| Term | Definition |
|---|
| orifice | mouth; opening |
| hallow | to make holy; not desecrate |
| perdition | damnation; ruin; hell |
| chaff | worthless matter |
| aesthetic | pertaining to beauty; not displeasing or unattractive |
| empirical | based on practical experience rather than theory; not theoretical |
| germane | relevant, fitting; not irrelevant |
| hermetic | tightly sealed |
| meretricious | attractive in a cheap, flashy way; not restrained or tasteful |
| querulous | complaining; grumbling; not complacent or satisfied |
| flaccid | flabby; not solid or taut |
| hospice | a shelter for travelers, orphans, or the ill or destitute |
| egregious | remarkably bad; not moderate |
| ratiocinate | to reason, to think |
| foment | to stir up, to incite; not to quell or curb |
| salient | significant, conspicuous, standing out from the rest |
| recant | to withdraw or disavow a statement or opinion |
| jocular | humorous, lighthearted; not solemn or morose |
| palliate | to ease, to lessen, to soothe; not to intensify or exacerbate |
| malleable | capable of being changed; easily shaped; not rigid or inflexible |
| recreant | a coward, a traitor |
| affinity | an attraction to; not an aversion |
| impalpable | unable to be felt; intangible |
| fiscal | pertaining to finances |
| regale | to delight with something pleasing or amusing; not anger, depress, or annoy |
| miscreant | a vicious person |
| flagellate | to whip; to lash |
| lascivious | lustul or lewd; not wholesome or decent |
| flout | to ridicule; to show contempt for; not esteem or revere |
| salacious | obscene, lustful; not chaste |
| rebuke | to scold, to blame; not to praise or to laud |
| nonentity | a person or thing of little importance |
| sang-froid | calmness, composure or cool self-possession; not uneasiness or perturbation |
| desultory | wandering from subject to subject |
| hector | to bully, to pester |
| pandemic | general, widespread |
| coalesce | to blend, to merge; not to separate or divide |
| beguile | to deceive, to charm, to enchant; not to irritate or to bore |
| ennui | boredom, a weariness resulting from a lack of interest; not excitement or interest |
| hiatus | a pause or gap |
| lambent | softly bright or radiant; moving lightly over a surface |
| ergo | therefore |
| hubris | excessive pride or self-confidence; not humility or diffidence |
| pecuniary | pertaining to money, financial |
| sibilant | a hissing sound |
| incendiary | causing to excite or inflame |
| apotheosis | the finest example |
| contiguous | making contact or touching at some point, side by side; not separated or detached |
| auspicious | signaling favorable or promising results |
| vociferous | marked by noise; loud |
| avuncular | similar to an uncle |
| proletariat | working class or lower class |
| tenacious | strongly held, not easy to separate; not weak |
| specious | deceptive or misleading; not accurate |
| refractory | unmanageable or difficult to control; not obedient or conforming |
| inimitable | cannot be imitated |
| malfeasance | poor conduct or wrongdoing, especially on the part of a public official |
| platonic | marked by the absence of romance or physical attraction |
| pontificate | speak in a pretentiously dignified or dogmatic way |
| prurient | given to lustful or lewd thoughts |
| insuperable | not able to be overcome |
| apex | the highest point of something; not the bottom |
| acrid | marked by a sharp taste or smell, bitter |
| fulminate | to voice disapproval or protest |
| jejune | without interest, dull; not interesting or dramatic |
| hegemony | influence or domination over |
| truculent | marked by ferocity; not tame or gentle |
| credulity | willingness to believe too readily; not skepticism |
| dross | refuse or waste |
| verisimilitude | the appearance of truth |
| viscous | having a thick or sticky consistency like glue |
| psychosomatic | of or relating to symptoms caused by mental or emotional problems |
| abnegation | unwillingness to admit reality or truth, denial; not acceptance or admission |
| polyglot | someone with knowledge of two or more languages |
| gravitas | seriousness |
| intractable | difficult to manipulate or control |
| disseminate | to disperse or scatter |
| sinecure | a job that provides income but requires little or no work |
| tendentious | biased in perspective; preferring one view over another; not indifferent |
| politic | prudent or shrewdly tactful |
| extemporaneous | done without planning; spur of the moment; makeshift |
| discursive | jumping from one topic to another without any order or reason |
| diaspora | a dispersion of people from their homeland |
| requiem | a religious service or song for the deceased |
| traduce | to slander someone's reputation |
| acerbic | sarcastic in mood, tone, or temper; harsh |
| beatitude | a state of happiness or joy; not agony |
| maladroit | not resourceful or cunning; inept |
| androgynous | having features of both sexes; suitable for both male and female |
| augur | someone who predicts future events according to omens |
| bon mot | a witty remark or saying; quip |
| peon | various laborers ho are generally landless; serf; servant |
| plutocrat | a member of the controlling upper-class; not a plebeian |
| plenary | complete in every way; full; not incomplete or lacking |
| digress | to deviate from the original subject or course; to stray |
| furlough | a leave of absence; vacation; liberty |
| misogyny | a hatred toward females |
| stolid | showing or having little or no emotion; not expressive or agitated |
| succor | something that gives relief or aid; not an aggravation or an annoyannce |
| travesty | poor representation or imitation; distortion; perversion; sham |
| xeric | characterized by or adapted to a dry habitat |
| clandestine | marked by secrecy; undercover; hidden |
| potboiler | a poorly done artistic work, often for quick profit |
| redoubtable | arousing fear; not wonderul or fortunate |
| vignette | a short, descriptive literary sketch |
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