• abate: to decrease in force or intensity
  
  ⤿ to become defeated or become null or void (as of a writ or appeal)
• abattoir: a place where animals are butchered; slaughterhouse
• abnegation: self-denial
• abscond: to depart secretly and hide oneself
• acolyte: a person who attends or assists a leader
• acrimony: anger and bitterness; harsh or biting sharpness especially of words, manner, or feelings
• admonitions: gentle or friendly criticism
  
  ⤿ counsel or warning against fault or oversight
• affront: to insult especially to the face by behavior or language
• a fortiori: with greater reason or more convincing force; used in drawing a conclusion that is inferred to be even more certain than another
• akimbo: having the hand on the hip and the elbow turned outward
  
  ⤿ set in a bent position
• alacrity: promptness in response
• ambulatory: able to walk about and not bedridden
  
  ⤿ of, relating to, or adapted to walking
• anathema: someone or something intensely disliked or loathed
• apercus [a-per-sue ]: a brief survey or sketch
• aperitif [a-peri-teef]: an alcoholic drink taken before a meal as an appetizer
• aphorism: a concise statement of a principle
  
  ⤿ a terse formulation of a truth or sentiment
• apocrypha: writings or statements of dubious authenticity
• apoplectic: of, relating to, or causing apoplexy or stroke
  
  ⤿ extremely enraged
• apropos: being both relevant and opportune
• arbitrate: to settle (a dispute between two people or groups) after hearing the arguments and opinions of both
• asperity: roughness of manner or of temper; harshness of behavior or speech that expresses bitterness or anger
• aspersion: a false or misleading charge meant to harm someone's reputation
• assiduous: showing great care, attention, and effort
• atavism: recurrence in an organism of a trait or character typical of an ancestral form and usually due to genetic recombination
• augure: to foretell especially from omens
• aureole: a radiant light around the head or body of a representation of a sacred personage
• avarice: excessive or insatiable desire for wealth or gain
• aver: to declare positively

• baleful: deadly or pernicious in influence
• barmy: full of froth or ferment
• berth: sufficient distance for maneuvering a ship
  
  ⤿ an amount of distance maintained for safety
• bibelot [bee-ba-low]: a small household ornament or decorative object; trinket
• bowdlerize: to expurgate (something, such as a book) by omitting or modifying parts considered vulgar
  
  ⤿ to modify by abridging, simplifying, or distorting in style or content
• bucolic: relating to or typical of rural life
  
  ⤿ of or relating to shepherds or herdsmen

• cacophony: harsh or jarring sound; dissonance
• calumny: a misrepresentation intended to harm another's reputation
• canard: a false or unfounded report or story
• cantilever: a projecting beam or member supported at only one end
• carbuncles: any of several red precious stones
  
  ⤿ a painful local purulent inflammation of the skin and deeper tissues with multiple openings for the discharge of pus and usually necrosis and sloughing of dead tissue
• catechism: oral instruction
  
  ⤿ a summary of religious doctrine often in the form of questions and answers
• caterwaul: to make a harsh cry
• caul: the large fatty omentum covering the intestines (as of a cow, sheep, or pig)
  
  ⤿ the inner fetal membrane of higher vertebrates especially when covering the head at birth
• chagrin: distress of mind caused by humiliation, disappointment, or failure
• cicatrise: to induce the formation of a scar
• circumspect: careful to consider all circumstances and possible consequences
• citadel: a fortress that commands a city
• clandestine: marked by, held in, or conducted with secrecy
• comestible: edible
• commonweal (commonwealth): the general welfare
• compendium: a brief summary of a larger work or of a field of knowledge
• comport: to be fitting; accord
• compunction: anxiety arising from awareness of guilt
• concupiscence: strong sexual desire
• consecrate: dedicated to a sacred purpose
• consigliere: a person who serves as an adviser or counselor to the leader of a criminal organization
• copse: a thicket, grove, or growth of small trees
• cosset: a pet lamb
• consternation: amazement or dismay that hinders or throws into confusion
• contrite: feeling or showing sorrow and remorse for improper or objectionable behavior, actions
• convalescence: time spent recovering from an illness or medical treatment; recuperation
• cudgel: a short heavy club

• daguerreotype: an early photograph produced on a silver or a silver-covered copper plate
• dalliance: an act of dallying
• deliquesce: to dissolve or melt away
• delsultory: marked by lack of definite plan, regularity, or purpose
  
  ⤿ not connected with the main subject
  
  ⤿ disappointing in progress, performance, or quality
• demarcate: to set apart; distinguish
• demimonde: a class of women on the fringes of conventional society supported by wealthy lovers
• depilatory: an agent for removing hair, wool, or bristles
• desiccant: a drying agent
• derision: the use of ridicule or scorn to show contempt
• diaphanous: characterized by such fineness of texture as to permit seeing through
  
  ⤿ characterized by extreme delicacy of form; ethereal
• dilettante: a person having a superficial interest in an art or a branch of knowledge
• dolorous: causing, marked by, or expressing misery or grief
• domicile: place of residence; home
• dotage: a state or period of old age especially when accompanied by mental decline

• ecclesiastical: of or relating to a church especially as an established institution; suitable use for a church
• edifice: a large or massive structure
  
  ⤿large abstract structure
• effleurage: a light stroking movement used in massage
• effluvium: an invisible emanation
  
  ⤿ an offensive exhalation or smell
  
  ⤿ a by-product especially in the form of waste
• effrontery: shameless boldness
• eidolon [i-dolon]: an unsubstantial image
  
  ⤿ ideal
• elocution: the art of effective public speaking
• enervate: lacking physical, mental, or moral vigor
  
  ⤿ to reduce the mental or moral vigor
• enmity: positive, active, and typically mutual hatred or ill will
• ensconce: shelter, conceal
• envisage: to view or regard in a certain way
• epaulette: something that ornaments or protects the shoulder
• epithelium: a membranous cellular tissue that covers a free surface or lines a tube or cavity of an animal body and serves especially to enclose and protect the other parts of the body, to produce secretions and excretions, and to function in assimilation
• epithet: a characterizing word or phrase accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a person or thing
  
  ⤿ a disparaging or abusive word or phrase
• equanimity: evenness of mind especially under stress
• ersatz: being a usually artificial and inferior substitute or imitation
• especial: directed toward a particular individual, group, or end
  
  ⤿ of special note or importance
  
  ⤿ highly distinctive or personal; peculiar
• estuary: a water passage where the tide meets a river current
• evince: to constitute outward evidence of
  
  ⤿ to display clearly
• exalt: to raise in rank, power, or character
• expurgate: to cleanse of something morally harmful, offensive, or erroneous

• fealty: the fidelity of a vassal or feudal tenant to a lord
  
  ⤿ the obligation of such fidelity
• fecund: fruitful in offspring or vegetation
  
  ⤿ intellectually productive or inventive to a marked degree
• filibuster: an irregular military adventurer
• flaneur: an idle man-about-town
• folderol [fal-del-rol]: a useless ornament or accessory
  
  ⤿ nonsense
• frisson: a brief moment of emotional excitement; shudder
• froideur: coolness or extreme reserve in manner
• furtive: done in a quiet and secretive way to avoid being noticed
  
  ⤿ expressive of stealth; sly
  
  ⤿ obtained underhandedly; stolen
• futz: fool around

• gabardine: a firm hard-finish durable fabric (as of wool or rayon) twilled with diagonal ribs on the right side
• gambol: to skip about in play
• gauche: lacking social experience or grace
  
  ⤿ crudely made or done
• genuflect: to bend the knee
  
  ⤿ to touch the knee to the floor or ground especially in worship
• gloaming: twilight; dusk

• hagiography: biography of saints or venerated persons
• hamartia: tragic flaw
• harridan: a strict, bossy, or belligerent old woman
• hauteur: arrogance, haughtiness
• heliograph: an apparatus for telegraphing by means of the sun's rays flashed from a mirror
• hermetically: in an airtight manner
• hoi polloi: the general populace
• horology: the science of measuring time
  
  ⤿ the art of making instruments for indicating time
• hoyden: a girl or woman of saucy, boisterous, or carefree behavior
• hubbub: noise, uproar

• ignominy: deep personal humiliation and disgrace
• imbroglio: an acutely painful or embarrassing misunderstanding
• impecunious: having very little or no money usually habitually
• impetuous: marked by impulsive vehemence or passion
• impugn: to assail by words or arguments; oppose or attack as false or lacking integrity
• incendiary: igniting combustible materials spontaneously
  
  ⤿ of, relating to, or being a weapon (such as a bomb) designed to start fires
• incorrigible: incapable of being corrected or amended
• incumbent: the holder of an office
• inanition: the quality or state of being empty
  
  ⤿ the quality or state of being empty
  
  ⤿ the absence or loss of social, moral, or intellectual vitality or vigor
• inclement: lacking mildness
• indefatigable: incapable of being fatigued; untiring
• infinitesimal: immeasurably or incalculably small
• in flagrante delicto: in the very act of committing a misdeed; red-handed
  
  ⤿ in the midst of sexual activity
• inoculate: to introduce immunologically active material (such as an antibody or antigen) into especially in order to treat or prevent a disease
• insalubrious: not conducive to health; unwholesome
• insouciant: lighthearted unconcern
• interlocutor: one who takes part in dialogue or conversation

• jettison: to get rid of as superfluous or encumbering; omit or forgo as part of a plan or as the result of some other decision

• kowtow: to show obsequious deference; fawn

• lachrymose: given to tears or weeping; tearful
• lacunae: a blank space or a missing part; gap
• latrine: a receptacle (such as a pit in the earth) for use as a toilet
• lederhosen: leather shorts often with suspenders worn especially in Bavaria
• lily-livered: lacking courage; cowardly
• lothario: a man whose chief interest is seducing women
• louche: not reputable or decent
• loquacious: full of excessive talk; wordy
• lugubrious: exaggeratedly mournful

• maelstrom: a powerful often violent whirlpool sucking in objects within a given radius
• maidenhead: the quality or state of being a maiden; virginity
• majuscule: a large letter (such as a capital)
• malady: a disease or disorder of the animal body
  
  ⤿ an unwholesome or disordered condition
• malapropo: in an inappropriate or inopportune way
• mendacity: given to or characterized by deception or falsehood or divergence from absolute truths
• mettle: vigor and strength of spirit or temperament; staying quality
• mien: bearing especially as expressive of attitude or personality; demeanor
• milquetoast [milk toast]: timid, meek, or unassertive
• mirth: gladness or gaiety as shown by or accompanied with laughter
• mollify: to soothe in temper or disposition; appease
• moue: a little grimace; pout

• neologism: a new word, usage, or expression
• non sequitur: a statement (such as a response) that does not follow logically from or is not clearly related to anything previously said
• numinous: filled with a sense of the presence of divinity; holy

• obdurate: stubbornly persistent in wrongdoing
  
  ⤿ hardened in feelings
  
  ⤿ resistant to persuasion or softening influences
• obfuscate: to throw into shadow; darken
  
  ⤿ to make obscure; hide
• obsequious: marked by or exhibiting a fawning attentiveness
• obstreperous: marked by unruly or aggressive noisiness
  
  ⤿ stubbornly resistant to control
• oeuvre: a substantial body of work constituting the lifework of a writer, an artist, or a composer
• oneiric: of, relating to, or suggestive of dreams; dreamy
• opprobrium: something that brings disgrace
• orthography: the art of writing words with the proper letters according to standard usage
  
  ⤿ the representation of the sounds of a language by written or printed symbols

• panacea: a remedy for all ills or difficulties
• panache: an ornamental tuft (as of feathers) especially on a helmet
• palaver: a long parley usually between persons of different cultures or levels of sophistication
• paroxysm: a fit, attack, or sudden increase or recurrence of symptoms (as of a disease); convulsion
• pastiche: a literary, artistic, musical, or architectural work that imitates the style of previous work
• paucity: smallness of number
• pendulous: poised without visible support
• penitent: feeling or expressing humble or regretful pain or sorrow for sins or offenses; repentant
• penultimate: next to the last
  
  ⤿ of or relating to the next to the last syllable of a word
• penumbra: a space of partial illumination (as in an eclipse) between the perfect shadow on all sides and the full light
• penury: a cramping and oppressive lack of resources (such as money); severe poverty
• peonage: the use of laborers bound in servitude because of debt
• peremptory: putting an end to or precluding a right of action, debate, or delay - specifically: not providing an opportunity to show cause why one should not comply
  
  ⤿ expressive of urgency or command
  
  ⤿ characterized by often imperious or arrogant self-assurance
• peripatetic: of, relating to, or given to walking
• persona non grata: a person who is unacceptable or unwelcome
• petechia: a minute reddish or purplish spot containing blood that appears in skin or mucous membrane as a result of localized hemorrhage
• philander: to have casual or illicit sex with a person or with many people
  
  ⤿ to be sexually unfaithful to one's spouse
• piquant: agreeably stimulating to the taste
  
  ⤿ engagingly provocative or stimulating
• pilaf: a dish made of seasoned rice and often meat
• pliant: easily influenced
• porcine: of, relating to, or suggesting swine; piggish
• portend: to give an omen or anticipatory sign of
• predilection: an established preference for something
• profligate: wildly extravagant
• prosody: the study of versification
  
  ⤿ the rhythmic and intonational aspect of language
• provenance: origin; source
  
  ⤿ the history of ownership of a valued object or work of art or literature
• prurient: marked by, arousing, or appealing to sexual desire
• psilocybin: a hallucinogenic indole obtained from a fungus
• pundit: a learned person; teacher
  
  ⤿ a person who gives opinions in an authoritative manner usually through the mass media; critic
• putrefaction: the decomposition of organic matter

• querulous: habitually complaining
• quixotic: foolishly impractical especially in the pursuit of ideals
• quotidian: occurring every day

• rancor: bitter deep-seated ill will
• rebarbative: repellent, irritating
• recalcitrant: obstinately defiant of authority or restraint; stubbornly uncooperative or disobedient
• refractory: resisting control or authority; stubborn, unmanageable
• reify: to consider or represent (something abstract) as a material or concrete thing
  
  ⤿ to give definite content and form to (a concept or idea)
• repartee: a quick and witty reply
• resplendent: shining brilliantly, characterized by a glowing splendor
• rheumy: a watery discharge from the mucous membranes especially of the eyes or nose
• risible: capable of laughing
  
  ⤿ arousing or provoking laughter
• rote: an established and often automatic or monotonous series of actions followed when engaging in some activity
• rotunda: a round building
• rube: an awkward unsophisticated person
  
  ⤿ a naive or inexperienced person

• sagacious: of keen and farsighted penetration and judgment; discerning
• sartorial: of or relating to a tailor or tailored clothes
• schadenfreude: enjoyment obtained from seeing or hearing about the troubles of others
• scintillating [sin-​til-lat-​ing]: obrilliantly lively, stimulating, or witty
• scurrilous: using or given to coarse language
• sepulchre: a place of burial; tomb
• shirkers: to go stealthily
  
  ⤿ to evade the performance of an obligation
• simulacrum: image, representation
• smarmy: revealing or marked by a smug, ingratiating, or false earnestness
  
  ⤿ of low sleazy taste or quality
• sobriquet [so-bri-kay]: a descriptive name or epithet; nickname
• somnolent: of a kind likely to induce sleep
• sonorous: producing sound (as when struck)
  
  ⤿ full or loud in sound
• sotto voce: under the breath
• spondee: a metrical foot consisting of two long or stressed syllables
• squalid: marked by filthiness and degradation from neglect or poverty
• stalwart: marked by outstanding strength and vigor of body, mind, or spirit
• stymie: to present an obstacle to; stand in the way of
• suppurate: to form or discharge pus
• surfeit: an overabundant supply; excess
  
  ⤿ an intemperate or immoderate indulgence in something (such as food or drink)
• sybarite: a person who is self-indulgent in their fondness for sensuous luxury
• syllabub: milk or cream that is curdled with an acid beverage (such as wine or cider) and often sweetened and served as a drink or topping or thickened with gelatin and served as a dessert
• syllogism: a subtle, specious, or crafty argument
  
  ⤿ deductive reasoning

• tantamount: equivalent in value, significance, or effect
• temerity: unreasonable or foolhardy contempt of danger or opposition; rashness
• tincture: a solution of a medicinal substance in an alcoholic solvent
• torpor: a state of mental and motor inactivity with partial or total insensibility
• traipse: to go on foot
• traduce: to expose to shame or blame by means of falsehood and misrepresentation
• tumid: marked by swelling; enlarged
• turgid: excessively embellished in style or language; pompous

• unctuous: having, revealing, or marked by a smug, ingratiating, and false earnestness or spirituality
  
  ⤿ smooth and greasy in texture or appearance
• unguents: a soothing or healing salve
• urushiol: a mixture of catechol derivatives with saturated or unsaturated side chains of 15 or 17 carbon atoms that is an oily toxic irritant substance present in poison ivy and some related plants (such as poison oak and poison sumac)

• vagary: an erratic, unpredictable, or extravagant manifestation, action, or notion
• vainglory: excessive or ostentatious pride especially in one's achievements; vanity
• valise: suitcase
• verisimilar: having the appearance of truth
  
  ⤿ depicting realism (as in art or literature)
• vertiginous: characterized by or suffering from vertigo or dizziness
  
  ⤿ inclined to frequent and often pointless change
• vestibule: a passage, hall, or room between the outer door and the interior of a building; lobby
• virago: a loud overbearing woman
• vituperative: containing or characterized by verbal abuse
• vociferous: marked by or given to vehement insistent outcry
• voluble: easily rolling or turning; rotating
  
  ⤿ characterized by ready or rapid speech

• wastrel: one who expends resources foolishly and self-indulgently
• whirligig: a child's toy having a whirling motion
• wittering: a piece of information (as a sign, token, or hint)
• wittol: a man who knows of his wife's infidelity and puts up with it
• wraith: the exact likeness of a living person seen usually just before death as an apparition

• yokel: a naive or gullible inhabitant of a rural area or small town