fluent and glib |
| acquiesce | to give in, to comply |
| affinity | a likeness, a natural relationship, a kinship |
| blasphemous | irreverant, profane |
| buttress | a support or prop |
| circumspect | careful to consider consequences, cautious, prudent |
| corroboration | confirmation |
| deplete | to use up gradually, to lesson in amount or value |
| despotic | ruling oppresively and absolutely, tyrannical |
| emaciated | very thin (usually as a result of starvation), wasting away |
| empirical | based on observation or experiment and not on theory |
| extraneous | not essential or vital |
| fallow | inactive, plowed but not sowed |
| homogeneous | of the same kind |
| hyperbole | obvious exaggeration |
| incontrovertible | indisputable, inarguable |
| irascible | irritable, easily angered, cranky, cross |
| laconic | using a minimum of words, concise to the point of seeming rude |
| magnanimity | having a lofty, generous, and courageous spirit |
| obsequious | overly attentive, like a sycophant, servile |
| proliferation | an increase in number, multiplication |
| scrupulous | very principled, very careful and conscientious |
| sublime | exalted, noble, uplifting |
| surreptitious | secret, clandestine, stealthy |
| veracity | devotion to the truth |
| zeal | enthusiasm, fervor |
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