| A | B |
|---|
| abeyance (n) | a lapse in succession during which there is no person in whom a title is vested; temporary inactivity |
| abrogate (v) | to abolish by authoritative action; annul; treat as nonexistent |
| abstruse (adj) | difficult to comprehend : recondite |
| accolade (n) | a ceremonial embrace; an expression of praise |
| accouterments (n) | an accessory item of clothing or equipment —usually used in plural |
| adjure (v) | to command solemnly under or as if under oath or penalty of a curse; to urge or advise earnestly |
| adumbrate (v) | to foreshadow vaguely : intimate; to suggest, disclose, or outline partially |
| aegis (n) | a shield or breastplate emblematic of majesty; protection |
| aggrieve (v) | to give pain or trouble to : distress; to inflict injury on |
| akimbo (adj) | having the hand on the hip and the elbow turned outward; set in a bent position |
| alacrity (adj) | promptness in response : cheerful readiness |
| castigate (v) | to subject to severe punishment, reproof, or criticism |
| cavil (v) | to raise trivial and frivolous objection |
| chary (adj) | discreetly cautious; hesitant and vigilant about dangers and risks; slow to grant, accept, or expend |
| chicanery (n) | deception by artful subterfuge or sophistry; trickery |
| chimerical (adj) | existing only as the product of unchecked imagination; fantastically visionary or improbable; given to fantastic schemes |
| circumlocution (n) | the use of an unnecessarily large number of words to express an idea; evasion in speech |
| clout (n) | a piece of cloth or leather; rag; a blow especially with the hand; also : a hard hit in baseball; a white cloth on a stake or frame used as a target in archery; pull, influence |
| Cogitate (v) | to ponder or meditate on usually intently |
| comport (v) | behave; especially : to behave in a manner conformable to what is right, proper, or expected |
| compunction (n) | anxiety arising from awareness of guilt; distress of mind over an anticipated action or result |
| concomitant (adj) | accompanying especially in a subordinate or incidental way |
| conflagration (n) | fire; especially a large disastrous fire; conflict, war |
| contentious (adj) | likely to cause disagreement or argument |
| diurnal (adj) | recurring every day; having a daily cycle |
| doff (v) | To remove an article of wear from the body; to take off in greeting or as a sign of respect |
| doggerel (n) | loosely styled and irregular in measure especially for burlesque or comic effect; also : marked by triviality or inferiority |
| dossier (n) | a file containing detailed records on a particular person or subject |
| dulcet (adj) | sweet to the taste; pleasing to the ear; generally pleasing or agreeable |
| effete (ad) | no longer fertile; having lost character, vitality, or strength |
| élan (n) | vigorous spirit or enthusiasm |
| encomium (n) | glowing and warmly enthusiastic praise |
| endemic (adj) | belonging or native to a particular people or country |
| ennui (n) | a feeling of weariness and dissatisfaction : boredom |
| flagellate (v) | whip, scourge; to drive or punish as if by whipping |
| foment (v) | to promote the growth or development of : rouse, incite |
| fusillade (n) | a number of shots fired simultaneously or in rapid succession; a spirited outburst especially of criticism |
| garrulous (adj) | given to prosy, rambling, or tedious loquacity : pointlessly or annoyingly talkative |
| gestalt (n) | a structure, configuration, or pattern of physical, biological, or psychological phenomena so integrated as to constitute a functional unit with properties not derivable by summation of its parts |
| halitosis (n) | a condition of having fetid breath |
| histrionic(adj) | deliberately affected : theatrical |
| irascible (adj) | marked by hot temper and easily provoked anger |
| itinerant (adj) | traveling from place to place; especially : covering a circuit |
| leitmotif (n) | an associated melodic phrase or figure that accompanies the reappearance of an idea, person, or situation especially in a Wagnerian music drama; a dominant recurring theme |
| levee (n) | a reception held by a person of distinction on rising from bed |
| macerate (v) | to cause to waste away by or as if by excessive fasting; to cause to become soft or separated into constituent elements by or as if by steeping in fluid |
| malapropism (n) | the usually unintentionally humorous misuse or distortion of a word or phrase; especially : the use of a word sounding somewhat like the one intended but ludicrously wrong in the context |
| malfeasance (n) | wrongdoing or misconduct especially by a public official |
| libation (n) | an act of pouring a liquid as a sacrifice; a liquid (as wine) used in a libation; an act or instance of drinking often ceremoniously |
| lassitude (n) | a condition of weariness or debility : fatigue; a condition of listlessness : languor |
