Abstruse (Adj)
Extremely difficult to understand.
Affront (N, V)
(N): An open or intentional insult; a slight.
(V): To insult to one's face; to face in defiance, confront.
Canard (N)
A false rumor, fabricated story.
Captious (Adj)
Excessively ready to find fault; given to petty criticism; intended to trap, confuse, or show up.
Cognizant (Adj)
Aware, knowledgeable, informed; having jurisdiction.
Contrite (Adj)
Regretful for some misdeed or sin; plagued by a sense of guilt; thoroughly penitent.
Cynosure (N)
The center of attraction, attention, or interest; something that serves to guide or direct.
Decorous (Adj)
Well behaved, dignified, socially proper.
Deign (V)
To think it appropriate or suitable to one's dignity to do something; to condescend.
Desiccated (Adj., part.)
Thoroughly dried out; divested of spirit or vitality; arid & uninteresting.
Efficacy (N)
The power to produce a desired result.
Engender (V)
To bring into existence, give rise to, produce; to come into existence, assume form.
Ethereal (Adj)
Light, airy, delicate; highly refined; suggesting what is heavenly (rather than earthbound).
Facade (N)
The front or face of a building; a surface appearance (as opposed to what may lie behind).
Ghoulish (Adj)
Revolting in an unnatural or morbid way; suggestive of someone who robs graves or otherwise preys on the dead.
Incongruous (Adj)
Not in keeping, unsuitable, incompatible.
Machination (N)
A crafty, scheming, or underhanded action designed to accomplish some (usually evil) end.
Mesmerize (V)
To hypnotize, entrance; to fascinate, enthrall, bewitch.
Opprobrium (N)
Disgrace arising from shameful conduct; contempt, reproach.
Putative (Adj)
Generally regarded as such; reputed; hypothesized, inferred.