Abscond
To depart clandestinely; to steal off and hide
Aberrant
Deviating from the norm
Alacrity
Eager and enthusiastic willingness
Anomaly
Deviation from the normal order, form, or rule; abnormality
Approbation
An expression of approval or praise
Arduous
Strenuous, taxing; requiring significant effort
Assuage
To ease or lessen; to appease or pacify
Audacious
Daring and fearless; recklessly bold
Austere
Without adornment; bare; severely simple; ascetic
Axiomatic
Taken as a given; possessing self-evident truth
Canonical
Following or in agreement with accepted, traditional standards
Capricious
Inclined to change one's mind impulsively; erratic, unpredictable
Censure
To criticize severely; to officially rebuke
Chicanery
Trickery or subterfuge
Connoisseur
An informed and astute judge in matters of taste; expert
Convoluted
Complex or complicated
Disabuse
To undeceive; to set right
Discordant
Conflicting; dissonant or harsh in sound
Disparate
Fundamentally distinct or dissimilar
Effrontery
Extreme boldness; presumptuousness
Eloquent
Well-spoken, expressive, articulate
Enervate
To weaken; to reduce in vitality
Ennui
Dissatisfaction and restlessness resulting from boredom or apathy
Equivocate
To use ambiguous language with a deceptive intent
Erudite
Very learned; scholarly
Exculpate
Exonerate; to clear of blame
Exigent
Urgent, pressing; requiring immediate action or attention
Extemporaneous
Improvised; done without preparation
Filibuster
Intentional obstruction, esp. using prolonged speechmaking to delay legislative action
Fulminate
To loudly attack or denounce
Ingenuous
Artless; frank and candid; lacking in sophistication
Inured
Accustomed to accepting something undesirable
Irascible
Easily angered; prone to temperamental outbursts
Laud
To praise highly
Lucid
Clear; easily understood
Magnanimity
The quality of being generously noble in mind and heart, esp. in forgiving
Martial
Associated with war and the armed forces
Mundane
Of the world; typical of or concerned with the ordinary
Nascent
Coming into being; in early developmental stages
Nebulous
Vague; cloudy; lacking clearly defined form
Neologism
A new word, expression, or usage; the creation or use of new words or senses
Noxious
Harmful, injurious
Obtuse
Lacking sharpness of intellect; not clear or precise in thought or expression
Obviate
To anticipate and make unnecessary
Onerous
Troubling; burdensome
Paean
A song or hymn of praise and thanksgiving
Parody
A humorous imitation intended for ridicule or comic effect, esp. in literature and art
Perennial
Recurrent through the year or many years; happening repeatedly
Perfidy
Intentional breach of faith; treachery
Perfunctory
Cursory; done without care of interest
Perspicacious
Acutely perceptive; having keen discernment
Prattle
To babble meaninglessly; to talk in an empty and idle manner
Precipitate (adj)
Acting with excessive haste or impulse
Precipitate (verb)
To cause to happen before anticipated or required
Predilection
A disposition in favor of something; preference
Prescience
Foreknowledge of events; knowing of events prior to their occurring
Prevaricate
To deliberately avoid the truth; to mislead
Qualms
Misgivings; reservationsl causes for hesitancy
Recant
To retract, esp. a previously held belief
Refute
To disprove; to successfully argue against
Relegate
To forcibly assign, esp. to a lower place or position
Reticent
Quiet; reserved; reluctant to express thoughts or feelings
Solicitous
Concerned and attentive; eager
Sordid
Characterized by filth, grime, or squalor; foul
Sporadic
Occurring only occasionally, or in scattered instances
Squander
To waste by spending or using irresponsibly
Static
Not moving, active, or in motion; at rest
Stupefy
To stun, baffle, or amaze
Stymie
To block, thwart
Synthesis
The combination of parts to make a whole
Torque
A force that causes rotation
Tortuous
Winding, twisting; excessively complicated
Truculent
Fierce and cruel; eager to fight
Veracity
Truthfulness, honesty
Virulent
Extremely harmful or poisonous; bitterly hostile or antagonistic
Voracious
Having an insatiable appetite for an activity or pursuit; ravenous
Waver
To move to and fro; to sway; to be unsettled in opinion