| A | B |
|---|
| coagulate | to clot (e.g., blood: to come together |
| coffer | box in which valuables are kept |
| condone | to pardon; to overlook |
| conflagration | large fire |
| conspicuous | obvious; attracting attention |
| contiguous | side by side; touching |
| corroborate | to provide evidence to support a view or opinion |
| countermand | command replacing a previous one |
| daunt | to threaten |
| deference | extreme respectfulness; submissiveness |
| degradation | dishonor |
| deride | to ridicule |
| despondent | depressed |
| exhort | to urge strongly |
| expedite | to speed up the process; to make more efficient |
| exude | to give off |
| facetiousness | inappropriate humor; wit |
| fastidious | fussy; finicky; difficult to please |
| floe | chunk of floating ice |
| foible | minor flaw or weakness |
| furtive | secretive; sneaky |
| garish | gaudy; bright in color |
| germaine | relevant; important |
| glib | slick (as in speech); superficial |
| hackneyed | cliche`d; overused; trite |
| hidebound | very stubbon |
| idiosyncrasy | strange habit or preference |
| impecunious | having no money |
| impugn | to call into question; to challenge the truth of a statement |
| indefatigable | tireless; energetic |
| indoctrination | teaching a certain point of view; beyond hope of correction |
| infirmity | weakness; disease |
| innate | present since birth; inborn; inherited |
| investure | process of investing, as with a rank, office or title |
| iridescent | colorful and shiny; brilliant |
| abate | to decrease in force |
| aboveboard | honest |
| accolade | award; praise |
| acrid | bitter, as in taste or smell; harsh |
| admonish | to warn; to criticize |
| affected | artificial, as in behavior; theatrical |
| alacrity | eagerness; cheerful propmptness |
| aphorism | short, wise saying |
| amalgam | mixture |
| anachronistic | out of place in time |
| aspirant | a hopeful person |
| autonomy | freedom; independence |
| baseness | 1. inferiority; low rank 2. crudeness |
| bombastic | loud and self-involved; pompous |
| buffeted | hit repeatedly (e.g., buffeted by the wind) |
| bustle | to hurry |
| cajole | to urge through flattery |
| calving | 1. giving birth to a calf 2. losing part of oneself |
| cataclysmic | terrible; tragic |
| caucus | meeting |
| cavort | to run around in a playful manner |
| certitude | sureness; certainty |
| chary | careful; wary |
| chide | to scold; to disapprove of |
| dialectic | method of finding truth through reasoning |
| diffidence | shyness; lack of confidence |
| disapprobation | disapproval |
| disposition | mood; termperment |
| dogged | persistent; stubbornly determined |
| dotard | stupid person |
| drawl | to speak slowly |
| dulcet | pleasant sounding |
| eclectic | from many sources; diverse |
| efface | to erase; to destroy |
| effusion | act freely expressing feeling or thought |
| elocution | art of speaking well, especially in public |
| embroil | to get involved in an argument; to entangle |
| engender | to produce |
| entomology | the study of insects |
| envenom | to make bitter; to poison |
| exacting | demanding; severe |
| lachrymose | tending to cry often; teary-eyed |
| languid | lacking energy; sluggish |
| liniment | a soothing lotion |
| lugubrious | gloomy, depressed |
| malefactor | evildoer |
| menagerie | zoo |
| monastic | without luxuries |
| morose | gloomy; depressed |
| munificent | very generous |
| newfangled | new; trendy |
| noisome | offensive |
| obdurate | stubborn |
| oracular | making wise or authoritave statements |
| page | knight in training |
| panacea | 1. cure-all 2. complete perfection |
| paragon | a model of excellence |
| pedant | one who shows off his learning |
| perennial | lasting forever |
| pernicious | dangerous |
| pervasive | wisdespread |
| phylum | classification of the animal kingdom; category |
| plumage | bird feathers |
| predluce | to prevent |
| presumptuous | jumping to conclusions; overly confident |
| prolific | creative; producing a lot of something |
| prosaic | dull; banal; unimaginative |
| protract | to delay; to prolong |
| punctilious | proper; careful |
| purveyor | supplier |
| quaff | to drink deeply; to gulp |
| recalcitrant | disobedient; refusing to be controlled |
| reprobate | immoral person |
| rescind | to take back; to repeal |
| reticent | quiet; not talkative |
| rife | widespread; frequent |
| rostrum | platform for public speaking |
| salubrious | good for one's health |
| sedulous | hard-working |
| sentient | aware; sensitive; feeling |
| skulk | to sneak around |
| soporific | causing sleep ; boring |
| sparing | 1. saving money; economical 2. bare; lacking |
| spurious | illegitimate; deceitful |
| squelch | to squash; to crush |
| stolid | unexcitable; showing very little emotion |
| stridency | sounding harsh or loud |
| sully | to dirty |
| suppleness | flexibility; bendability |
| technocrat | one who believes in government by technical experts |
| tensile | bendable |
| toady | flatterer; asskisser |
| totter | to walk unsteadily |
| tumultuous | greatly disturbing; stormy |
| unabashedly | unashamedly; without excuse or explanation |
| unremitting | constant |
| untillable | barren; not fertile |
| upshot | outcome; final result |
| vapid | without force; uninteresting |
| veneer | thin covering of nice-looking material |
| vestigal | leaving trace of something lost |
| vociferous | loud and demanding |
| voracious | having a huge appetite; greedy |
| waylay | to lie in wait for; to attack by surprise |
| wispy | frail; delicate |
| yoke | to connect; to join |
