| Term | Definition |
|---|
| amnesty | an act of authority by which pardon is granted |
| apex | the tip of anything |
| arduous | hard to accomplish or achieve |
| ascertain | to make subjectively certain |
| azure | a bright blue pigment |
| bayou | the marshy offshoots of lakes and rivers |
| bombastic | speaking with inflated language |
| buoyant | tending to float in a fluid |
| cessation | temporary or permanent stoppage of an action |
| cogent | having power to compel or constrain |
| contrite | showing sincere remorse |
| decorous | characterized by dignified propriety in conduct, manners, etc. |
| elegiac | of the nature of a song of lamentation |
| encumbrance | a useless addition |
| ennui | dissatisfaction arising from boredom |
| epitome | brief statement of the chief points in a literary work |
| excursion | a going out or forth; usually a brief pleasure trip |
| exogenous | growing by additions on the outside |
| exoteric | suitable to be imparted to the public |
| extenuation | action or process of making or becoming thin |
| factitious | made by art, artificial |
| firmament | the vault or arch of the sky |
| grotesque | characterized by distortion or unnatural combinations |
| isthmus | narrow strip of land bordered on two both sides by water |
| lucid | suffused with light |
| myriad | countless numbers of people or things |
| obtrude | to proffer forcibly |
| oracle | the instrument or medium through which the gods were supposed to speak or prophesy |
| paltry | very small or meager (of an amount) |
| panoply | a magnificent or impressive array |
| pecuniary | related to money |
| perpetual | lasting or destined to last forever |
| posthumously | after death |
| precept | a general command or injunction |
| prosody | the science or study of poetic meters |
| psalm | a song or poem of a sacred or serious nature |
| requiem | a special mass said or sung for the repose of the souls of the dead |
| rudiments | the elements or first principles of a subject |
| scansion | the metrical analysis of verse |
| sojourner | a temporary resident |
| supernumerary | beyond or in excess of the usual, proper, or prescribed number or quantity |
| swath | the space covered by a sweep of the mower's scythe |
| transpire | to pass in the form of a vapor from a living body |
| volubility | ready or rapid speech |
| waive | to give up or to relinquish voluntarily |
| arabesque | the figure described by the leading lines of the composition, drawing, or painting |
| bulwark | a solid wall-like structure raised for defense |
| buxom | vigorously and healthily plump |
| cabal | the artifices and intrigues of a group of persons secretly united in a plot (as to overturn the government); a group engaged in such artifices and intrigues |
| circumvent | to make a circuit around |
| cowl | a garment with a hood; covering commonly shaped like a hood |
| daguerreotype | an early photograph produced on a silver or silver-coppered copper plate |
| denouement | the final unraveling of the main dramatic complication in a plot |
| didactic | having the character of a teacher or instructor |
| digress | to deviate or wander away from the main topic or purpose in speaking or writing |
| divulge | to make public |
| doddering | trembling or shaking from weakness or age |
| etherize | to put under the influence of ether |
| fatuity | something foolish or stupid |
| felicity | the state of being happy |
| fidelity | the quality of being faithful |
| fortuitous | occurring by chance |
| grail | the object of a prolonged endeavor |
| grist | a required or usual amount; a grain for grinding |
| imperious | the character of being unsuitable, out of place, improper |
| indiscretion | an imprudent act |
| insidious | intended to entrap or beguile |
| macabre | having death as a subject |
| meticulous | taking or showing extreme care about minute details |
| misconstrue | to misunderstand the meaning of |
| mote | a particle of dust |
| niche | a recess in a wall esp. for a statue |
| obtuse | not sharp or blunted |
| patrimony | an estate inherited from one's father or ancestor |
| pugilistic | relating to boxing |
| pyre | a combustible heap for burning a dead body as a funeral fire |
| querulous | habitually complaining |
| retinue | the attendants accompanying a high-ranking person |
| servile | befitting a slave; unworthy of a free man |
| sibilant | producing the sound or a sound resembling that of an s or the sh in sash |
| somnolent | inclined to induce sleep |
| spasmodically | with spasms |
| suffuse | to overspread as with fluid, light, or color |
| syntax | the study of the rules for the formation of grammatical sentences in a language |
| tedious | tiresome because of length or dullness |
| temperament | a moderate and proportionable mixture of elements in a compound; natural disposition |
| undulating | moving after the manner of waves; rising and falling like waves |
| vignette | decorative design placed at the beginning or end of a book or chapter of a book or along the border of a page |
| vitality | the peculiarity distinguishing the living from the nonliving |
| ague | a fever marked by paroxysms of chills, fever, and sweating that recur at regular intervals; a fit of shivering |
| arbitrary | determined by chance, whim, or impulse, not by necessity or reason |
| bequeath | to give or leave by will |
| blight | a plant disease, esp. one caused by fungi |
| chattel | an item of tangible moveable or immoveable property except real estate, freehold, and things connected with real property; slave, bondsman |
| compulsion | the state of being driven or urged forcibly or irresistibly |
| deference | submission or courteous yielding to the opinion or judgement of another |
| descant | to sing melodiously; to write at length (on a topic) |
| evince | to indicate (a quality, feeling, etc.) |
| excoriate | to denounce or berate severely; to pull off the skin or hide from |
| inculcate | to teach and impress by frequent repetitions |
| incur | to become liable or subject to as a result of one's actions |
| loquacious | full of excessive talk |
| obdurate | hardened in wrongdoing or sin |
| odiousness | the quality of being offensive |
| odium | state of disgrace resulting from hateful conduct |
| pernicious | tending to cause death or serious injury |
| pious | having religious reverence; exhibiting a strict, traditional sense of virtue and morality |
| sophistry | plausible but fallacious argument |
| staunch | firm and steadfast |
| unabated | sustaining an original intensity or maintaining full force with no decrease |
| vestige | a trace or sign of something that once existed but has passed away or disappeared |
| vindication | the defense, such as evidence or argument, that serves to justify a claim |
| carven | wrought or ornamented by carving |
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