bauble: trinket; trifle
pinion: restrain
salubrious: healthful
diatribe: bitter scolding; invective
igneous: produced by fire; volcanic
blowhard: talkative boaster
mawkish: mushy and gushy; icky-sticky sentimental; maudlin
wastrel: profligate
filch: steal
pliant: flexible; easily influenced
discombobulated: confused; discomposed
ablution: washing
fulcrum: support on which a lever rests
halting: hesitant; faltering
imbroglio: complicated situation; painful or complex misunderstanding; entanglement; confused mass (as of papers)
propound: put forth for analysis
mollycoddle: pamper; indulge excessively
pecuniary: pertaining to money
internecine: mutually destructive
propitiate: appease
contravene: contradict; oppose; infringe on or transgress
presage: foretell
molt: shed or cast off hairs or feathers
laceration: torn, ragged wound
scruple: fret about; hesitate, for ethical reasons
protuberance: protrusion; bulge
addle: muddle; drive crazy; become rotten
equipoise: balance; balancing force; equilibrium
irascible: irritable; easily angered
leaven: cause to rise or grow lighter; enliven
analgesic: causing insensitivity to pain
provenance: origin or source of something
canard: false or unfounded story; fabricated report
gainsay: deny
verve: enthusiasm; liveliness
dross: waste matter; worthless impurities
unconscionable: unscrupulous; excessive
imbibe: drink in
bemused: confused; lost in thought; preoccupied
chaffing: bantering; joking
fritter: waste
bucolic: rustic; pastoral
jostle: shove; bump
sheaf: bundle of stalks of grain; any bundle of things tied together
foment: stir up; investigate
quisling: traitor who aids invaders
acetic: vinegary
pachyderm: thick-skinned animal
imbue: saturate, fill
ineluctable: irresistible; not to be escaped
umbrage: resentment; anger; sense of insult or injury
goad: urge on
rotunda: circular building or hall covering with a dome
comport: bear one's self; behave
declivity: downward slope
fusillade: simultaneous firing or outburst (of missiles, questions, etc.)
coterie: group that meets socially; select circle
cherubic: angelic; innocent-looking
satyr: half-human, half-bestial being in the court of Dionysus, portrayed as wanton and cunning
proscenium: part of stage in front of curtain
ingratiate: become popular with
braggadocio: boasting
quizzical: teasing; bantering; mocking; curious
moratorium: legal delay of payment
propinquity: nearness; kinship
assuage: ease or lessen (pain); satisfy (hunger); soothe (anger)
decrepitude: state of collapse caused by illness or old age
carping: petty criticism; fault finding
obstreperous: boisterous; noisy
intransigence: refusal of any compromise; stubbornness
wizened: withered; shriveled
defray: provide for the payment of
recrimination: countercharges
colander: utensil with perforated bottom used for straining
wanderlust: strong longing to travel
matriculate: enroll (in college or graduate school)
agog: highly excited; intensely curious
lectern: reading desk
insalubrious: unwholesome; not healthful
filigree: delicate, lace-like metalwork
tatty: worn and shabby; bedraggled
suppliant: entreating; beseeching
gadfly: animal-biting fly; an irritating person
prolixity: tedious wordiness; verbosity
barefaced: shameless; bold; unconcealed
stipple: paint or draw with dots
salutary: tending to improve; beneficial; wholesome
leery: suspicious; cautious
ductile: malleable; flexible; pliable
iniquitous: wicked; immoral; unrighteous
apogee: highest point
baleful: threatening; menacing; sinister; foreshadowing evil
pugnacity: combativeness; disposition to fight
indigence: poverty
epaulet: ornament worn on the shoulder (of a uniform, etc.)
smolder: burn without flame; be liable to break out at any moment
froward: stubbornly contrary; obstinately disobedient
penury: extreme want; poverty; destitution. 
detraction: slandering; aspersion
prehensile: capable of grasping or holding
awl: pointed tool used for piercing
stricture: critical comments; severe and adverse criticism
furor: frenzy; great excitement
rankle: irritate; fester
obsidian: black volcanic rock
dour: sullen; stubborn
stentorian: extremely loud
abeyance: suspended action
repast: meal; feast; banquet
seamy: sordid; unwholesome
apprise: inform
gibe: mock
vaunted: boasted; bragged; highly publicized
verbiage: pompous array of words
garrulous: loquacious; wordy; talkative
unprepossessing: unattractive
apotheosis: elevation to godhood; an ideal example of something
careen: lurch; sway from side to side
aureole: sun's corona; halo
touchstone: stone used to test the fineness of gold alloys; criterion
ribald: wanton; profane
reprobation: severe disapproval
floe: mass of floating ice
reprove: censure; rebuke
spangle: small metallic piece sewn to clothing for ornamentation
clime: region; climate
controvert: oppose with arguments; attempt to refute; contradict
disport: amuse
collation: a light meal
abscond: depart secretly and hide
indemnify: make secure against loss; compensate for loss
dissimulate: pretend; conceal by feigning
rapacious: excessively grasping; plundering
piscatorial: pertaining to fishing
scintilla: shred; least bit
demagogue: person who appeals to person's prejudice; false leader
illusive: deceiving
sere: parched; dry
overweening: presumptuous; arrogant
redoubtable: formidable; causing fear
clamber: climb by crawling
funereal: sad; solemn
crabbed: sour; peevish
demotic: pertaining to the people
effete: lacking vigor; worn out; sterile
lithe: flexible; supple
ornithology: study of birds
frieze: ornamental band on a wall
philander: faithless lover; flirt
denigrate: blacken
insuperable: insurmountable; unbeatable
doggerel: poor verse
pestilential: causing plague; baneful
physiognomy: face
verisimilitude: appearance of truth; likelihood
ascendancy: controlling influence
skulduggery: dishonest behavior
supercilious: arrogant; condescending; patronizing
impenitent: not repentant
victuals: food
incursion: temporary invasion
tortuous: winding; full of curves
ennui: boredom
behove: be necessary or proper for; be incumbent upon
ichthyology: study of fish
soporific: sleep-causing; marked by sleepiness
inured: accustomed; hardened
lucre: money
bouillon: clear beef soup
privation: hardship; want
disburse: pay out
harangue: long, passionate, and vehement speech
convivial: festive; gay; characterized by joviality
faze: disconcert; dismay
aver: assert confidently or declare; as used in law, state formally as a fact
unguent: ointment
diorama: life-size, three-dimensional scene from nature or history
hoary: white with age
saunter: stroll slowly
cavil: make frivolous objections
beatitude: blessedness; state of bliss
ossify: change or harden into bone
cession: yielding (something) to another; ceding
deleterious: harmful
isthmus: narrow neck of land connecting two larger bodies of land
atavism: resemblance to remote ancestors rather than to parents; reversion to an earlier type; throwback
concomitant: accompanying
tonsure: shaving of the head, especially by person entering religious orders
hilarity: boisterous mirth
expiate: make amends for (a sin)
incontinent: lacking self-restraint; licentious
demur: objection; protest
collate: examine in order to verify authenticity; arrange in order
doff: take off
bludgeon: club; heavy-handed weapon
disabuse: correct a false impression
culpable: deserving blame
dotage: senility
proviso: stipulation
potable: suitable for drinking
factious: inclined to form factions; causing dissension
tirade: extended scolding; denunciation; harangue
stodgy: stuffy; boringly conservative
diadem: crown
venial: forgivable; trivial
hermetic: sealed by fusion so as to be airtight; obscure and mysterious; occult
suffragist: advocate of voting rights (for women)
striated: marked with parallel bands; grooved
granary: storehouse for grain
despoil: strip of valuables; rob
niggle: spend too much time on minor points; carp
requite: repay; revenge
alluvial: pertaining to soil deposits left by running water
prate: speak foolishly; boast idly
immolate: offer as sacrifice
inclement: stormy; unkind
litany: supplicatory prayer
obsequious: slavishly attentive; servile; sycophantic
beeline: direct, quick route
cloying: distasteful (because excessive); excessively sweet or sentimental
sinuous: winding; bending in and out; not morally honest
cornice: projecting molding on building (usually above columns)
accede: agree
mollify: soothe
mutinous: unruly; rebellious
browbeat: bully; intimidate
coiffure: hairstyle
doddering: shaky; infirm from old age
cantata: story set to music, to be sung by a chorus
motility: ability to move spontaneously
fecundity: fertility; fruitfulness
chastened: humbled; subdued; rebuked
alimentary: supplying nourishment
pylon: marking post to guide aviators; steel tower supporting cables or telephone lines
prelate: church dignitary
dictum: authoritative and weighty statement; saying; maxim
verdigris: green coating on copper that has been exposed to the weather
meteoric: swift; momentarily brilliant
rakish: stylish; sporty
lineaments: features, especially of the face
accost: approach and speak first to a person
supplicate: petition humbly; pray to grant a favor
tipple: drink (alcoholic beverages) frequently
platitude: trite remark; commonplace statement
baneful: destructive; causing ruin or death
heckler: person who verbally harasses others
munificent: very generous
fractious: unruly; disobedient; irritable
vitriolic: corrosive; sarcastic
surfeit: satiate; stuff; indulge to excess in anything
castigation: punishment; severe criticism
paroxysm: fit or attack of pain, laughter, rage
wheedle: cajole; coax; deceive by flattery
rusticate: banish to the country; dwell in the country
fracas: brawl, melee
laconic: brief and to the point
flippant: lacking proper seriousness
argot: slang
reprise: musical repetition; repeat performance; recurrent action
osseous: made of bone; bony
lugubrious: mournful
inveterate: deep-rooted; habitual
incipient: beginning; in an early age
personable: attractive
patois: local or provincial dialect
credulity: belief on slight evidence; gullibility; naiveté
hurtle: crash; rush
precipitant: something that causes a substance in a chemical solution to separate out in solid form
commodious: spacious and comfortable
felicitous: apt; suitably expressed; well chosen
fluster: confuse
aquiline: curved, hooked
lancet: small surgical tool for making incisions
abstruse: obscure; profound; difficult to understand
assiduous: diligent
enthrall: capture; enslave
enunciate: utter or speak, especially distinctly
anodyne: drug that relieves pain; opiate
strident: loud and harsh; insistent
fulsome: disgustingly excessive
captious: faultfinding
cadge: beg; mooch; pan handle
appall: dismay; shock
penumbra: partial shadow (in an eclipse)
aerie: nest of a large bird of prey (eagle, hawk)
preen: make oneself tidy in appearance; feel self-satisfaction
doldrums: blues; listlessness; slack period
obdurate: stubborn
temerity: boldness; rashness
salacious: lascivious; lustful
magisterial: authoritative; imperious
swelter: be oppressed by heat
caustic: burning; sarcastically biting
puissant: powerful; strong; potent
connivance: pretense of ignorance of something wrong; to plot or scheme; permission to be a wench
assay: analyze; evaluate
subaltern: subordinate
vitreous: pertaining to or resembling glass
bevy: large group
biennial: every two years
swathe: wrap around; bandage
refectory: dining hall
suborn: persuade to act unlawfully (especially to commit perjury)
benison: blessing
sportive: playful
nadir: lowest point
caulk: to make watertight (by plugging seams)
accretion: growth; increase
prevaricate: lie
factitious: artificial; sham
febrile: feverish
stygian: gloomy; hellish; deathly
mellifluous: sweetly or smoothly flowing; melodious
madrigal: pastoral song
cogent: convincing
bristling: rising like bristles; showing irritation
feckless: feeble and ineffective; careless and irresponsible
entomology: study of insects
spate: sudden flood
natty: neatly or smartly dressed
mealymouthed: indirect in speech; hypocritical; evasive
cantankerous: ill-humored; irritable
serrated: having a sawtoothed edge
surreptitious: secret; furtive; sneaky; hidden
homily: sermon; serious warning
malingerer: one who feigns illness to escape duty
anachronism: something or someone misplaced in time
mincing: affectedly dainty
sartorial: pertaining to tailors
sonorous: resonant; wordy or grandiloquent
genuflect: bend the knee as in worship
renege: deny; go back on
libretto: text of an opera
importune: beg persistently
importunate: urging; demanding
arboretum: place where different varieties of trees and shrubs are studied and exhibited
bluster: blow in heavy gusts; threaten emptily; bully
sidereal: relating to the stars
perigee: point of moon's orbit when it is nearest the earth
cohere: stick together
brackish: somewhat saline
gourmand: epicure; person who takes excessive pleasure in food and drink
celerity: speed; rapidity
slake: quench; sate
impugn: dispute or contradict (often in an insulting way); challenge; gainsay
sequester: isolate; retire from public life; segregate; seclude
frond: fern leaf; palm or banana leaf
acumen: mental keenness
canny: shrewd; thrifty
perspicacious: having insight
rotundity: roundness; sonorousness of speech
flout: reject; mock; show contempt for
stymie: present an obstacle; stump
fancier: breeder or dealer of animals
emaciated: thin and wasted
swarthy: dark; dusky
querulous: fretful; whining
crestfallen: dejected; dispirited
tractable: docile; easily managed
facile: easily accomplished; ready or fluent; superficial
protean: versatile; able to take on many forms
retrench: cut down; economize
regicide: murder of a king or queen
vicissitude: change of fortune
mendacious: lying; habitually dishonest
nostrum: questionable medicine
chortle: chuckle with delight
descry: catch sight of
emolument: salary; compensation
variegated: many-colored
potentate: monarch; sovereign
acrimonious: bitter in words or manner
fatuous: brainless; inane; foolish, yet smug
officious: meddlesome; excessively pushy in offering one's services
rarefied: made less dense
execrable: very bad
unfrock: strip a priest or minister of church authority
aspersion: slanderous remark
profligate: dissipated; wasteful; wildly immoral
augury: omen; prophecy
pugilist: boxer
titter: nervous laugh
panegyric: formal praise
equivocate: lie; mislead; attempt to conceal the truth
dilatory: tending to delay; intentionally delaying
antic: extravagantly odd
jocund: merry
fetid: malodorous; foul-smelling
cavalcade: procession; parade
loll: lounge about
billowing: swelling out in waves; surging
callow: youthful; immature; inexperienced
conifer: pine tree; cone-bearing tree
carousal: drunken revel
bacchanal: orgy, drunken celebration
purblind: obtuse, stupid
ingress: entering
tussock: cluster of glass
outré: eccentric
mien: appearance, bearing
gravamen: the essential part of an accusation
skullduggery: trickery
ennoble: exalt
decorous: seemly, dignified
penurious: stingy
cenotaph: empty tomb, monument
journeyman: reliable worker
stanchion: prop, foundation
scabrous: difficult
purloin: steal
lagniappe: bonus
elide: omit
titian: auburn
putsch: a sudden attempt to overthrow
lacuna: a missing part, gap
revamp: recast
subcutaneous: beneath the skin
augur: predict
fillip: stimulus
torsion: twisting
synod: council
eke: supplement with great effort, strain
lambent: softly radiant
consternation: anxiety, bewilderment
churl: a boor
casuistry: specious reasoning
elegiac: sad
incongruous: out of place, absurd
farrago: mixture
harridan: hag
unstinting: generous
intransigent: unyielding
proffer: bring forward for consideration
intestate: leaving no will
pontificate: to speak at length
scurf: dandruff
truculent: fierce, savage
shoring: supporting
stevedore: longshoreman
agnate: related on the father’s side
quadrille: square dance
priggish: pedantic, affected
saturnine: gloomy
plebiscite: referendum
bilious: ill-tempered
détente: truce
jejune: barren, unsophisticated
deracinate: uproot
denouement: resolution
gingivitis: inflammation of the gums
éclat: brilliance
sebaceous: like fat
cosset: coddle
jingoistic: nationalistic, warmongering
pogrom: massacre, mass murder
shallot: onion
ruck: a tightly packed crowd of people
lanyard: short rope
cruet: bottle
bagatelle: nonentity, trifle
vaunt: brag
credenza: buffet
incommunicado: unable to communicate
picayune: trifling
muckraker: reformer
morass: swamp, difficult situation
bailiwick: sphere of operations
myrmidons: loyal followers
terpsichorean: related to dance
insular: narrow-minded
excision: removal
jilt: reject, end a relationship promptly
posthaste: hastily
troublous: disturbed
convocation: gathering
lave: wash
roué: libertine
sylph: a slim, graceful girl
cachet: prestige
redoubt: fort
atelier: workshop
rambunctious: boisterous
panoply: full suit of armor
simulacrum: vague likeness
festoon: decorate
truckle: yield
rime: crust
belabor: assail verbally, dwell on
peerage: aristocracy
scurrilous: abusive, insulting
cloven: split
olio: medley
terrapin: turtle
hidebound: prejudiced, provincial
paucity: scarcity
dirigible: airship, blimp
indecorous: unseemly
roister: bluster
quietus: a cessation of activity
antechamber: waiting room