Abate

 to lessen in intensity

or degree

Accolade

 an expression of praise

Adulation

 excessive praise;

intense adoration

Aesthetic

 dealing with, appreciative of,

or responsive to art or the beautiful

 Ameliorate

 to make better

or more tolerable

 Ascetic

one who practices rigid

self denial, esp. as

an act of religious devotion

 Avarice

greed, esp. for wealth

(adj. form; avaricious)

 Axiom

a universally recognized

principle (adj. form axiotmatic)

 Burgeon

 to grow rapidly

or flourish

Bucolic

 rustic and pastoral; characteristic

of rural areas and their inhabitants

Cacophony

harsh, jarring, discordant

sound; dissonance

(adj. form cacophonous)

 Canon

 an established set of

principles or code of laws,

often religious in nature

 Castigation

 severe criticism or punishment

(verb form: castigate)

Catalyst

 a substance that accelerates

the rate of a chemical reaction

without itself changing;

a person or a thing that causes change

Caustic

burning or stinging;

causing corrosion

Chary

wary; cautious; sparing

Cogent

 appealing forcibly to the mind

or reason; convincing

 Complaisance

 the willingness to comply

with the wishes of others (adj. form: complaisant)

 Contentious

arguementative; quarralsome;

causing contoversy or disagreement

Contrite

regretful; penitent; seeking

forgiveness (noun form: contrition)

 Culpable

deserving blame

(noun form: culpaibilty)

 Dearth

smallness of quantity or

number, scarity; a lack

Demur

 to question or oppose

Didactic

 intended to teach or instruct

Discretion

 cautious reserve in speech;

ability to make responsible descisions

(adj. form: discreet)

Disinterested

free of bias or self interest;

impatial

Dogmatic

 expressing a rigid opinion

based on unproved or improvable principles (noun form: dogma)

Ebullience

the quality of lively or

enthusiastic expression of thoughts and feelings (adj. form ebullient)

 Eclectic

composed of elements drawn

from various sources

Elegy

a mournful poem, esp.

one lamenting the dead

(adj. form elegiac)

Emollient

soothing, esp. to the skin;

making less harsh; mollifying; an agent that softens or smoothes the skin

Empirical

based on observation or

experiment

Empirical

based on observation

or experiment

Enigmatic

mysterious; obscure; difficult

to understand (noun form: enigma)

Ephemeral

 brief; fleeting

Esoteric

intended for or understood by a small, specific group

Eulogy

a speech honoring the dead

(verb form: eulogize)

 Exonerate

to remove blame

Facetious

playful; humorous

Fallacy

 an invalid or incorrect notion;

a mistaken belief

(adj. form: fallacious)

Furtive

marked by stealth; covert;

surreptitious

Gregarious

sociable; outgoing; enjoying

the company of other people

 Harangue

to deliver a pompous speech

or tirade; a long pompous speech

Heretical

violating accepted dogma or

convention (noun form: heresy)

 Hyperbole

an exaggerated statement,

often used as a figure of speech

(adj. form: hyperbolic)

Impecunious

lacking funds; without money

Incipient

beginning to come into being

or to become apparent

 Inert

 unmoving; lethargic; sluggish

 Innocuous

harmless; causing no damage

Intransigent

 refusing to compromise

(noun form: intransigence)

Inveigle

to obtain by decption or flattery

Morose

sad; sullen; melancholy

 Odious

evoking intense aversion or dislike

 Opaque

impenetrable by light;

not reflecting light

Oscillation

 the act or state of swinging back

and forth with a steady,

uninterrupted rhythm

Penurious

penny - pinching; excessively thrifty;

ungenerous

 Pernicious

 extremely harmful;

potentially causing death

Peruse

 to examine with great care

(noun form; perusal)

Pious

 extremely reverent or devout;

showing strong religious devotion

(noun form; piety)

Precursor

one that precedes and

indicates or announces another

Preen

 to dress up; to primp; to

groom oneself with elaborate care

Prodigious

abundant in size, force,

or extent; extraordinary

 Prolific

producing large volumes

or amounts; productive

Putrefy

to rot; to decay and give

off a foul odor (adj. form: putrid)

Quaff

to drink deeply

Quiescence

stillness; motionless;

quality of being at rest

Redoubtable

awe - inspiring;

worthy of honor

Sanction

authoritative permission or approval; a penalty intended to enforce compliance; to give permission or authority to

Satire

a literary work that ridicules or

criticizes a human vice through humor

or derision (adj. form satirical)

Squalid

sordid; wretched and dirty

as from neglect (noun form: squalor)

Stoic

indifferent to or unaffected

by pleasure or pain; steadfast

(noun form: stoicism)

Supplant

to take the place of;

supersede

Torpid

lethargic; sluggish;

dormant (noun form torpor)

 Ubiquitous

existing everywhere at the same time;

constantly encountered; widespread

Urbane

sophisticated; refined;

elegant (noun form: urbanity)

Vilify

to defame;

to characterize harshly

Viscous

thick; sticky

(noun form viscosity)