A:

• Approbation - (n.) the expression of approval or favorable opinion, praise; official approval
• Assuage - (v.) to make easier or milder, relieve; to quiet, calm; to put an end to, appease, satisfy, quench
• Ameliorate - (v.) to improve, make better, correct a flaw or shortcoming
• Aplomb - (n.) poise, assurance, great self-confidence; perpendicularity
• Abominate - (v.) to have intense dislike or hatred for
• Acculturation - (n.) the modification of the social patterns, traits, or structures of one group or society by contact with those of another; the resultant blend
• Adventitious - (adj.) resulting from chance rather than from an inherent cause or character; accidental, not essential; (medicine) acquired, not congenital
• Ascribe - (v.) to assign or refer to (as a cause or source), attribute
• Affable - (adj.) courteous and pleasant, sociable, easy to speak to
• Aggrandize - (v.) to increase in greatness, power, or wealth; to build up or intensify; to make appear greater
• Amorphous - (adj.) shapeless, without definite form; of no particular type or character; without organization, unity, or cohesion
• Aura - (n.) that which surrounds (as an atmosphere); a distinctive air or personal quality
• Amnesty - (n.) a general pardon for an offense against a government; in general, any act of forgiveness or absolution
• Autonomy - (n.) self-government, political control
• Axiomatic - (adj.) self-evident, expressing a universally accepted principle or rule
• Anomalous - (adj.) abnormal, irregular, departing from the usual
• Aspersion - (n.) a damaging or derogatory statement; the act of slandering or defaming
• Austere - (adj.) severe or stern in manner; without adornment or luxury, simple, plain; harsh or sour in flavor
• Acrimonious - (adj.) stinging, bitter in temper or tone

B:

• Bombastic - (adj.) pompous or overblown in language; full of high-sounding words intended to conceal a lack of ideas
• Blazon - (v.) to adorn or embellish; to display conspicuously; to publish or proclaim widely
• Bizarre - (adj.) extremely strange, unusual, atypical
• Brusque - (adj.) abrupt, blunt, with no formalities
• Beneficent - (adj.) performing acts of kindness or charity; conferring benefits, doing good

C:

• Coalition - (n.) a combination, union, or merger for some specific purpose
• Callow - (adj.) without experience; immature, not fully developed; lacking sophistication and poise; without feathers
• Circuitous - (adj.) roundabout, not direct
• Commiserate - (v.) to sympathize with, have pity or sorrow for, share a feeling of distress
• Contraband - (n.) illegal traffic, smuggled goods; (adj.) illegal, prohibited
• Caveat - (n.) a warning or caution to prevent misunderstanding or discourage behavior
• Cajole - (v.) to coax, persuade through flattery or artifice; to deceive with soothing thoughts or false promises
• Castigate - (v.) to punish severely; to criticize severely
• Contrive - (v.) to plan with ingenuity, invent; to bring about as the result of a scheme or plan
• Cadaverous - (adj.) pale, gaunt, resembling a corpse
• Concoct - (v.) to prepare by combining ingredients, make up (as a dish); to devise, invent, fabricate
• Crass - (adj.) coarse, unfeeling; stupid

D:

• Decadence - (n.) decline, decay, or deterioration; a condition or period of decline or decay; excessive self-indulgence
• Drivel - (n.) saliva or mucus flowing from the mouth or nose; foolish, aimless talk or thinking; nonsense; (v.) to let saliva flow from the mouth; to utter nonsense or childish twaddle; to waste or fritter away foolishly
• Demagogue - (n.) a leader who exploits popular prejudices and false claims and promises in order to gain power
• Disabuse - (v.) to free from deception or error, set right in ideas or thinking
• Debase - (v.) to lower in character, quality, or value; to degrade, adulterate; to cause to deteriorate
• Desecrate - (v.) to commit sacrilege upon, treat irreverently, to contaminate, pollute
• Disconcert - (v.) to confuse, to disturb the composure of
• Grandiose - (adj.) grand in an impressive or stately way; marked by pompous affection or grandeur, absurdly exaggerated

E:

• Elicit - (v.) to draw forth, bring out from some sources (such as another person)
• Expostulate - (v.) to attempt to dissuade someone from some course or decision by earnest reasoning
• Epitome - (n.) a summary, condensed account; an instance that represents a larger reality
• Exhort - (v.) to urge strongly, advise earnestly
• Ex Officio - (adj., adv.) by virtue of holding a certain office
• Enjoin - (v.) to direct or order; to prescribe a course of action in an authoritative way; to prohibit
• Expiate - (v.) to make amends, make up for; to avert
• Erudite - (adj.) scholarly, learned, bookish, pedantic
• Equitable - (adj.) fair, just, embodying principles of justice
• Ennui - (n.) weariness and dissatisfaction from lack of occupation or interest, boredom

F:

• Ferment - (n.) a state of great excitement, agitation, or turbulence; (v.) to be in or work into such a state; to produce alcohol by chemical action
• Filch - (v.) to steal, especially in a sneaky way and in petty amounts
• Flout - (v.) to mock, treat with contempt
• Fractious - (adj.) tending to be troublesome; unruly, quarrelsome, contrary; unpredictable
• Fetter - (n.) a chain or shackle placed on the feet (often used in plural); anything that confines or restrains; (v.) to chain or shackle; to render helpless or impotent

G:

• Gossamer - (adj.) thin, light, delicate, insubstantial; (n.) a very thin, light cloth

H:

• Hackneyed - (adj.) used so often as to lack freshness or originality
• Hiatus - (n.) a gap, opening, break (in the sense of having an element missing)
• Heinous - (adj.) very wicked, offensive, hateful

I:

• Innuendo - (n.) a hint, indirect suggestion, or reference (often in a derogatory sense)
• Intercede - (v.) to plead on behalf of someone else; to serve as a third party or go-between in a disagreement
• Infringe - (v.) to violate, trespass, go beyond recognized bounds
• Ingratiate - (v.) to make oneself agreeable and thus gain favor or acceptance by others *sometimes used in a critical or derogatory sense)
• Interloper - (n.) one who moves in where he or she is not wanted or has no right to be, an intruder
• Intrinsic - (adj.) belonging to someone or something by its very nature, essential, inherent; originating in a bodily organ or part
• Inveigh - (v.) to make violent attack in words, express strong disapproval
• Inadvertent - (adj.) resulting from or marked by lack of attention; unintentional, accidental
• Infer - (v.) to find out by reasoning; to arrive at a conclusion on the basis of though; to hint, suggest, imply
• Inscrutable - (adj.) incapable of being understood; impossible to see through physically
• Insular - (adj.) relating to, characteristic of, or situated on an island; narrow or isolated in outlook or experience
• Irrevocable - (adj.) incapable of being changed or called back
• Immutable - (adj.) not subject to change, constant
• Insurgent - (n.) one who rebels or rises against authority; (adj.) rising in revolt, refusing to accept authority; surging or rushing in or on
• Inconsequential - (adj.) trifling, unimportant
• Infraction - (n.) a breaking of a law or obligation

J:

• Jaded - (adj.) wearied, worn-out, dulled (in the sense of being satiated by excessive indulgence)

K:

L:

• Lurid - (adj.) causing shock, horror, or revulsion; sensational; pale or sallow in color; terrible or passionate in intensity or lack of restraint
• Lassitude - (n.) weariness of body or mind, lack of energy

M:

• Meritorious - (adj.) worthy, deserving recognition and praise
• Millennium - (n.) a period of one thousand years; a period of great joy
• Megalomania - (n.) a delusion marked by a feeling of power, wealth, talent, etc. far in excess of reality
• Mitigate - (v.) to make milder or softer, to moderate in force or intensity

N:

• Nominal - (adj.) existing in name only, not real; too small to be considered or taken seriously
• Noncommittal - (adj.) not decisive or definite; unwilling to take a clear position or to say yes or no

O:

• Occult - (adj.) mysterious, magical, supernatural; secret, hidden from view; not detectable by ordinary means; (v.) to hide, conceal, eclipse; (n.) matters involving the supernatural

P:

• Petulant - (adj.) peevish, annoyed by trifles, easily irritated and upset
• Prerogative - (n.) a special right or privilege; a special quality showing excellence
• Provincial - (adj.) pertaining to an outlying area; local; narrow in mind or outlook, countrified in the sense of being limited and backward, of a simple, plain design that originated in the countryside; (n.) a person with a narrow point of view; a person from an outlying area; a soldier from a province or colony
• Permeate - (v.) to spread through, penetrate, soak through
• Precipitate - (v.) to fall as moisture; to cause or bring about suddenly; to hurl down from a great height; to give distinct form to; (adj.) characterized by excessive haste; (n.) moisture; the product of an action or process
• Peculate - (v.) to steal something that has been given into one's trust; to take improperly for one's own use
• Proclivity - (n.) a natural or habitual inclination or tendency (especially of human character or behavior)
• Propensity - (n.) a natural inclination or predilection toward
• Precept - (n.) a rule of conduct or action
• Pillage - (v.) to rob of goods by open force (as in war), plunder; (n.) the act of looting; booty
• Prate - (v.) to talk a great deal in a foolish or aimless fashion
• Punctilious - (adj.) very careful and exact, attentive to fine points of etiquette or propriety

Q:

• Querulous - (adj.) peevish, complaining, fretful

R:

• Remonstrate - (v.) to argue or plead with someone against something, protest against, object to
• Repudiate - (v.) to disown, reject, or deny the validity of
• Resilient - (adj.) able to return to an original shape or form; able to recover quickly
• Reverberate - (v.) to re-echo, resound; to reflect or be reflected repeatedly
• Redoubtable - (adj.) inspiring fear or awe; illustrious, eminent
• Reprove - (v.) to find fault with, scold, rebuke
• Restitution - (n.) the act of restoring someone or something to the rightful owner or to a former state or position; making good on a loss or damage

S:

• Simulate - (v.) to make pretense of, imitate; to show the outer signs of
• Stringent - (adj.) strict, severe; rigorously or urgently binding or compelling; sharp or bitter to the taste
• Surmise - (v.) to think or believe without certain supporting evidence; to conjecture or guess; (n.) likely idea that lacks definite proof
• Sangfroid - (n.) composure of coolness, especially in trying circumstances
• Seditious - (adj.) resistant to lawful authority; having the purpose of overthrowing an established government
• Scurrilous - (adj.) coarsely abusive, vulgar or low (especially in language), foul-mouthed
• Sedulous - (adj.) persistent, showing industry and determination
• Sleazy - (adj.) thin or flimsy in texture; cheap; shoddy or inferior in quality or character; ethically low, mean, or disreputable
• Salutary - (adj.) beneficial, helpful; healthful, wholesome
• Scathing - (adj.) bitterly severe, withering; causing great harm
• Scourge - (v.) to whip, punish severely; (n.) a cause of affliction or suffering; a source of sever punishment or criticism
• Sepulchral - (adj.) funeral, typical of the tomb; extremely gloomy or dismal
• Soporific - (adj.) tending to cause sleep, relating to sleepiness or lethargy; (n.) something that induces sleep
• Straitlaced - (adj.) extremely strict in regard to moral standards and conduct, prudish, puritanical
• Sinecure - (n.) a position requiring little or no work; an easy job
• Surreptitious - (adj.) stealthy, secret, intended to escape observation; made or accomplished by fraud
• Stalwart - (adj.) strong and study, brave; resolute; (n.) a brave, strong person; a strong supporter; one who makes an uncompromising position

T:

• Transcend - (v.) to rise above or beyond, exceed
• Tenuous - (adj.) thin, slender, not dense; lacking clarity or sharpness; of slight importance or significance; lacking a sound basis, poorly supported
• Transient - (adj.) lasting only a short time, fleeting; (n.) one who stays only a short time
• Transgress - (v.) to go beyond a limit or boundary; to sin, violates a law
• Transmute - (v.) to change from one nature, substance, or form to another

U:

• Umbrage - (n.) shade cast by trees; foliage giving shade; and overshadowing influence or power; offense, resentment; a vague suspicion
• Unctuous - (adj.) excessively smooth or smug; trying too hard to give an impression of earnestness, sincerity, or piety; fatty, oily; pliable
• Unwieldy - (adj.) not easily carried, handled, or managed because of size or complexity

V:

• Vitriolic - (adj.) bitter, sarcastic; highly caustic or biting (like a strong acid)
• Vapid - (adj.) dull, uninteresting, tiresome; lacking in sharpness, flavor, liveliness, or force
• Vicarious - (adj.) performed, suffered, or otherwise experienced by one person in place of another
• Vulnerable - (adj.) open to attack; capable of being wounded or damaged; unprotected

W:

• Wheedle - (v.) to use coaxing or flattery to gain some desired end

X:

Y:

Z: