Acquisitive
(adj.) able to get and retain ideas or information; concerned with acquiring wealth or property
Arrogate
(v.) to claim or take without right
Banal
(adj.) hackneyed, trite, commonplace
Belabor
(v.) to work on excessively; to thrash soundly
Carping
(adj.) tending to find fault, especially in a petty, nasty, or hairsplitting way; (n.) petty, nagging criticism
Coherent
(adj.) holding or sticking together; making a logical whole; comprehensible, meaningful
Congeal
(v.) to change from liquid to solid, thicken; to make inflexible or rigid
Emulate
(v.) to imitate with the intent of equaling or surpassing the model
Encomium
(n.) a formal expression of praise, a lavish tribute
Eschew
(v.) to avoid, shun, keep away from
Germane
(adj.) relevant, appropriate, apropos, fitting
Insatiable
(adj.) so great or demanding as not to be satisfied
Intransigent
(adj.) refusing to compromise, irreconcilable
Invidious
(adj.) offensive, hateful; tending to cause bitterness and resentment
Largesse
(n.) generosity in giving; lavish or bountiful contributions
Reconnaissance
(n.) a survey made for military purposes; any kind of preliminary inspection or examination
Substantiate
(v.) to establish by evidence, prove; to give concrete or substantial form to
Taciturn
(adj.) habitually silent or quiet, inclined to talk very little
Temporize
(v.) to stall or act evasively in order to gain time, avoid a confrontation, or postpone a decision; to compromise
Tenable
(adj.) capable of being held or defended