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 acquisitive | (adj.) able to get and retain ideas or information; concerned with acquiring wealth or property |
| arrogate | (v.) to claim or take without right |
| banal | (adj.) hackneyed, trite, commonplace |
| belabor | (v.) to work on excessively; to thrash soundly |
| carping | (adj.) tending to find fault, especially in a petty, nasty, or hairsplitting way; (n.) petty, nagging criticism |
| coherent | (adj.) holding on or sticking together; making a logical whole; comprehensible, meaningful |
| congeal | (v.) to change from liquid to solid, thicken; to make inflexible or rigid |
| emulate | (v.) to imitate with the intent of equaling or surpassing the model |
| encomium | (n.) a formal expression of praise, a lavish tribute |
| eschew | (v.) to avoid, shun, keep away from |
| germane | (adj.) relevant, appropriate, apropos, fitting |
| insatiable | (adj.) so great or demading as not to be satisfied |
| intransigent | (adj.) refusing to compromise, irreconcilable |
| invidious | (adj.) offensive, hateful; tending to cause bitterness and resentment |
| largesse | (n.) generosity in giving; lavish or bountiful contributions |
| reconnaissance | (n.) a survey made for military purposes; any kind of preliminary inspection or examination |
| substantiate | (v.) to establish by evidence, prove; to give concrete or substantial form to |
| taciturn | (adj.) habitually silent or quiet, inclined to talk very little |
| temporize | (v.) to stall or act evasively in order to gain time, avoid a confrontation, or postpone a decision; to compromise |
| tenable | (adj.) capable of being held or defended |
| accost | to approach and speak to first; to confront in a challenging or aggressive way |
| animadversion | a comment indicating strong criticism or disapproval |
| avid | desirous of something to the point of greed; intensely eager |
| brackish | having a salty taste and unpleasant to drink |
| celerity | swiftness, rapidity of motion or action |
| devious | straying or wandering from a straight or direct course; done or acting in a shifty or underhanded way |
| gambit | in chess, an opening move that involves risk or sacrifice of a minor piece in order to gain a later advantage; any opening move of this type |
| halcyon | (n.) a legendary bird identified with the kingfisher; (adj.) of or relating to the halcyon; calm, peaceful; happy, golden; prosperous, affluent |
| histrionic | pertaining to actors and their techniques; theatrical, artificial; melodramatic |
| incendiary | deliberately setting or causing fires; designed to start fires; tending to stir up strife or rebellion; one who deliberately sets fires, arsonist; one who causes strife |
| malestrom | whirlpool; turbulence; agitated atate of mind |
| mypoic | nearsighted |
| overt | open, not hidden, expressed or revealed in a way that is easily recognized |
| pejorative | tending to make worse; expressing disapproval or disparagement, derogatory, deprecatory, belittling |
| propriety | the state of being proper, appropriateness; standards of what is proper or socially acceptable |
| sacrilege | improper or disrespectful treatment of something held sacred |
| summarily | without delay or formality; briefly, concisely |
| suppliant | asking humbly and earnestly; one who makes a request humbly and earnestly, a petitioner, suitor |
| talisman | an object that serves as a charm or is believed to confer magical powers, an amulet, fetish |
| undulate | to move in waves or with a wavelike motion; to have a wavelike appearance or form |
| articulate | (v.) to pronounce distinctly; to express well in words; to connect by a joint or joints; (adj,) expressed clearly and forcefully; able to employ language clearly and forcefully; jointed |
| cavort | (v.) to romp or prance around exuberantly; to make merry |
| credence | (n.) belief; mental acceptance |
| decry | (v.) to condemn, express strong disapproval; to officially depreciate |
| dissemble | (v.) to disguise or conceal, deliberately give a false impression |
| distraught | (adj.) very much agitated or upset as a result of emotion or mental conflict |
| eulogy | (n.) a formal statement of commendation; high praise |
| evince | (v.) to display clearly, to make evident, to provoke |
| exhume | (v.) to remove from a grave; to bring to light |
| feckless | (adj.) lacking in spirit and strength; ineffective, weak; irresponsible, unreliable |
| murky | (adj.) dark and gloomy, obscure; lacking in clarity and precision |
| nefarious | (adj.) wicked, depraved, devoid of moral standards |
| piquant | (adj.) stimulating to the taste or mind; spicy, pungent; appealingly provocative |
| primordial | (adj.) developed or created at the very beginning; going back to the most ancient times or earliest stage; fundamental, basic |
| propinquity | (n.) nearness in place or time; kinship |
| unwonted | (adj.) not usual or expected; not in character |
| utopian | (adj.) founded upon or involving a visionary view of an ideal world; impractical |
| verbiage | (n.) language that is too wordy or inflated in proportion to the sense or content, wordiness; a manner of expression |
| verdant | (adj.) green in tint or color; immature in experience or judgement |
| viscous | (adj.) having a gelatinous or gluey quality, lacking in easy movement or fluidity |
| Atrophy | (n) The wasting away of a body organ or tissue; any progressive decline of failure; (v) to waste away |
| Bastion | (n) A fortified place, strong hold |
| Concord | (n) A state of agreement, harmony, unanimity, a treaty, pact, covenant |
| Consummate | (adj) complete or perfect in the highest degree; (v) to bring to a state of completion |
| Disarray | (n) Disorder, confusion; (v) to throw into disorder |
| Exigency | (n, often pl) Urgency, pressure; urgent demand, pressing need; an emergency |
| Flotsam | (n) Floating debris; homeless, impoverished people |
| Frenetic | (adj) Frenzied, highly agitated |
| Glean | (v) To gather bit by bit; to gather small quantities of grain left in a field by the reapers |
| Grouse | (n) A type of game bird; a complaint; (v) to complain, grumble |
| Incarcerate | (v) To imprison, confine, jail |
| Incumbent | (adj) Obligatory, required; (n) one who holds a specific office at the time spoken of |
| Jocular | (adj) Humorous, jesting, jolly, joking |
| Ludicrous | (adj) Ridculous, laughable, absurd |
| Mordant | (adj) Biting or caustic in thought, manner, or style; sharply or bitterly harsh |
| Nettle | (n) A prickly or stinging plant; (v) to arouse displeasure, impatience, or anger; to vex or irritate severely |
| Pecuniary | (adj) Consisting of or measured in money; of or realated to money |
| Pusillanimous | (adj) Contemptibly cowardly or mean-spirited |
| Recumbent | (adj) In a reclining position, lying down, in the posture of one sleeping or resting |
| Stratagem | (n) A scheme to outwit or deceive an opponent or to gain an end |
| acuity | (n.) sharpness [particularly of mind or senses] |
| delineate | (v.) to portray, sketch, or describe in accurate and vivid detail; to represent pictorially |
| depraved | (adj.) marked by evil and corruption, devoid of moral principles |
| enervate | (v.) to weaken or lessen the mental, moral, or physical vigor of; enfeeble, hamstring |
| esoteric | (adj.) intended for or understood by only a select few, private, secret |
| fecund | (adj.) fruitful in offspring or vegetation; intellectually productive |
| fiat | (n.) an arbitrary order or decree; a command or act of will or consciousness |
| figment | (n.) a fabrication of the mind; an arbitrary notion |
| garner | (v.) to acquire as the result of effort; to gather and store away, as for future use |
| hallow | (v.) to set apart as holy or scared, sanctify, consecrate; to honor greatly, revere |
| idiosyncrasy | (n.) a peculiarity that serves to distinguish or identify |
| ignominy | (n.) shame and disgrace |
| mundane | (adj.) earthly, worldly, relating to practical and material affairs; concerned with what is ordinary |
| nuance | (n.) a subtle or slight variation [as in color, meaning, quality], delicate gradation or shade or difference |
| overweening | (adj.) conceited, presumptuous; excessive, immoderate |
| penchant | (n.) a strong attraction or inclination |
| reputed | (adj.) according to reputation or general belief; having widespread acceptance and good reputation; (part.) alleged |
| sophistry | (n.) reasoning that seems plausible but is actually unsound; a fallacy |
| sumptuous | (adj.) costly, rich, magnificent |
| ubiquitous | (adj.) present or existing everywhere |
| abject | (adj.) degraded; base, contemptible; cringing, servile; complete and unrelieved |
| agnostic | (n.) one who believes that nothing can be known about God; a skeptic; (adj.) without faith, skeptical |
| complicity | (n.) involvement in wrongdoing; the state of being an accomplice |
| derelict | (n.) someone or something that is abandoned or neglected; (adj.) left abandoned; neglectful of duty |
| diatribe | (n.) a bitter and prolonged verbal attack |
| effigy | (n.) a crude image of a despised person |
| equity | (n.) the state or quality of being just, fair, or impartial; fair and equal treatment; something that is fair; the money value of a property value of a property above and beyond any other mortgage or other claim |
| inane | (adj.) silly, empty of meaning or value |
| indictment | (n.) a act of accusing; a formal accusation |
| indubitable | (adj.) certain, not to be doubted or denied |
| intermittent | (adj.) stopping and beginning again, sporadic |
| moot | (adj.) open to discussion and debate, unresolved; (v.) to bring up for discussion; (n.) a hypothetical law case argued by students |
| motif | (n.) a principal idea, feature, theme, or element; a repeated or dominant figure in a design |
| neophyte | (n.) a new convert, beginner, novice |
| perspicacity | (n.) keenness in observing and understanding |
| plenary | (adj.) complete in all aspects or essentials; absolute; attended by all qualified members |
| surveillance | (n.) a watch kept over a person; careful, close, and disciplined observation |
| sylvan | (adj.) pertaining to or characteristic or forest; living or located in a forest; wooded, woody |
| testy | (adj.) easily irritated; characterized by impatience and exasperation |
| travesty | (n.) a grotesque or grossly inferior imitation; a disguise, especially the clothing of the opposite sex; (v.) to ridicule by imitating in a broad or burlesque fashion |
| allay | (v.) to calm or pacify, set to rest; to lessen or relieve |
| bestial | (adj.) beastlike; beastly, brutal; subhuman in intelligence and sensibility |
| convivial | (adj.) festive, sociable, having fun together, genial |
| coterie | (n.) a circle of acquaintances; a close-knit, often exclusive, group of people with a common interest |
| counterpart | (n.) a person or thing closely resembling or corresponding to another; a complement |
| demur | (v.) to object or take exception to; (n.) an objection |
| effrontery | (n.) shameless boldness, impudence |
| embellish | (v.) to decorate, adorn, touch up; to improve by adding details |
| ephemeral | (adj.) lasting only a short time, short-lived |
| felicitous | (adj.) appropriate, apt, well chosen; marked by well-being or good fortune, happy |
| furtive | (adj.) done slyly or stealthily, sneaky, secret, shifty; stolen |
| garish | (adj.) glaring; tastelessly showy or overdecorated in a vulgar or offensive way |
| illusory | (adj.) misleading, deceptive; lacking in or not based on reality |
| indigent | (adj.) needy, impoverished |
| inordinate | (adj.) far too great, exceeding reasonable limits, excessive |
| jettison | (v.) to cast overboard, get rid of as unnecessary or burdensome |
| misanthrope | (n.) a person who hates or despises people |
| pertinacious | (adj.) very persistent; holding firmly to a course of action or a set of beliefs; hard to get rid of, refusing to be put off or denied |
| picayune | (adj.) of little value or importance, paltry, measly; concerned with trifling matter, small-minded |
| raiment | (n.) clothing, garments |
| allege | v. to assert without proof or confirmation |
| arrant | adj. thoroughgoing, out-and-out; shameless, blatant |
| badinage | n. light and playful conversation |
| conciliate | v. to overcome the distrust of, win over; to appease, pacify; to reconcile, make consistent |
| countermand | v. to cancel or reverse one order or command with another that is contrary to the first |
| echelon | n. one of a series of grades in an organization or field of activity; an organized military unit; a steplike formation or arrangement |
| exacerbate | v. to make more violent, severe, bitter, or painful |
| fatuous | adj. stupid or foolish in a self-satisfied way |
| irrefutable | adj. impossible to disprove; beyond argument |
| juggernaut | n. a massive and inescapable force or object that crushes whatever is in its path |
| lackadaisical | adj. lacking spirit or interest, halfhearted |
| litany | n. a prayer consisting of short appeals to God recited by the leader alternating with response from the congregation; any repetitive chant; a long list |
| macabre | adj. grisly, gruesome; horrible, distressing; having death as a subject |
| paucity | n. an inadequate quantity, scarcity, dearth |
| portend | v. to indicate beforehand that something is about to happen; to give advance warning of |
| raze | v. to tear down, destroy completely; to cut or scrape off or out |
| recant | v. to withdraw a statement or belief to which one has previously been committed, renounce, retract |
| saturate | v. to soak thoroughly, fill to capacity; to satisfy fully |
| saturnine | adj. of a gloomy or surly disposition; cold or sluggish in mood |
| slough | v. to cast off, discard; to get rid of something objectionable or unnecessary; to plod through as if through mud |
| Acclamation | (n.) a shout of welcome; an overwhelming verbal vote of approval |
| Bucolic | (adj.) characteristic of the countryside, rural; relating to shepherds and cowherds, pastoral |
| Calumniate | (v.) to slander; to accuse falsely and maliciously |
| Chary | (adj.) extremely cautious, hesitant, or slow (to); reserved, diffident |
| Collusion | (n.) a secret agreement or cooperation |
| Dilettante | (n.) a dabbler in the arts; one who engages in activity in an amateurish, trifling way; (adj.) superficial |
| Imperturbable | (adj.) not easily excited; emotionally steady |
| Increment | (n.) an enlargement, increase, addition |
| Mandate | (n.) an authoritative command, formal order, authorization; (v.) to issue such an order |
| Paltry | (adj.) trifling, insignificant; mean, despicable; inferior, trashy |
| Paroxysm | (n.) a sudden outburst; a spasm, convulsion |
| Pedantry | (n.) a pretentious display of knowledge; overly rigid attention to rules and details |
| Peregrination | (n.) the act of traveling; an excursion, especially on foot or to a foreign country |
| Redolent | (adj.) fragrant, smelling strongly; tending to arouse memories or create an aura |
| Refulgent | (adj.) shining, radiant, resplendent |
| Shibboleth | (n.) a word, expression, or custom that distinguishes a particular group of persons from all others; a commonplace saying or truism |
| Tyro | (n.) a beginner, novice; one with little or no background or skill |
| Unremitting | (adj.) not stopping, maintained steadily, never letting up, relentless |
| Vacillate | (v.) to swing indecisively from one idea or course of action to another; to waver weakly in mind or will |
| Vituperative | (adj.) harshly abusive, severely scolding |