- moot: disputable
- mores: moral standards
- motley: diverse
- myopic: narrow-minded
- myriad: innumerable
- nefarious: evil
- nemesis: implacable foe
- neophyte: beginner
- nirvana: bliss
- nonpariel: unequaled, peerless
- nouveau riche: newly rich
- obdurate: unyeilding
- oblique: indirect
- onslaught: attack
- onus: burden
- opulent: luxurious, lavish
- ostensible: apparent, seeming
- pallid: pale, sollow
- palpable: touchable
- pariah: outcast
- paternal: fatherly
- pensive: sad, thoughtful
- peruse: read carefully
- petulant: irritable, peevish
- potpourri: medley
- preclude: prevent
- punctilious: meticulous
- quaff: drink
- quarry: prey, game
- quay: wharf
- ramification: consequence
- rancid: rotten
- rationale: justification
- raze: destroy
- recoil: flinch, retreat
- remit: forgive, send payment
- requem: rest, mass for the dead
- rue: regret
- sacrilege: blasphemy
- sagacious: wise
- sardonic: scornful
- satchel: bag
- savoir faire: tact, polish
- semantics: study of word meanings
- seraphic: angelic
- skinflint: miser
- solace: consolation
- stodgy: stuffy, pompous
- stratagem: trick
- sully: stain
- taboo: prohibition
- tarn: small lake
- teem: swarm, abound
- tiff: fight
- tousle: dishevel