portmanteau - large suitcase; merging of two words to form a new one, often a pun prairillon - a small meadow or tract of grassland; heath; plain precocious - manifesting or characterized by unusually early development or maturity prelude - preceding event or action; music term, preliminary preterlabent - flowing beside or by, especially of a river or stream prismatic - refractive light of a spectrum; brilliantly colored pristine - in primordial condition; untouched; belonging to the earliest period or state promethean - boldly creative, defiantly original, deviating genius propinquity - nearness in place; approximate location; proximity; vicinity proscenium - greek or roman theater stage, the part of a stage in front of the curtain prosody - the rhythm, stress, and intonation of speech provocative - tending or serving to provoke; inciting, stimulating, irritating, or vexing prurient - having, relating to, or typified by lascivious or lustful thoughts or desires psithurisma - whisper; sound of wind through the trees; sound of wind-rustled leaves psittacism - automatic speech without thought of the meaning of the words spoken psyche - the mind or self as a functional entity; the center of thought, feeling, and motivation punchinello - short, fat clown or clown puppet puree - rub through a strainer or process in an electric blender purlicue - space between the thumb and forefinger pyrrhic - of a victory, having high levels of casualties or damage on both sides quaquaversal - directed outward from a common center to all points; omnidirectional querencia - the area of the bull-ring where the bull makes its stand quintessence - fifth element; perfect embodiment quisquose - something which is difficult to deal with quiver - shiver; shake; quaver; tremble quotidian - daily; mundane; occurring every day radii - pl. any line segments from the center of a circle or sphere to its perimeter rapture - ecstasy; felicity, state of sheer happiness; happiness to the point of delirium rariora - pl. unusual collector’s items, outstanding items, prize pieces ratatouille - a type of french dish, vegetable stew realm - a region, kingdom, plane, domain, or territory recherché - elegant; refined or tasteful; sophisticated recidivism - act of repeating punished act; chronic tendency to repeat crimes reciprocity - the quality or state of requiting; mutual dependence redivivus - revived; come back to life; resurrected; resuscitated redolent - piquant, aromatic, or memory-invoking regalia - the emblems and symbols of royalty, such as the crown and scepter; jewelry relinquish - voluntarily cease to keep or claim; surrender reliquary - a receptacle, such as a coffer or shrine, for keeping or displaying sacred relics renaissance - a rebirth or revival; renewal of cultural and intellectual thought repartee - swift, witty reply; conversation marked by the exchange of witty retorts palimpsest - erased parchment, which is then reused; manuscript written over earlier ones replica - copy or reproduction of a work of art, especially one made by the original artist resonance - quality of being resonant; extension of sound via sympathetic vibration resplendent - sublime, full of color, or dazzling; splendid revenant - specter; ghost; one who returns after a long absence reverie - an idle daydream; a thought of idle desire; a surrendering to imagination rhapsody - impassioned, inspired, or vibrant literature or music rimulose - characterized by or having small chinks, fissures, or cracks risorgimento - a time of renewal or renaissance; revival roseate - rose-colored, rosy; optimistic; cheerful and bright; promising roué - a rake; rouge; philanderer; lothario rupestrian - of or composed of rock; sculpted with or by rock sable - black; type of animal with a deep, black pelt salient - prominent or conspicuous; most important saline - salty; pertaining to salt salubrious - health-giving; healthy; healthful; relating to good health salve - remedial lotion or substance to soothe or allays sangfroid - composure or coolness as shown in danger; imperturbability sanguine - of a healthy reddish color; ruddy; blood-red; of the color of blood sapience - rationality, compare sentience; wisdom or sagacity sapphire - bright blue; valuable gemstone of a bright yet deep blue sardonyx - type of stone (onyx) with sandy bands satellite - celestial body that orbits a planet; a moon; object designed to orbit a planet scarlet - a type of bright-red color scepter - a rod or wand, usually adorned in regalia schefflera - a type of shrubby, tropical plants which are cultivated for their showy foliage scialytic - dispersing or dismissing shadows, typically with light, often of a lamp scilicet - to wit, that is; namely scintilla - an infinitesimal item or mote; tiny thing scion - an heir or descendant; a twig or shoot used for grafting, of a tree, shrub, or plant sclera - the whites of the eyes scoliosis - abnormal lateral curvature of the spine; affliction thereof scythe - agricultural implement with a long, curving blade fastened to a long handle seizure - act, condition, or instance of seizing or being seized; fit; spasm, convulsion selcouth - unusual; rare, unique, or strange selenian - designating, relating to, pertaining to, or of the moon semblance - apparent form of something, especially when the reality is different semiotician - one who studies, applies, or explains the theories of semiotics sempiternal - eternal, endless, lasting forever, ceaseless senescence - state of being old or growing old; cellular decomposition, studies thereof sentient - aware; characterized by the ability to feel or perceive; conscious sequacious - pertaining to sequence or order; following sequence - succession; an arrangement, either a related or continuous series sequester - to relegate to a small space; to cause to withdraw into seclusion seraglio - harem, harem house, brothel; living quarters thereof seraphim - pl. six-winged angels serenade - courtesy performance given to honor or express love for someone; to serenade serendipity - occurrence and progress of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way serenity - calmness, tranquility, relaxation sesquipedalian - having many syllables; long-winded with words; given to or typified by the use of long words sestina - poem of six six-line stanzas and a three-line envoy seven - the seventh integer in a series, “7” sforzando - direction in music, suddenly or strongly accented sfumato - definition or form without hasty outline by mild gradation from light to shadow shadow - a shade within clear boundaries, produced by obscuration of light shallow - lacking physical depth; lacking depth of intellect, emotion, or knowledge shimmer - to shine with a subdued, flickering, or wavering light shiver - a tremble; to tremble, shudder, or shake shrivel - to wither due to lack of moisture; to cause to contract; to cause to lose momentum sibilant - hissing; making a sound that resembles hissing sibyl - prophetess; fortune-teller; female prognosticator sidereal - of, related, pertaining to, or determined by the stars or constellations sidle - walk in a furtive or timid manner, especially obliquely or roundabout sienna - yellowish-brown; a type of clay sierra - ridge of a mountain or mountains sigil - a seal, signet, or glyph; sign or image considered magical silence - state or quality of soundlessness; lack of sound silhouette - a picture as an outline, often a human profile, filled in by a solid color silkscreen - stencil method of printing, in which a design is put on silk or other fine mesh tristiloquy - a speech characterized by sadness or gloominess silver - shimmering gray color; a type of metal simplicity - state or quality of being simple; freedom of complexity or intricacy simulacrum - an image or representation; false, unreal, or vague simulation or semblance sinecure - an easy occupation or one which requires almost no responsibility siphon - to suck through; to absorb through an appendage sirocco - hot, humid south or southeast wind of southern italy sisyphean - pertaining to or involving endless labor; pertaining to sisyphus sittella - a small, gregarious songbird sleep - state of slumber; position of rest for the physical and mental being of a living being slender - long and thin; tall slice - a thin section of something; to slash or remove a small section of slither - to glide or slide like a reptile sluice - artificial channel for conducting water, with a valve or gate to regulate the flow smolder - to burn without an accompanying flame; to undergo slow and compressed combustion sobriquet - nickname; moniker; adopted name soigné - elegant; sophisticated; well-groomed sojourn - brief visit; stopover; jaunt solace - comfort or consolation in a time of sadness or distress solecism - an impropriety; nonstandard grammatical construction; a violation of etiquette solemn - serious; dignified; formal; stern soliloquy - dramatic monologue; intense speech with exposition but not addressed solipsism - philosophical idea that only one's own mind is sure to exist solstice - one of two times in the year when the sun is furthest from the equator sommelier - a waiter expertly trained in alcoholic beverages; wine steward sonata - music, series of three solos sonnet - fourteen-line poem with specific rhyme scheme soothe - to allay, alleviate; to relax; pacify sorcerer - practitioner of sorcery; wizard; warlock; magician sotto voce - soft-voiced; emphasis on quiet speech soubrette - saucy, coquettish woman in comedies soufflé - a light, fluffy baked dish sough - a soft, gentle sigh; a murmuring, purling, or rustling sound souvenir - keepsake; memento; something of sentimental value specious - superficially plausible, but actually wrong; misleading in appearance spinal - pertaining to, relating to, of, or using the spine spiral - helix; string in a successively concentric pattern splice - to infuse, join, or interweave; unite spool - cylinder with ridges that has spirals string around it stasis - equilibrium causing a peaceful inactivity via equal opposing forces stiletto - high-heel with sharp point; a small dagger stillicide - water falling from the roof of a house or a gutter sublime - noble; exalted; majestic; empyreal succinct - briefly stated; laconic; terse succor - to aid or assist in a time of need; assistance suffuse - gradually spread through or over, typically with light, color, music, or liquid suicide - the act of murdering oneself surreptitious - stealthy; kept secret; hidden sussurant - whispering; making a continuous, low, and indistinct sound sussurous - pertaining to whispering; whispering susurrus - a whisper; something which resembles a whisper svelte - suave, urbane, and savvy; slender; lithe; polished; sophisticated swain - a young man; suitor; ephebe swath - width of a scythe-stroke; strips or radii made by something swerve - to abruptly turn or deviate from an otherwise straight course sweven - dream; vision; premonition swoon - fainting spell; a collapse from ecstasy syllable - unit of spoken language consisting of a single uninterrupted sound sylph - graceful woman; fairy; air elemental sylvan - relating to or characteristic of woods or forest regions; forest sprite symbiosis - mutual biological synergy between two dissimilar organisms symphony - extended orchestral movements symposium - conference for discussion of a particular topic synchronicity - theory of, study of the coincidences of two or more curiously similar events synecdoche - a reference to a part as opposed to the whole, girl as “skirt” ship as “sail” syzygy - alignment or unity of specific objects, notably in space terms or literary terms tableaux - deliberate picture; arrangement; vivid, graphic description tacenda - things to not be mentioned or things to be passed over in silence taciturn - reticent; quiet, not talkative; insouciant talisman - item marked with magic signs though to confer magical powers or repel evil tapestry - heavy cloth woven with rich, varicolored designs or scenes, often hung on walls teleology - the study of the philosophical concept of the telos tellurian - terrestrial; inhabiting the earth; pertaining to the earth; earthen tenuous - long and thin; slender; flimsy; without great substance; diluted tercet - group of three lines of verse, often rhyming together or with another triple terpsichorean - pertaining, relating to, or referring to dancing or the art thereof tessellation - tile pattern sans gaps or extraneous spaces; a specific mathematical pattern tête-à-tête - a private conversation between two people theophany - religious epiphany or appearance of god to a person thionine - artificial red or violet dyestuff, usually for microscopic stains threnody - song, hymn, or poem reflecting on mourning or a tribute to the deceased thylacine - the extinct tasmanian tiger tilt - to cause to slope, as by raising one end; incline tintinnabulation - ringing or sounding of bells; the sound of bells tiramisu - a type of dessert made with cake and espresso tolutiloquent - speech characterized by rapidity torrential - resembling, flowing in, or forming torrents tourmaline - multifarious gemstone of grossly differing colors traipse - to walk; to wander without destination; gad; aimlessly or blithely walk tranquility - peace, serenity, calmness, relaxation transience - brevity, briefness; evanescence; shortness; the state of being temporary tregetour - juggler; mummer; conjurer tremulous - marked by trembling, quivering, or shaking trillium - a type of flower trinity - group consisting of three closely related members; a unity of three special objects triste - sad; mournful; dismal; depressed tryst - agreement, as between lovers, to meet at a certain time and place; a date between two people turquoise - a type of blue-green color ubiquitous - being or seeming to be everywhere at the same time; omnipresent ultramarine - a type of intense bluish-purple umbrage - offense; affront; the shade beneath a tree; shade; suspicion; reason for doubt umbrella - apparatus used as a personal rain repellant vaccinate - to inoculate with a vaccine of prepared medicine vacillate - to waver between actions or decisions; to hesitate vacivity - emptiness; absence; space with a lack of matter vacuity - emptiness; absence; lack of matter in a space; vacuum valance - an ornamental drapery hung across a top edge, as of a bed, table, or canopy vale - the world; life; mortal or earthly life valiant - possessing valor; brave; marked by or done with valor vanilla - ordinary; conventional; flavored with vanilla; flavor extracted from vanilla bean vaticinate - prophesy, prognosticate, augur, foretell vaudeville - a bygone slapstick era of specific comedic style(s) vavasor - superior vassal with other vassals beneath velleity - flimsy wish or desire; perfunctory hope or dream vellum - mammal skin prepared for writing or printing on velvet - soft type of material used in clothing veneer - thin surface layer; superficial layer as an enhancement to inferior material venial - pardonable; easily excused or pardoned; trivial ventriloquist - puppeteer utilizing vocal techniques and manipulations veracity - truth; state of being true, trueness veranda - open, roofed porch or portico on the outside of a building verisimilitude - the appearance or semblance of truth or reality in a fictional medium vernal - pertaining to spring verve - energy; brio; élan; vigor; joie de vivre vespertine - crepuscular; pertaining to, of, or related to the evening vestibule - a small entryway between the outer door and the interior of a building vestigial - of, relating to, or constituting a vestige (trace, mark, or sign left by something) vesuviate - to erupt; explode; fulminate vetanda - taboo or forbidden things or topics vexation - the act of annoying, irritating, or vexing; quality or condition of being vexed vicennial - happening every twenty years viceroy - governor; representative of a sovereign vicious - having the nature of vice; evil, immoral, or depraved vicissitudes - changes of circumstances of fortune victuals - food to be eaten; provisions; food cache; pabulum; comestibles; nutrients videlicet - to wit, that is; namely vigesimal - based on, pertaining to, or related to 20 vignette - a sketch; brief literary or visual event; description; tableau villain - dramatic or fictional character who is typically at odds with the hero vincible - able to be harmed; vulnerable, susceptible, or vulnerable vinyl - a type of multi-use plastic resin viola - a musical instrument having similar qualities and appearance to a violin violet - a shade of deep purple violin - a stringed instrument played with a bow viridian - a type of blue-green pigment virtuoso - ace; someone who is dazzlingly skilled in any field, especially music vis-à-vis - “face to face” opposite to; in relation to; in regard to; a meeting of two people visceral - pertaining to the viscera; relating to deep emotions as opposed to the intellect vista - view; prospect; perspective; spectrum of peripheral boundaries visurient - hungry for visual stimuli; pertaining to the desire evoked from vision vitiate - to impair, spoil, or to the reduce quality of; to make worse, worsen vivacity - brio; esprit; alacrity vivify - to invigorate; revive; energize; galvanize vivisepulture - the act of being buried alive or burying alive vociferous - loud; stentorian; vehement; angrily impassioned voluminous - having great volume, fullness, size, or number; large wan - pallid; of a sickly complexion warble - trill; croon; purr; chirrup weather - state of the atmosphere at a given time and place whilom - formerly; former; erstwhile whimsy - quaint or fanciful idea; a whim; capricious humor or playful disposition whisper - soft speech produced without full voice; something uttered very softly winceyette - cotton cloth; cloth made of cotton that has a raised surface winnow - to filter out; to remove unnecessary or undesirable parts wisteria - a genus of twisting, woody, and climbing vines wyvern - a type of dragon, typically portrayed without legs xenodochial - friendly or especially kind to strangers or foreigners xenoglossy - language learned spontaneously and without prior knowledge xysti - pl. covered portico of a gymnasium yowl - to utter a loud long cry of grief, pain, or distress; to wail; wail zenith - point on the celestial sphere that is above the observer; highest point; maximum zephyr - slight burst of gentle wind; gentle breeze zitella - maiden; unmarried woman, bachelorette zyzzyva - a type of weevil Abluvion Substance or things that are washed away Abyssal Accismus The feigning of disinterest in something while actually desiring it Adamantine Airling A person who is both young and thoughtless Alembic A vessel with a beaked cap or head, formerly used in distilling Anything that transforms, purifies, or refines Alexithymia Difficulty describing emotions Alizarin Alveary Anodyne Not likely to provoke dissent or offense, often deliberately so Relieving pain Soothing to the mind or feelings Anserine Of or resembling a goose Aporia A philosophical puzzle or state of puzzlement Apricity The warmth of the sun in winter Ataraxia Freedom from emotional disturbance and anxiety Aventail A flexible curtain of mail attached to the skull of a helmet that extends to cover the throat, neck and shoulders Belletristic Of, pertaining to, or having the characteristics of belles-lettres, written or appreciated for aesthetic value rather than content Blithe Bristles Cacography Deliberate comic misspelling Callow Cant Monotonous talk filled with platitudes Hypocritically pious language The special vocabulary peculiar to the members of an underworld group; argot Whining speech, such as that used by beggars Caravansary Catachresis Misapplication of a word, especially in a mixed metaphor Use of an existing word to denote something that has no name in the current language Cavort Cedarn Celandine Chrysocolla Chrysoprase Citrine Clepsydra Coelecanth Columbarium Coracle Corsair Corybantic Wild; frenzied Crashworthiness The degree to which a vehicle will protect the occupants from the effects of an accident Cricket Cypress Darkling Deliquesce To become liquid by absorbing moisture from the air To melt away (Botany) to form many small divisions or branches Deuteragonist One of two protagonists Diapason A full, rich outpouring of harmonious sound The entire range of an instrument or voice Either of the two principal stops on a pipe organ that form the tonal basis for the entire scale of the instrument Diaphanous Dissonance Ensorcell Enchant, fascinate Eristic Of, relating, or given to controversy or logical disputation, esp for its own sake Epicene Having characteristics of both sexes or no characteristics of either sex; of indeterminate sex Epiphany Eviscerate Excelsior Farouche Sullen, shy, and repellent in manner Fantasist Fatuous Silly and pointless Fey Doomed, fated to die Appearing to be under a spell; marked by an apprehension of death, calamity, or evil Supernatural, unreal, enchanted Being in unnaturally high spirits, as were formerly thought to precede death Whimsical, strange, otherworldly Fimble To move the fingers lightly and frequently over anything To touch lightly and frequently with the ends of the fingers Finifugal Shunning the end of anything Flay Fleam Handheld instrument used for bloodletting Fleer To make a wry face in contempt, or to grin in scorn Fleshment The sense of excitement that comes from an initial success Florid Covered with flowers Very flowery in style Elaborately decorated Tinged with red Marked by emotional or sexual fervor Healthy Manifesting a complete and typical clinical syndrome Frauendienst An exaggerated sense of chivalry toward women Fraught Fulminate Develop suddenly and severely (of a disease) Explode with a loud noise Express vehement protest Kill with lightning Hamartiology The theological study of sin Harvest Heady Intoxicating or stupefying Serving to exhilarate Tending to upset the mind or the balance of senses Hierophany A manifestation of the sacred Hurst A hillock, sandback, wood, or wooded rise Husk Ilk Incisive Indicatrix Ineffable Concerning ideas that cannot or should not be expressed in spoken words (or language in general), often being in the form of a taboo or incomprehensible term Insidious Insouciant Instantiation Invidious Iouea A genus of Cretaceous fossil sponges Also the shortest word in English containing all five vowels, as well as the shortest four-syllable word in English Iris Kestrel Künstlerroman Narrative about an artist's growth to maturity Lacustrine Relating to or associated with lakes Lambent Effortlessly light or brilliant Flickering lightly over or on a surface Having a gentle glow; luminous Lamellaphone A category of instruments with tongues that are either plucked or pressed and released for sound Lapidary Characterized by an exactitude and extreme refinement that suggests gem cutting Of or pertaining to the cutting or engraving of precious stones Of, pertaining to, or suggestive of inscriptions on stone monuments Lassitude Leatherdoom Eiderdown Lissome Litotes Deliberate understatement for rhetorical effect Lurid Causing shock or horror; gruesome Glowing or shining with the glare of fire through a haze Marked by sensationalism Sallow or pallid in color Lye Manichean An adherent of the dualistic religious system of Manes, a combination of gnostic Christianity, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, and various other elements, with a basic doctrine of a conflict between light and dark Pertaining to a strongly dualistic worldview Martinet One who is very strict and demands obedience from others Masochism The condition in which sexual gratification depends on suffering physical pain or humiliation Gratification gained from pain, deprivation, degradation, etc., inflicted or imposed on oneself, either as a result of one's own actions or the actions of others, especially the tendency to seek this form of gratification The act of turning one's destructive tendencies inward or upon oneself The tendency to find pleasure in self-denial, submissiveness, etc. Melismatic Melusine A two-tailed mermaid Mephitic Poisonous, foul Mezzanine Misadventure Mistral Moirologist A hired mourner Mordant Burning, corrosive Having the property of fixing colors, as in dyeing, or any such substance Sharply caustic or sarcastic Mystique An aura of heightened value, interest, or meaning surrounding something, arising from attitudes and beliefs that impute special power or mystery to it Nepenthe Nitrogen Noctilucent Numinous Oneiric Related to dreams Oneirophrenia A dream-like mental state that is characterized by hallucinations and other disturbances and is associated with prolonged deprivation of sleep, sensory isolation, or psychoactive drugs Oriflamme Palinode A poem in which the author retracts something said in a previous poem A formal statement of retraction Penchant A definite liking; a strong inclination Pernicious Persiflage Light and slightly contemptuous mockery or banter Pervasive Pheasant Piquant Plangent (Of a sound) loud, reverberating, and often melancholy Poecilonym A synonym for "synonym" Predilection Preen Prelapsarian Characteristic of the time before the Fall of Man; innocent and unspoiled Pronoia The sneaking feeling one has that others are conspiring behind your back to help you Psithurism Whisper of wind in the trees, noise of leaves that move in the wind Whispering sound Ptyxis The way in which an individual leaf is folded in the bud Quietus Death or something that causes death, regarded as a release from life Something that has a calming or soothing effect Rarefied Risible Provoking laughter Riverine Rue Sanctimonious Saturnine Born under or influenced astrologically by the planet Saturn Cold and steady in mood, slow to act or change Of a gloomy or surly disposition Having a sardonic aspect Saxifrage A low-growing plant of poor soils, bearing small white, yellow, or red flowers and forming rosettes of succulent leaves or hummocks of mossy leaves Sciolism The practice, or an instance, of expressing opinions on something which one knows only superficially or has little real understanding of Sessile Shirr Shorn Shuck Silhouette Slatchy (Nantucketan) The sky during a fleeting moment of sunshine or blue sky in the middle of a storm; the noun version, slatch, refers to that moment itself Solivagant A person who wanders about alone Spindrift Sea spray, esp. spray blown from waves during a gale Fine wind-borne snow or sand Spinnney A small area of trees and bushes Sporange A spore case; also a word that rhymes with "orange" Spruce Starve Sternutation The act of sneezing Subfuscous Slightly dark, dusky, or somber Suffuse Sump A pit or hollow in which liquid collects Sylph Tacenda Things not to be mentioned Tantivy A rapid gallop or ride Moving or riding swiftly Used as a hunting cry Tatterdemalion Teratoid Resembling a monster Thaumaturge A worker of wonders or miracles; magician Thrall Threnody A song, hymn or poem of mourning composed or performed as a memorial to a dead person Torschlusspanik The anxiety-inducing awareness that as time goes on, life’s opportunities just keep getting fewer and fewer and there’s no way to know which ones you should be taking before they close forever Trifecta Tuft Tussock Twi-thought A vague or indistinct thought Upbraid Urbane Polite and confident Fashionable and somewhat formal Utricle Vehicular Velleity A mere wish or desire for something without accompanying action or effort Verjuice A very acidic juice made by pressing unripe grapes Vespiary A wasp nest Vetiver Vibrissa Videnda Things worth seeing; things that ought to be seen Visceral Wastrel Vagabond, waif One who expends resources foolishly and self-indulgently Weltschmerz Sadness brought on by a realization that the world cannot be the way you wish it would be Wight Adj. 1) Strong, nimble. 2) Strong and brave, especially in war Noun. 1) A human being. 2) A supernatural being, as a witch or sprite. 3) Any living being, a creature. Woolgathering Indulgence in aimless thought or dreamy imagining; absentmindedness Wych Used in names of trees with pliant branches Yepsen Amount that can be held in two hands cupped together The two cupped hands themselves Ylem (In the Big Bang theory) the primordial matter of the universe, originally conceived as composed of neutrons at high temperature and density Zemblanity The opposite of serendipity, the faculty of making unhappy, unlucky and expected discoveries by design Allegedly based off the land of Zembla in Nabokov's Pale Fire, a reference to the Novaya Zemlya Artic islands Zythepsary Brewery Ailurophile: A cat-lover. Assemblage :A gathering. Becoming: Attractive. Beleaguer :To exhaust with attacks. Brood To :think alone. Bucolic :In a lovely rural setting. Bungalow :A small, cozy cottage. Chatoyant :Like a cat’s eye. Comely: Attractive. Conflate :To blend together. Cynosure :A focal point of admiration. Dalliance: A brief love affair. Demesne :Dominion, territory. Demure :Shy and reserved. Denouement :The resolution of a mystery. Desuetude: Disuse. Desultory :Slow, sluggish. Diaphanous: Filmy. Dissemble :Deceive. Dulcet :Sweet, sugary. Ebullience :Bubbling enthusiasm. Effervescent :Bubbly. Efflorescence :Flowering, blooming. Elision :Dropping a sound or syllable in a word. Elixir :A good potion. Eloquence :Beauty and persuasion in speech. Embrocation :Rubbing on a lotion. Emollient :A softener. Ephemeral :Short-lived. Epiphany: A sudden revelation. Erstwhile: At one time, for a time. Ethereal: Gaseous, invisible but detectable. Evanescent: Vanishing quickly, lasting a very short time. Evocative :Suggestive. Fetching: Pretty. Felicity :Pleasantness. Forbearance :Withholding response to provocation. Fugacious: Fleeting. Furtive: Shifty, sneaky. Gambol :To skip or leap about joyfully. Glamour: Beauty. Gossamer :The finest piece of thread, a spider’s silk. Halcyon: Happy, sunny, care-free. Harbinger: Messenger with news of the future. Imbrication :Overlapping and forming a regular pattern. Imbroglio: An altercation or complicated situation. Imbue :To infuse, instill. Incipient: Beginning, in an early stage. Ineffable: Unutterable, inexpressible. Ingénue: A naïve young woman. Inglenook: A cozy nook by the hearth. Insouciance: Blithe nonchalance. Inure :To become jaded. Labyrinthine :Twisting and turning. Lagniappe: A special kind of gift. Lagoon :A small gulf or inlet. Languor: Listlessness, inactivity. Lassitude :Weariness, listlessness. Leisure :Free time. Lilt: To move musically or lively. Lissome :Slender and graceful. Lithe :Slender and flexible. Love :Deep affection. Mellifluous :Sweet sounding. Moiety: One of two equal parts. Mondegreen :A slip of the ear. Murmurous: Murmuring. Nemesis: An unconquerable archenemy. Offing :The sea between the horizon and the offshore. Onomatopoeia: A word that sounds like its meaning. Opulent :Lush, luxuriant. Palimpsest :A manuscript written over earlier ones. Panacea :A solution for all problems Panoply: A complete set. Pastiche: An art work combining materials from various sources. Penumbra: A half-shadow. Petrichor :The smell of earth after rain. Plethora: A large quantity. Propinquity: An inclination. Pyrrhic: Successful with heavy losses. Quintessential :Most essential. Ratatouille: A spicy French stew. Ravel :To knit or unknit. Redolent: Fragrant. Riparian: By the bank of a stream. Ripple :A very small wave. Scintilla :A spark or very small thing. Sempiternal: Eternal. Seraglio: Rich, luxurious oriental palace or harem. Serendipity: Finding something nice while looking for something else. Summery :Light, delicate or warm and sunny. Sumptuous: Lush, luxurious. Surreptitious: Secretive, sneaky. Susquehanna: A river in Pennsylvania. Susurrous :Whispering, hissing. Talisman: A good luck charm. Tintinnabulation: Tinkling. Umbrella :Protection from sun or rain. Untoward: Unseemly, inappropriate. Vestigial: In trace amounts. Wafture :Waving. Wherewithal :The means. Woebegone :Sorrowful, downcast.