| A | B |
|---|
| askance | with suspicion, distrust, or disapproval |
| attenuate | to make thin or slender; to weaken or lessen in force, intensity, or value |
| benign | gentle, kind, forgiving, understanding; having a favorable or beneficial effect; not malignant |
| cavil | to find fault in a petty way, carp; a trivial objection or criticism |
| charlatan | one who feigns knowledge or ability; a pretender, impostor, or quack |
| decimate | to kill or destroy a large part of |
| foible | a weak point, failing, minor flaw |
| forgo | to do without, abstain from, give up |
| fraught | full of or loaded with; accompanied by |
| inure | to toughen, harden; to render used to something by long subjection or exposure |
| luminous | emitting or reflecting light, glowing; illuminating |
| obsequious | marked by slavish attentiveness; excessively submissive, often for purely self-interested reasons |
| obtuse | blunt, not coming to a point; slow or dull in understanding; measuring between 90 and 180 degrees; not causing a sharp impression |
| oscillate | to swing back and forth with a steady rhythm; to fluctuate or waver |
| penitent | regretful for one's sins or mistakes; one who is sorry for wrongdoing |
| peremptory | having the nature of a command that leaves no opportunity for debate, denial, or refusal; offensively self-assured, dictatorial; determined, resolute |
| rebuff | to snub; to repel, drive away; a curt rejection, a check |
| reconnoiter | to engage in reconnaissance; to make a preliminary inspection |
| shambles | a slaughterhouse; a place of mass bloodshed; a state of complete disorder and confusion, mess |
| sporadic | occurring at irregular intervals, having no set plan or order |
