| A | B |
|---|
| abortive | (adj) failing to accomplish an intended aim or purpose; only partially or imperfectly developed |
| bruit | (v) to spread news, reports, or unsubstantiated rumorsd |
| contumelious | (adj) insolent or rude in speech or behavior; insultingly abusive; humiliating |
| dictum | (n) a short saying; an authoritative statement |
| ensconce | (v) to settle comfortably and firmly in position; to put or hide in a safe place |
| iconoclastic | (adj) acting or seeking to overthrow popular or traditional beliefs, ideas, or institutions |
| im medias res | (adv) in or into the middle of a plot; into the middle of things |
| internecine | (adj) mutually destructive; characterized by great slaughter and bloodshed |
| maladroit | (adj) lacking skill or dexterity; lacking tact, perception, or judgement |
| maudlin | (adj) excessively or effusively sentimental |
| modulate | (v) to change or vary the intensity or pitch; to temper or soften; to regulate, adjust |
| portentous | (adj) forshadowing an event to come; causing a wonder or awe; self-consciously weighty, pompous |
| prescience | (n) knowledge of events or actions before they happen; foresight |
| quid pro quo | (n) something given in exchange or returned for something else |
| salubrious | (adj) conductive to health or well-being; wholesome |
| saturnalian | (adj) characterized by riotous or unrestrained revelry or licentiousness |
| touchstone | (n) a means of testing worth or genuineness |
| traumatic | (adj) so shocking to the emotions as to cause lasting and substantial psychological damage |
| vitiate | (v) to weaken, debase, or corrupt; to impair the quality or value of |
| waggish | (adj) fond of making jokes; characteristic of a joker; playfully humorous or droll |
