| A | B | 
|---|
| alacrity | (n.) a cheerful readiness; brisk and eager action | 
| alleviate | (v.) to relieve, make more bearable | 
| antithesis | (n.) the direct opposite; a sharp contrast | 
| appall | (v.) to fill with dismay or horror | 
| bellicose | (adj.) warlike in manner or temperament; quarrelsome | 
| disparage | (v.) to belittle, speak slightingly of; to undervalue | 
| dissonant | (adj.) not in harmony; disagreeing, at odds | 
| droll | (adj.) amusingly odd | 
| edict | (n.) an order issued by someone in authority | 
| elucidate | (v.) to clarify, explain | 
| laud | (v.) to praise | 
| loll | (v.) to act in a lazy manner, lounge; to recline, droop | 
| loquacious | (adj.) talkative, wordy; fond of talking | 
| magnanimous | (adj.) generous in forgiving, above small meannesses | 
| mandatory | (adj.) required, obligatory | 
| nondescript | (adj.) ordinary, not outstanding; not easily classified | 
| phlegmatic | (adj.) slow-moving, sluggish; unemotional | 
| rescind | (v.) to repeal, cancel | 
| vivacious | (adj.) lively, sprightly, full of energy | 
| whet | (v.) to sharpen, make keen or eager |