Abate
To lessen in intensity or degree
Accolade
An expression or praise
Adulation
Excessive praise; intense adoration
Aesthetic
Dealing with, appreciative or, or responsive to art or the beautiful
Ameliorate
To make better or more tolerable
Ascetic
One who practices rigid self-denial, esp. as an act of religious devotion
Avarice
Greed, esp. for wealth
Axoim
A universally recognized principle
Burgeon
To grow rapidly or flourish
Bucolic
Rustic and pastoral; characteristic or rural areas and their inhabitants
Cacophony
Harsh, jarring, discordant sound; dissonance
Canon
An established set of principles or code of laws, often religious in nature
Castigation
Severe criticism or punishment
Catalyst
A substance that accelerates the rate of a chemical reaction without itself changing; a person or thing that causes change
Caustic
Burning or stinging; causing corrosion
Chary
Wary; cautious; sparing
Cogent
Appealing forcibly to the mind or reason; convincing
Complaisance
The willingness to comply with the wishes or others
Contentious
Argumentative; quarrelsome; causing controversy or disagreement
Contrite
Regretful; penitent; seeking forgiveness
Culpable
Deserving blame
Dearth
Smallness of quantity or number; scarcity; a lack
Demur
To question or oppose
Didactic
Intended to teach or instruct
Discretion
Cautious reserve in speech; ability to make responsible decisions
Disinterested
Free of bias or self-interest; impartial
Dogmatic
Expressing a rigid opinion based on unproved or unprovable principles
Ebullience
The quality to lively or enthusiastic expression of thoughts and feelings
Eclectic
Composed of elements drawn from various sources
Elegy
A mournful poem, esp. one lamenting the dead
Emollient
Soothing, esp. to the skin; making less harsh; mollifying; an agent that softens or smoothes the skin
Empirical
Based on observation or experiment
Enigmatic
Mysterious; obscure; difficult to understand
Ephemeral
Brief; fleeting
Esoteric
Intended for or understoof by a small, specific group
Eulogy
A speech honoring the dead
Exonerate
To remove blame
Facetious
Playful; humorous
Fallacy
An invalid or incorrect notion; a mistaken belief
Furtive
Marked by stealth; covert; surreptitious
Gregarious
Sociable; outgoing; enjoying the company of other people
Harangue
To deliver a pompous speech or tirade; a long, pompous speech
Heretical
Violating accepted dogma or convention
Hyperbole
An exaggerated statement, often used as a figure of speech
Impecunious
Lacking funds; without money
Incipient
Beginning to come into being or to become apparent
Inert
Unmoving; lethargic; sluggish
Innocuous
Harmless; causing no damage
Intransigent
Refusing to compromise
Inveigle
To obtain by deception or flattery
Morose
Sad; sullen; melancholy
Odious
Evoking intense aversion or dislike
Opaque
Impenetrable by light; not reflecting light
Oscillation
The act or state of swinging back and forth with a steady, uninterrupted rhythm
Penurious
Penny-pinching; excessively thrifty; ungenerous
Pernicious
Extremely harmful; potentially causing death
Peruse
To examine with great care
Pious
Extremely reverent or devout; showing strong religious devotion
Precursor
One that precedes and indicates or announces another
Preen
To dress up; to primp; to groom oneself with elaborate care
Prodigious
Abundant in size, force, or extent; extraordinary
Prolific
Producing large volumes or amounts; productive
Putrefy
To rot; to decay and give off a foul odor
Quaff
To drink deeply
Quiescence
Stillness; motionlessness; quality of being at rest
Redoubtable
Awe-inspiring; worthy of honor
Sanction
Authoritative permission or approval; a penalty intended to enforce compliance; to give permission or authority to
Satire
A literary work that ridicules or criticizes a human vice through humor or derision
Squalid
Sordid; wretched and dirty as from neglect
Stoic
Indifferent to or unaffected by pleasure or pain; steadfast
Supplant
To take the place of; supersede
Torpid
Lethargic; sluggish; dormant
Ubiquitous
Existing everywhere at the same time; constantly encountered; widespread
Urbane
Sophisticated; refined; elegant
Vilify
To defame; to characterize harshly
Viscous
Thick; sticky