aberrant

\a-BERR-unt; AB-ur-unt\

Markedly different from an accepted norm; Deviating from the ordinary or natural type; abnormal.

Example: These characters are so wild and aberrant they are close to appearing lunatics.
-- Bosley Crowther, "Who's Afraid of Audacity?", New York Times, July 10, 1966

 raiment

\RAY-ment\, noun

Clothing in general; garments; -- usually singular in form, with a collective sense.

Example: Agog with expectation, Stella opened her package and found not the golden raiment of a queen or a princess, but the drab uniform of a cook. She wept for the rest of the day.
-- William Weaver, "Almost Irresistible Stella", New York Times, March 4, 1984

ersatz

adjective

Being a substitute or imitation, usually an inferior one.

Example: Meanwhile, a poor copy was erected in the courtyard; many an unsuspecting traveler paid homage to that ersatz masterpiece.
-- Edith Pearlman, "Girl and Marble Boy", The Atlantic, December 29, 1999

alacrity

Cheerful readiness, promptness, or willingness.

Example: We accepted the invitation with alacrity. 

prie-dieu

 [pree-dyoo] 

 A piece of furniture used for kneeling on during prayer which includes a desk for the elbows or book.

roué

[roo-ay] 

(negative connotation)

A lecherous dissipated man, a rake.

 poignard

 A lightweight, French dagger used in the middle ages and Renaissance.

dolorous

Full of, expressing, or causing pain or sorrow; grievous; mournful: a dolorous melody; dolorous news.

knobkerrie

A short, heavy wooden club with a knob on one end, used esp. by native peoples of South Africa for striking and throwing.

copacetic

\koh-puh-SET-ik\, adjective

Very satisfactory; fine.

Although all will seem copacetic on the CBS broadcast from Madison Square Garden in New York, there will be a big black cloud hanging over the glitzy proceedings.
-- Patrick MacDonald, "Major labels struggling with huge slump out of tune with listeners", Seattle Times, February 20, 2003

 perdurable

\pur-DUR-uh-bul; pur-DYUR-\, adjective

Very durable; lasting; continuing long.

The idea of a classic is historically bound up with the view . . . that there are certain perdurable human truths and values, immune from geographical or historical vitiation.
-- John Romano, "A Novel of Hope and Realism", New York Times, April 4, 1982

amative

\AM-uh-tiv\, adjective

Pertaining to or disposed to love, especially sexual love; full of love; amorous.

In the spring a young man's fancy turns to thoughts of another nap even more often than it does to amative imaginings, Tennyson to the contrary notwithstanding.
-- "Touch of Spring Fever Makes Whole World Kin", Science News, May 23, 1931

virago

\vuh-RAH-go; vuh-RAY-go\, noun

1. A woman of extraordinary stature, strength, and courage.
2. A woman regarded as loud, scolding, ill-tempered, quarrelsome, or overbearing.

This virago, this madwoman, finally got to me, and I was subjected to the most rude, the most shocking violence I can remember.
-- José Limón, An Unfinished Memoir

pestiferous

\pes-TIF-uh-ruhs\, adjective

1. Bearing or bringing disease.
2. Infected with or contaminated by a pestilential disease.
3. Morally evil or dangerous to society; pernicious.
4. Bothersome; troublesome; annoying.

What is the most correct, the politest, the best
Way to get rid of this pestiferous unwanted 'guest'?
-- James Michie, "Dear Mary", The Spectator, September 28, 1996

 sine qua non

\sin-ih-kwah-NON; -NOHN; sy-nih-kway-\, noun

An essential condition or element; an indispensable thing.

However we choose to define a classic, a sine qua non is that the material lend itself to reinterpretation in the light of changing circumstances.
-- Matthew Gurewitsch, "A Country of Lesser Giants", New York Times, April 4, 1999

abominate

\uh-BOM-uh-nayt\, transitive verb

To hate in the highest degree; to detest intensely; to loathe; to abhor.

I had no wish to study or learn anything, and as for Latin, I abominated it.
-- Charles Tyng, Before the Wind

Dissolute

Loose in morals and conduct; marked by indulgence in sensual pleasures or vices.

Example: I had heard talk that Tosca, for all the dissolute life she led, was a pious person who frequented churches with scrupulous regularity, yet in this conduct I had always suspected a pose, an affectation.
-- Paola Capriolo, Floria Tosca (translated by Liz Heron)

nettlesome

Causing irritation, vexation, or distress.

Example: Unlike important men of affairs, novelists can turn midnight into sunrise and solve nettlesome world problems wherever their imaginations decree.
-- Herbert Mitgang, "Tales of a Tortured Holy Land", New York Times, August 16, 1988

irrupt

1. To burst in forcibly or suddenly; to intrude.
2. (Ecology) To increase rapidly in number.

Example: What happens in these flashes of inspiration is a kind of transcendence in science in which a new concept, something that has never been dreamt or thought of before, irrupts into the scientist's imagination.
-- Roy Bhaskar, Reflections on Meta-Reality

lissom

1. Limber; supple; flexible.
2. Light and quick in action; nimble; agile; active.

Example: Raphaelle Boitel moves with the lissom, contortionist plastique of a snake-woman.

-- Nadine Meisner, "Clowns real and imagined", Independent,April 20, 2001

aplomb \uh-PLOM\, noun

Assurance of manner or of action; self-possession; confidence; coolness.

Example: Then, unexpectedly, she picked up a microphone and began to sing. She sang several songs, handling herself with the aplomb of a professional entertainer.
-- "Rediscovering Japanese Life at a Bike's Pace", New York Times, April 24, 1988

esoteric

probity

 Complete and confirmed integrity; uprightness.

Unless some light is shed on shady dealings and some probity restored, more young lives will be blighted and careers choked off.
-- Norman Lebrecht, Who Killed Classical Music?

recherche

\ruh-sher-SHAY\, adjective

1. Uncommon; exotic; rare.
2. Exquisite; choice.
3. Excessively refined; affected.
4. Pretentious; overblown.

She was mocking the pretensions of the cookery writer who insists on recherche ingredients not because of their qualities but their snob value.
-- Angela Carter, Shaking a Leg

garrulous

\GAIR-uh-lus; GAIR-yuh-\, adjective

1. Talking much, especially about commonplace or trivial things; talkative.
2. Wordy.

Without saying a single word she managed to radiate disapproval . . . the air seemed to grow heavy with it and the most garrulous talker would wilt and fall silent.
-- Mark Amory, Lord Berners: The Last Eccentric

amanuensis

\uh-man-yoo-EN-sis\, noun

A person employed to take dictation or to copy manuscripts.

On this blue day, I want to be
nothing more than an amanuensis
to the birds, transcribing all the bits
and snatches of song riding in on the wind.
-- Barbara Crooker, "Transcription (Poem)", Midwest Quarterly, March 22, 2003

 inure

1.to accustom to hardship, difficulty, pain, etc.; toughen or harden; habituate (usually fol. by to): inured to cold.

"If all the deaths had failed to inure them to grief, it had certainly alerted them to the wondrous necessity of life." --Mayflower, Nathaniel Philbrick 

laudable

1.deserving praise; praiseworthy; commendable: Reorganizing the files was a laudable idea.

impetus

a moving force; impulse; stimulus

Example: The grant for building the opera house gave impetus to the city's cultural life.

 surfeit

\SUR-fit\, noun

1. An excessive amount or supply.
2. Overindulgence, as in food or drink.
3. Disgust caused by overindulgence or excess.
4. To feed or supply to excess.

Example: They were accustomed to eat till they became surfeited, and to drink till they were sick.
-- Derek Brown, "Millennium: 1082-1083", The Guardian, September 1998

minatory

\MIN-uh-tor-ee\, adjective

Threatening; menacing.

Example: Then, abruptly on the last page, he lapses into a kinder, gentler tone, as if wanting to leave us with a less minatory impression of himself.

potentate

\POH-tuhn-tayt\, noun

One who possesses great power or sway; a ruler, sovereign, or monarch. 

Example: The shah of Persia, although he had to acknowledge that the sultan was a worthy rival, still considered himself a mighty potentate, as did the sultan himself.

lachrymose

\LAK-ruh-mohs\, adjective

1. Generating or shedding tears; given to shedding tears; suffused with tears; tearful.
2. Causing or tending to cause tears.

Example: At the farewell party on the boat, Joyce was surrounded by a lachrymose family.

bagatelle

\bag-uh-TEL\, noun

1. A trifle; a thing of little or no importance.
2. A short, light musical or literary piece.
3. A game played with a cue and balls on an oblong table having cups or arches at one end.

Example: Don't worry about that, a mere bagatelle, old boy!

countermand

\KOWN-tuhr-mand; kown-tuhr-MAND\, transitive verb

1. To revoke (a former command); to cancel or rescind by giving an order contrary to one previously given.
2. To recall or order back by a contrary order.
3. A contrary order.
4. Revocation of a former order or command.

harridan

\HAIR-uh-din\, noun

A worn-out strumpet; a vixenish woman; a hag.

Example: As the vulgar, scornful, desperate Martha, Miss Hagen makes a tormented harridan horrifyingly believable.
-- Howard Taubman, "The Theater: Albee's 'Who's Afraid'", New York Times, October 15, 1962

patina

\PAT-n-uh; puh-TEEN-uh\, noun

1. The color or incrustation which age gives to works of art; especially, the green rust which covers ancient bronzes, coins, and medals.
2. The sheen on any surface, produced by age and use.
3. An appearance or aura produced by habit, practice, or use.
4. A superficial layer or exterior.

grandee

\gran-DEE\, noun

1. A man of elevated rank or station.
2. In Spain or Portugal, a nobleman of the first rank. 

Example: Jack Byron still harbored delusions of being a local grandee, attempting to influence district politics; as the final humiliation, in the parliamentary election of 1786 his vote was disallowed.

1. anxiety arising from awareness of guilt:

ex. compunctions of conscience

2.distress of mind over an anticipated action or result:

ex. "showed no compunction in planning devilish engines of…destruction" — Havelock Ellis

3.a twinge of misgiving.

ex. cheated without compunction

pagoda

(in India, Burma, China, etc.) a temple or sacred building, usually a pyramidlike tower and typically having upward-curving roofs over the individual stories.

dimity

noun

a thin cotton fabric, white, dyed, or printed, woven with a stripe or check of heavier yarn.

tabard

 a loose outer garment, sleeveless or with short sleeves, esp. one worn by a knight over his armor and usually emblazoned with his arms.

pince-nez

(paz-nay)

a pair of glasses held on the face by a spring that grips the nose.

polysyllables

A word of more than three syllables.

mucilage

1.any of various, usually liquid, preparations of gum, glue, or the like, used as an adhesive.

2. any of various gummy secretions or gelatinous substances present in plants.

shillyshally

1. to show indecision or hesitation; be irresolute; vacillate.

2. to waste time; dawdle.

pontifically

1. of, pertaining to, or characteristic of a pontiff; papal.

2. pompous, dogmatic, or pretentious: to resent someone's pontifical manner.

baa-lamb

a child's word for sheep or lamb

upbraid

stygian

1.Of or pertaining to the river Styx or Hades

2.dark or gloomy

3.infernal, hellish

augury

soothsayer, prophet

willewaw

[wil-ee-waw]

perspicacious 

[pur-spi-key-shuh[image]s]

having keen mental perception and understanding; discerning: to exhibit perspicacious judgment.

farrago 

reproach

1.to find fault with (a person, group, etc.); blame; censure.

admonish

1. to caution, advise, or counsel against something.

multifarious

adulterate

to debase or make impure by adding inferior materials or elements; use cheaper, inferior, or less desirable goods in the production of (any professedly genuine article):

to adulterate food.

deposition

enervate

to deprive of force or strength; destroy the vigor of; weaken.

Example: "the luxury which enervates and destroys nations" (Henry David Thoreau)

taciturn

1. inclined to silence; reserved in speech; reluctant to join in conversation.

2. dour, stern, and silent in expression and manner.

ex: Johnny from Michigan is a taciturn guy and getting a conversation out of him is difficult.

repine

1. To be fretfully discontented; fret; complain.

2. To yearn after something: Immigrants who repined for their homeland.

derision

1. ridicule; mockery: The inept performance elicited derision from the audience.

2. an object of ridicule.

inveterate

1. settled or confirmed in a habit, practice, feeling, or the like: an inveterate gambler.

2. firmly established by long continuance, as a disease, habit, practice, feeling, etc.; chronic.

undergird

1. to strengthen; secure, as by passing a rope or chain under and around: to undergird a top-heavy load.

2. to give fundamental support; provide with a sound or secure basis: ethics undergirded by faith.

virtuosity

The technical skill, fluency, or style exhibited by a virtuoso or a composition.

consanguity

(neutral, hint: in contrast to affinity)

relationship by descent from a common ancestor; kinship (distinguished from affinity: relationship by marriage or by ties other than those of blood).

ostensible

outwardly appearing as such; professed; pretended: an ostensible cheerfulness concealing sadness.

paunch

a large and protruding belly; potbelly

parsimony

extreme or excessive economy or frugality; stinginess

jurisprudence

the science or philosophy of law; a body or system of laws.

conciliate

to overcome the distrust or hostility of; placate; win over: to conciliate an angry competitor.

Another example: Henry II requested that Thomas-a-Beckett be more conciliatory.

oblique

1. not straight or direct, as a course

2. indirectly stated or expressed; not straightforward: oblique remarks about the candidate's honesty.

3. indirectly aimed at or reached, as ends or results; deviously achieved.

4. morally, ethically, or mentally wrong; underhand; perverse.

sackcloth

coarse cloth worn as a sign of mourning or penitence

woodshedding

meaning to practice or hone skills, particularly musical skills

primogeniture

the system of inheritance or succession by the firstborn, specifically the eldest son.

petulant

moved to or showing sudden, impatient irritation, esp. over some trifling annoyance: a petulant toss of the head.

maudlin

appellation

(neutral connotation)

1. a name, title, or designation.

2. the act of naming

hortatory

urging to some course of conduct or action; exhorting; encouraging: a hortatory speech.

bloviate

To speak or write at length in a pompous or boastful manner.

ex. The pompous bank manager tends to bloviate amiably with colleagues, rambling on and on like an oaf.

syn. jabber, ramble, harrangue, lecture, go on

ant. be quiet

mercurial

changeable; volatile; fickle; flighty; erratic:

ex. a mercurial nature.

ant. constant, steady

ineffable

inexpressible, unspeakable, indescribable

ex. ineffable joy

ex. the ineffable name of the creator

ingot

a mass of metal cast in a convenient form for shaping, remelting, or refining

panacea

noisome

offensive as an odor

syn. noxious, stinky, rotten

ant. inoffensive, attractive

defenestrated

(hint: fenster -> german trans.)

thrown out of a window

derelict

left or deserted, as by the owner or guardian; abandoned:

ex. a derelict ship.

tendentious

having or showing a definite tendency, bias, or purpose:

ex. a tendentious novel.

frowsy

1. Unkempt; slovenly: frowzy clothes; a frowzy professor.

2. Having an unpleasant smell; musty: a frowzy pantry.

bellicose

inclined or eager to fight; aggressively hostile; belligerent; pugnacious.

ex. The more she drank the more bellicose she became, perceiving every statement as an offense.

saturnine

sluggish in temperament; gloomy; taciturn.

a reaction to lead poisoning

histrionic

1. of or pertaining to actors or acting.

2. deliberately affected or self-consciously emotional

stalwart

strongly and stoutly built; sturdy and robust.

syn. steadfast, solid, bold

ant. cowardly, meek, weak

endemic

an endemic is a disease that is constantly present to a greater or lesser degree in people of a certain class or in people living in a particular location

extirpate

to remove or destroy totally; do away with; exterminate

ponderous

of great weight; heavy; massive.

dull and labored:

ex. a ponderous dissertation.

ignominy

disgrace;

dishonor;

public contempt.

reticence

1. disposed to be silent or not to speak freely; reserved.

2. reluctance

garble

to make an unfair selection from facts

salacious

obscene

lustful

lecherous

penurious

poor / stingy

peremptory

urgent; imperative

dissemble

speak as though to hide something

boggle

to hesitate in fear or doubt

intransigent

uncompromising

 éclat

acclaim; great brilliance as a performer or achievement

ulterior

situated beyond

quaff

to drink copious and hearty amounts of food or drink; esp. alcoholic

droll

jesting

tenuous

flimsy; weak

inveigled

/ɪnˈveɪ[image]gəl, -ˈvi-/ [image] Show Spelled[in-vey-guh[image]l, -vee-]

1. to entice, lure, or ensnare by flattery or artful talk or inducements

2. to acquire, win, or obtain by beguiling talk or methods

permutations

changes

alterations

transformations