factious
causing disagreement
ignoble
dishonorable, shameful
boor
a rude or impolite person
aegis
a shield, protection
perspicacity
keenness of judgment
fervent
eager, earnest
rectify
to correct; to make right
enervate
to weaken
besiege
to overwhelm; to surround and attack
ephemeral
lasting only a brief time; short-lived
altruism
a concern for others; generosity
carrion
decaying flesh
erotic
pertaining to sexual love
amorphous
shapeless, formless, vague
opulent
rich, luxurious; wealthy
impotent
powerless; lacking strength
antithesis
an exact opposite; an opposite extreme
maelstrom
whirlpool; turbulence; agitated state of mind
emendation
a correction
chagrin
embarrassment; a complete loss of courage
bauble
a showy but useless thing
diaphanous
very sheer and light
labyrinth
a complicated network of winding passages; a maze
gloat
to look at or think about with great satisfaction
impediment
a barrier; obstruction
bestial
savage, brutal
effete
worn out; barren
shard
a fragment
bland
mild, tasteless, dull
nihilism
a total rejection of established laws
pedestrian
ordinary or dull
bona fide
in good faith
adventitious
accidental; nonessential
fecund
fertile, productive
deviate
to turn aside from a course; to stray
obfuscate
to confuse; to bewilder
impale
to pierce with a sharp stake through the body
extenuate
to lessen seriousness by providing partial excuses
parochial
local; narrow; limited
glower
to stare angrily
edify
to improve someone morally
ambiguous
open to more than one interpretation
cataclysm
a violent change
optimum
best; most favorable; ideal
importune
to ask persistently; to beg
celibate
abstaining from intercourse
fortuitous
lucky; by chance
recapitulate
to summarize; to repeat briefly
perfunctory
done without care; in a routine fashion
baroque
overly decorated
hedonism
pursuit of pleasure, especially of the senses
obloquy
strong disapproval; a bad reputation resulting from public criticism
debacle
a complete failure; a total collapse
quasi-
resembling; seeming; half
besmirch
to make dirty; to stain
imperative
extremely necessary; vitally important
sacrosanct
extremely holy
sadistic
deriving pleasure from inflicting pain on others
demeanor
behavior; manner of conducting oneself
facetious
comical; jocular; flippant
fop
an excessively fashion-conscious man
imprecation
a curse
non sequitur
something that does not logically follow
sanguine
cheerful; optimistic
bowdlerize
to remove offensive passages of a play, novel, etc.
impair
to weaken; to cause to become worse
panegyric
an expression of praise
quandary
a puzzling situation; a dilemma
ebullient
enthusiastic
deference
respect; consideration
carnal
relating to physical appetite, especially sexual
nebulous
hazy, vague, uncertain
rakish
carefree; dashing; jaunty
elegy
a sad or mournful poem
pedantic
tending to show off one's learning
antipathy
an intense dislike
elucidate
to make clear
imminent
likely to happen; threatening
banal
common, ordinary
obdurate
stubborn, hardhearted
peruse
to read carefully; scrutinize
bedlam
a noisy uproar; a scene of wild confusion
affluence
wealth; richness
scurrilous
coarsely abusive; vulgar
parody
a work which imitates another in a ridiculous manner
sedulous
hard working; diligent
onerous
burdensome; heavy; hard to endure
amoral
lacking a sense of right and wrong
eschew
to keep away from; to avoid; to shun
denouement
an outcome; result
adroit
skillful; clever
macroscopic
visible to the naked eye
fatuous
foolish; inane
bovine
pertaining to cows or cattle
ferret
to search or drive out
affectation
a phony attitude; pose
knell
a sound made by a bell rung slowly for a death or funeral
dichotomy
a division into two parts
callow
young and inexperienced
laconic
using few words; short; concise
quiddity
an essential quality
patent
evident or obvious
peccadillo
a minor offense, a misdeed
sagacious
wise; having keep perception and sound judgment
rationalize
to make an excuse for