| A | B |
|---|
| abate | To reduce in amount, or degree |
| abdication | the act of relinquishing power or responsibility formally |
| abet | To approve, encourage, and support an action |
| abhor | To regard with horror or loathing; detest |
| abut | To border upon or end at; be next to |
| accolade | An expression of approval; praise |
| adamant | Impervious to pleas, appeals, or reason |
| ambiguous | Open to more than one interpretation; doubtful or uncertain |
| ambivalent | exhibiting feelings of uncertainty or indecisiveness |
| ameliorate | To make or become better; improve |
| apotheosis | Exaltation to divine rank or stature |
| assuage | To make something burdensome or painful less intense or severe |
| cantankerous | ill-tempered and quarrelsome; disagreeable |
| caustic | Capable of burning, corroding, dissolving |
| chicanery | Deception by trickery or sophistry; a trick |
| coddle | To cook in water just below boiling point |
| condense | To reduce the volume, to make more concise |
| covert | Not openly practiced, avowed, engaged in |
| curmudgeon | An ill-tempered person full of resentment and stubborn notions |
| derogatory | disparaging , belittling; tending to detract or diminish |
| divestiture | the act of removing money form some venture, the sale |
| efficacy | power or capacity to produce a desired effect |
| emaciate | To make or become extremely thin, result of starvation |
| enigma | One that is puzzling, ambiguous, or inexplicable |
| erudite | Characterized by great intellect; learned |
| fidelity | faithfulness to obligations, duties, or observances |
| foible | A minor weakness or failing of character |
| forbearance | tolerance and restraint in the face of provocation; patience |
| frenetic | wildly excited or active; frantic; frenzied |
| garrulous | given to excessive & often trivial or rambling talk; tiresomely |
| goad | to prod or urge with or as if with a long pointed stick |
| halcyon | calm & peaceful; tranquil; prosperous; golden |
| heterogeneous | consisting of dissimilar elements or parts; completely different |
| hubris | overbearing pride or presumption; arrogance |
| idolatry | worship of idols; blind or excessive devotion to something |
| inane | one that lacks sense or substance |
| incongruous | lacking in harmony, incompatible; not in agreement |
| jocular | characterized by joking; given to joking |
| judicious | having or exhibiting sound judgement |
| lassitude | a state or feeling of weariness, diminished energy |
| macabre | suggesting the horror of death & decay; gruesome |
| mundane | Of, relating to, or typical of this world |
| nadir | the lowest point |
| noxious | harmful to living things; injurious to health |
| occluded | closed or obstructed; blocked |
| odious | arousing or meriting strong dislike, intense displeasure |
| ostracism | the act of banishing or excluding |
| quixotic | caught up in the romance of noble deeds |
| sanguine | of the color of blood, reddish color |
| unscathed | not injured or harmed |
