| A | B |
|---|
| facetious | adj. Cleverly amusing in tone |
| egregious | adj. Conspicuously and outrageously bad or reprehensible |
| feign | v. 1. Make believe with the intent to deceive 2. Make a pretence of. Synonym: pretend |
| sententious | adj. Abounding in or given to pompous or aphoristic moralizing |
| inveterate | adj. Habitual. Synonym: chronic |
| dilatory | adj. Wasting time |
| epiphany | n. A moment of sudden understanding or revelation |
| apostate | adj. Not faithful to religion or party or cause. Noun: A disloyal person who betrays or deserts his cause or religion or political party or friend etc. |
| venal | adj. Capable of being corrupted. Synonym: corruptible |
| laconic | adj. Brief and to the point; effectively cut short. Synonyms: curt, terse |
| ebullience | n. Overflowing with eager enjoyment or approval |
| dictum | n. An authoritative declaration |
| unsullied | adj. 1. Spotlessly clean and fresh 2. (of reputation) free from blemishes |
| vapid | adj. 1. Lacking taste or flavour or tang. 2. Lacking significance or liveliness or spirit or zest |
| predilection | n. 1. A predisposition in favour of something 2. A strong liking |
| nebulous | adj. 1. Lacking definite form or limits 2. Lacking definition or definite content |
| foray | n. 1. An initial attempt (especially outside your usual areas of competence) 2. A sudden short attack (usually into enemy territory) |
| condescend | v. 1. Do something that one considers to be below one's dignity. |
| vexation | n. 1. Anger produced by some annoying irritation 2. The psychological state of being irritated or annoyed |
| mortification | n. Strong feelings of embarrassment |
| sojourn | n. A temporary stay (e.g., as a guest) v. Spend a certain length of time; reside temporarily |
| volatile | adj. Threatening to erupt in violence; fickle |
| myriad | Adj. Too numerous to be counted ("_____ stars") 2. Noun A large indefinite number ("he faced a _____ of details") |
| preternatural | Adj. 1. Surpassing the ordinary or normal 2. Existing outside of or not in accordance with nature |
| cynosure | Adj. 1. Something that provides guidance ("let faith be your _____ to walk by" 2. Something that strongly attracts attention and admiration ("if he was the cynosure of all eyes he didn't notice") |
| engender | Verb Call forth, bring forth. Synonyms: generate, breed |
| palatable | Adj. Acceptable to the taste or mind ("_____ food") ("a _____ solution to the problem") |
| recondite | Adj. Difficult to penetrate; incomprehensible to one of ordinary understanding or knowledge ("some recondite problem in AB Calculus") |
| surreptitious | Adj. 1. Marked by quiet and caution and secrecy; taking pains to avoid being observed ("a _____ glance at his watch") 2. Conducted with or marked by hidden aims or methods ("a _____ mobilization of troops") |
| lugubrious | Adj. Excessively mournful, sorrowful |
| desultory | Adj. Marked by lack of definite plan or regularity or purpose; jumping from one thing to another ("_____ thoughts") ("the _____ conversation typical of cocktail parties") |
| querulous | Adj. Habitually complaining Synonyms: whiny, fretful |
| perfunctory | Adj. 1. Hasty and without attention to detail; not thorough ("a _____ inspection failed to reveal the house's structural flaws") 2. As a formality only |
| restive | Adj. 1. Being in a tense state 2. Impatient especially under restriction or delay ("the government has done nothing to ease restrictions and manufacturers are growing _____") |
| stentorian | Adj. Used of the voice: extremely loud : capable of powerful utterance or sound Synonym: booming |
| kitsch | Noun 1. Excessively garish or sentimental art; usually considered in bad taste Adj. (of a display) tawdry or vulgar Synonyms: ostentatious. pretentious |
| disgruntle | Verb Put into a bad mood or into bad humour ("The employees were disgruntled by their bad working conditions") |
| sardonic | adj. Disdainfully or ironically humorous; scornful and mocking ("his rebellion is the bitter, _____ laughter of all great satirists") |
| confluence | Noun A place where things merge or flow together (especially rivers) ("Pittsburgh is located at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers") |
| iridescent | Adj. 1. Varying in colour when seen in different lights or from different angles 2. Having a play of lustrous rainbow colours |
| assuage | Verb 1. Cause to be more favourably inclined; gain the good will of 2. Satisfy (thirst) 3. Provide physical relief, as from pain |
| convoluted | Adj. Highly complex or intricate and occasionally devious ("convoluted legal language," "convoluted reasoning") |
| equanimity | n. Steadiness of mind under stress |
| crepuscular | adj. Like twilight; dim |
| proliferate | v. Grow rapidly |
| feckless | adj. 1. Not fit to assume responsibility 2. Generally incompetent and ineffectual |
| tremulous | adj. (of the voice) quivering as from weakness or fear |
| ignoble | adj. Completely lacking nobility in character or quality or purpose |
| recrudescence | n. A return of something after a period of abatement |
| sciolism | n. Pretentious superficiality of knowledge; superficiality |
| effete | adj. 1. Marked by excessive self-indulgence and moral decay 2. Lacking in power or forcefulness; ineffective |
