| A | B |
|---|
| beatific | (adj.) blissful; rendering or making blessed |
| behemoth | (n.) a creature of enormous size, power, or appearance |
| blandishment | (n., often pl.) anything designed to flatter or coax; sweet talk, apple-polishing |
| cacophonous | (adj.) harsh-sounding, raucous, discordant, dissonant |
| chicanery | (n.) trickery, deceptive practices or tactics, double-dealing |
| consign | (v.) to give over to another's care, charge, or control; to entrust, deliver; to set apart for a special use |
| coup | (n.) a highly successful stroke, masterstroke, tour de force, act, plan, or stratagem; a sudden takeover of power or leadership |
| euphemism | (n.) a mild or inoffensive expression used in place of a harsh or unpleasant one; a substitute |
| febrile | (adj.) feverish; pertaining to or marked by fever; frenetic |
| gainsay | (v.) to deny, contradict, controvert; to dispute, oppose |
| imminent | (adj.) about to happen, threatening |
| innate | (adj.) natural, inborn, inherent; built-in |
| loath | (adj.) unwilling, reluctant, disinclined |
| manifest | (adj.) clear, evident to the eyes or mind; (v.) to show plainly, exhibit, evince; (n.) a list |
| minutiae | (pl. n.) small or trivial details, trifling matters |
| moratorium | (n.) a suspension of activity; an official waiting period; an authorized period of delay |
| nostrum | (n.) an alleged cure-all; a remedy or scheme of questionable effectiveness |
| pariah | (n.) one who is rejected by a social group or organization |
| visionary | (adj.) not practical, lacking in realism; having the nature of a fantasy or dream; (n.) one given to far-fetched ideas; a dreamer or seer characterized by vision or foresight |
| wizened | (adj., part.) dry, shrunken, and wrinkled (often as the result of aging) |
