| A | B |
|---|
| encomium | a formal expression of praise, a lavish tribute |
| coherent | holding or sticking together; making a logical whole; comprehensible, meaningful |
| belabor | to work on excessively; to thrash soundly |
| eschew | to avoid, shun, keep away from |
| acquisitive | able to get and to retain ideas or information; concerned with acquiring wealth or properly |
| emulate | to imitate with the intent of equaling or surpassing the model |
| arrogate | to claim or take withour right |
| banal | hackneyed, trite, commonplace |
| congealed | to change from liquid to solid, thicken as the drop of blood slowly |
| carping | teading to find fault, especially in a petty, masty or hairsplitting way; petty, nagging criticism |
| substantiate | to establish by evidence, prove; to give concrete or substantial form to |
| temporize | to stall or act evasively in order to gain time, avoid a confrontation, or postpone a decision |
| largesse | generosity in giving; lavish or bountiful contributions |
| tenable | capable of being held or defended |
| insatiable | so great or demanding that it cannot be satisfied |
| reconnaissance | a survey made for military purposes; any kind of preliminary inspection or examination |
| germane | relevant, appropriate, apropos |
| intransigent | refusing to compromise, irreconcilable |
| taciturn | habitually silent or quiet, inclined to talk very little |
| invidious | offensive, hateful; tending to cause bitterness and resentment |
| avid | desirous of something to the point of greed; intensely eager |
| halcyon | calm, peaceful; happy, golden; prosperous, affluent |
| devious | straying or wandering from a straight or direct course, roundabout; done or acting in a shifty or underhanded way |
| accost | to approach and speak to first |
| incendiary | deliberately setting or causing fires; designed to start fires; tending to stir up strife or rebellion; one who deliberately starte fires; one who causes strife |
| animadversion | a comment indicating strong criticism or disapproval |
| gambit | in chess, an opening move that involves the risk or sacrifice of a minor piece in order to gain a later advantage; any opening move of this type |
| brackish | having a salty taste and therefore unpleasant to drink |
| histrionic | pertaining to actors and their techniques; theatrical, artificial, melodramatic |
| celerity | swiftness, rapidity of motion or action |
| suppliant | asking humbly and earnestly; one who makes a request humbly and earnestly |
| propriety | the stae of being proper, appropriateness; standards of what is proper or socially acceptable |
| overt | open, not hidden, expressed or revealed in a way that is easily recognized |
| undulate | to move in waves or with a wavelike motion; to have a wavelike appearance or form |
| sacrilege | improper or disrespectful treatment of something held sacred |
| talisman | an object that serves as a charm or is believed to confer magical powers |
| myopic | nearsighted; lacking a broad, realistic view of a situation; lacking foresight or discernment |
| summarily | without delay or formality; briefly, concisely |
| pejorative | tending to make worse; expressing disapproval or disparagement |
| maelstrom | a whirlpool of great size and violence; a situation resembling a whirlpool in violence and destruction |
| distraught | very much agitated or upset as a result of emotion or mental conflict |
| credence | belief, mental acceptance |
| feckless | lacking in spirit and strength; ineffective, weak; irresponsible, unreliable |
| decry | to condemn, express strong disapproval |
| articulate | to pronounce distinctly; to express well in words; expressed clearly and forcefully; able to employ language clearly and forcefully |
| cavort | to romp or prance around exuberantly |
| dissemble | to disguise or conceal, diliberately give a false impression |
| eulogy | a formal statement of commendation; high praise |
| exhume | to remove from a grave; to bring to light |
| evince | to display clearly, to make evident |
| verdant | green in tint or color; immature in experience or judgment |
| verbiage | language that is too wordy or inflated in proportion to the sense or content |
| murky | dark and gloomy, obscure; lacking in clarity and precison |
| propinquity | nearness in place or time; kinship |
| piquant | stimulating to the taste or mind; spicy, pungent; appealingly provocative |
| utopian | founded upon or involving a visionary view of an ideal world; impractical |
| nefarious | wicked, depraved, devoid or moral standards |
| viscous | having a gelantinous or gluey quality, lacking in easy movement or fluidity |
| unwonted | not usual or expected; not in character |
| primordial | developed or created at the very beginning; going back to the most ancient times or earliest stage |
