| A | B |
|---|
| humane | adj. : marked by compassion, sympathy, or consideration for humans or animals |
| lampoon | n. specifically : a harsh satire usually directed against an individual |
| rarefied | adj. being less dense |
| bequest | n. a gift by will especially of money or other personal property; legacy |
| substantive | adj. having substance : involving matters of major or practical importance to all concerned <substantive discussions among world leaders> |
| indignity | n. an act that offends against a person's dignity or self-respect : INSULT b : humiliating treatment |
| aver | v. 1 a : to verify or prove to be true in pleading a cause b : to allege or assert in pleading 2 : to declare positively |
| malcontent | n. a discontented person: a : one who bears a grudge from a sense of grievance or thwarted ambition b : one who is in active opposition to an established order or government : REBEL |
| variegated | adj. having discrete markings of different colors <variegated leaves> |
| portent | n. something that foreshadows a coming event : OMEN, SIGN 2 : prophetic indication or significance |
| waggish | adj. 1 : resembling or characteristic of a wag <a waggish friend> <a waggish prose style> 2 : done or made in waggery or for sport : HUMOROUS <waggish spoofs of popular songs> |
| braggadocio | n. 2 a : empty boasting b : arrogant pretension : COCKINESS |
| captious | adj. 1 : marked by an often ill-natured inclination to stress faults and raise objections <captious critics> Synonym: critical |
| solicitous | adj. 1 : manifesting or expressing solicitude <a solicitous inquiry about his health> 2 : full of concern or fears : APPREHENSIVE <solicitous about the future> |
| bandy | v. a : EXCHANGE; especially : to exchange (words) argumentatively b : to discuss lightly or banteringly c : to use in a glib or offhand manner often used with about <bandy these statistics about with considerable bravado — Richard Pollak> |
| stalwart | adj. : marked by outstanding strength and vigor of body, mind, or spirit <stalwart common sense> synonyms see STRONG |
| salacious | adj 1 : arousing or appealing to sexual desire or imagination : LASCIVIOUS 2 : LECHEROUS, LUSTFUL |
| epiphany | n. 3 a (1) : a usually sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something (2) : an intuitive grasp of reality through something (as an event) usually simple and striking (3) : an illuminating discovery, realization, or disclosure b : a revealing scene or moment |
| genteel | adj. 1 a : having an aristocratic quality or flavor : STYLISH b : of or relating to the gentry or upper class c : elegant or graceful in manner, appearance, or shape d : free from vulgarity or rudeness : POLITE 2 a : maintaining or striving to maintain the appearance of superior or middle-class social status or respectability b (1) : marked by false delicacy, prudery, or affectation |
| grandiloquent | adj. : a lofty, extravagantly colorful, pompous, or bombastic style, manner, or quality especially in language |
