- Abasement: humiliation; degradation
- Abhor: hate
- Abrasive: rough; coarse; harsh
- Abrogate: cancel; deny; repeal
- Absolution: forgiveness; pardon; release
- Abstain: desist; go without; withdraw
- Abstemious: self denying; refraining from indulging
- Abstruse: difficult to understand; obscure
- Accolade: tribute; honor; praise
- Acquiesce: to agree to; give in to
- Bigot: narrow-minded, prejudiced person
- Bilk: cheat; defraud
- Billowing: swelling; fluttering; waving
- Blasphemy: speech which offends religious sentiments
- Blatant: obvious
- Blighted: damaged; destroyed; ruined
- Blithe: free-spirited; carefree
- Blunderbuss: 1. ancient weapon (type of gun); 2. a clumsy person
- Bolster: support; prop up
- Bombast: arrogant, pompous language
- Counterfeit: fake; false
- Covert: hidden; undercover
- Cower: recoil in fear or servility; shrink away from
- Credible: believable
- Creditable: praiseworthy
- Credulous: gullible; ready to believe anything
- Crepuscular: active at dawn and dusk
- Cringe: recoil; flinch; shy away
- Cryptic: puzzling; enigmatic
- Curtail: cut short
- Enfranchise: give voting rights
- Engender: cause
- Enhance: improve; make better or clearer
- Enigma: puzzle; mystery
- Ensconce: establish firmly in a position
- Enshroud: cover
- Enunciation: clear pronunciation; accent; articulation
- Envenom: to cause bitterness and bad feeling
- Ephemeral: short-lived
- Epicure: someone who appreciates good food and drink
- Hamper: hinder; obstruct
- Hangar: storage area (like garage) for a plane
- Harangue: noisy, attacking speech
- Harbingers: indicators; bringers of warnings
- Hasten: hurry; accelerate; rush
- Haughtiness: arrogance; pride
- Headstrong: stubborn; willful
- Hedonism: self indulgence; pleasure-seeking
- Hedonist: a pleasure seeker
- Heed: listen to
- Kindle: to start a fire
- Knotty: complex; difficult to solve
- Labyrinth: a maze
- Labyrinthine: complicated; highly convoluted
- Laceration: a cut
- Lachrymose: tearful; sad
- Lackluster: dull; monotonous; bland
- Laconic: using few words; brief; to the point
- Lamentation: expression of regret or sorrow
- Lampoon: ridicule; spoof
- Noxious: harmful; poisonous; lethal
- Nuance: something subtle; a fine shade of meaning
- Nullify: to counter; make unimportant
- Nuzzle: cuddle; snuggle
- Obdurate: stubborn
- Obfuscate: deliberately make something difficult to understand
- Objective: unbiased; not subjective
- Oblique: indirect; slanting
- Obliterate: destroy; demolish; eradicate
- Oblivious: totally unaware
- Placid: calm; peaceful
- Plagiarism: taking credit for someone else's writing or ideas
- Plaintiff: petitioner (in court of law)
- Plaudit: statement giving strong praise
- Plausible: can be believed; reasonable
- Plethora: an excess
- Pliable: flexible; not stubborn
- Plumage: feathers of a bird
- Plummet: fall suddenly and steeply
- Podium: raised platform
- Remuneration: payment for work done
- Renown: fame
- Replete: full
- Reprehensible: shameful; very bad
- Reprieve: a respite; postponement of a sentence
- Repudiate: shun; eschew
- Rescind: retract; repeal
- Resignation: acceptance of fate
- Resolution: determination
- Resonant: echoing
- Talisman: lucky charm
- Tangent: going off the main subject
- Tangible: can be touched
- Tardy: slow; late; overdue; delayed
- Tawdry: of little value; gaudy
- Tedium: boredom
- Temper: to moderate; soften
- Tenacious: stubborn; resolute; holding firm to a purpose
- Tentative: not certain
- Tenuous: flimsy; not solid