acme

(n.) highest point

s:  summit, top, peak, pinnacle

a:  low point, bottom, nadir

attribute

(n) a quality or characteristic belonging to or associated with someone or something; (v) to assign to, credit with, to regard as caused by or resulting from

s:  (n) trait; (v) ascribe

belittle

(v) to make something appear smaller than it is; to refer to in a way that suggests lack of importance or value

s:  minimize, underrate, disparage

a:  exaggerate, magnify, overestimate

convey

(v) to transport; to transmit; to communicate, make known, to transfer ownership or title to

s:  carry, send, impart

doctrine

(n) a belief, principle, or teaching; a system of such beliefs or principles; a formulation of such beliefs or principles

excise

(v) to remove by cutting; (n) an indirect tax on the manufacture, sale, or distribution of a commodity or service

s:  (v) cut out delete, expunge

a:  (v) put in, insert, interpolate

exotic

(adj) foreign, charmingly unfamiliar or strikingly unusual

s:  strange, alien, picturesque, colorful

a:  native, indigenous, familiar, commonplace

haggard

(adj) thin, pale, and careworn as a result of worry or suffering; wild looking

s:  drawn, gaunt, wasted

a:  healthy, glowing, radiant, hale,and hearty

jaunty

(adj) lively, easy and carefree in manner; smart or trim in appearance

s:  unconcerned, lighthearted

a: downcast, dejected, glum

juncture

(n) a joining together; the point at which two things are joined; any important point in time.

s:  union, seam, joint, turning point

menial

(adj) lowly, humble, lacking importance or dignity; (n) a person who does the humble and unpleasant tasks

s:  (n) underling, scullion, servant

a:  (adj) lofty, elevated; (n) boss, master

parry

(v) to ward off, fend off, deflect, evade, avoid; (n) a defensive movement in fencing and other sports

predatory

(adj) preying on, plundering, or piratical

s:  looting, pillaging, ravenous, rapacious

ravage

(v) to destroy, lay waste, ruin; (n) runous damage, destruction

s:  (v) wreck, devastate

a:  (v) spare

stance

(n) a way of holding the body, an altitude or position on an issu

s:  posture, bearing

tawdry

(adj) showy and flashy but lacking in good taste

s: loud, garish, gaudy, tacky, vulgar

a:  refined, tasteful, subdued, muted

turncoat

(n) a person who switches to an opposing side or party

s:  traitor, quisling, deserter, renegade

a:  loyalist, diehard

unassuming

(adj) not putting on airs, unpretentious, modest

s:  conceited, pretentious, self-important

wallow

(v) to roll about in a lazy, clumsy, or helpless way, to overindulge in; to have an abundance; (n) a wet, muddy or dustyarea used by animals tas a sort of bath; a state of moral or physical collapse

s:  (v) delight in bask in

waver

(v) to move to and fro, become unsteady; to show lack of firmness or decision

s:  hesitate, falter

a:  stand firm, be resolute