Sycophant; Sycophantic Attempting to win favor from influential people by flattery; A servile self-seeking flatterer. “There was sycophantic laughter from the audience at their bosses jokes.”

Surreptitious adj. Kept secret, particularly because it would not be approved of. “His surreptitious drug habit could land him in jail.”

Brusque adj. Abrupt and curt in manner or speech; discourteously blunt. “Her boss gave a brusque reply.”

Congruent; Congruous adj. In agreement or harmony. Suitable; appropriate. “The company’s operations were congruent with its business plan.”

Churlish adj. Rude in a mean-spirited and surly way. “It was rather churlish of him to complain about the small donations.”

Efficacy n. The ability to produce a desired or intended result. “The efficacy of the new marketing plan has not been proven.”

Amorphous adj. Without a clearly defined shape or form. Vague; ill-organized; unclassifiable. “The amorphous package caused alarm to many people in the terminal.”

Gourmand n. A person who enjoys eating and often eats too much; gluttonous. A connoisseur of good food. “The traveling gourmand seldom passed up a restaurant.”

Melancholy n. A deep, pensive, and long-lasting sadness. adj. Sad, gloomy, or depressed. “She was in a melancholy mood.”

Disparate adj. Essentially different in kind; not allowing comparison. markedly distinct in quality or character. “He is a strong leader capable of managing a disparate team to achieve their goals.”

Demonstrative adj. Tending to show feelings, especially the open expression of emotion. “A demonstrative argument.”

Accolade n. An expression of praise or admiration. An award or privilege granted; an acknowledgment of merit. “The scientist was given many accolades for his research.”

Patronize v. Treat with an apparent kindness that betrays a feeling of superiority. “She detests being patronized.” Frequent an establishment as a customer. “He always patronizes the same restaurant.”

Ardent adj. Enthusiastic or passionate. “He is an ardent sports fan.”

Servile adj. Having or showing an excessive willingness to serve or please others. “She wrote a servile letter to her upset neighbor.”

Phalanx n. A group of people or things of a similar type forming a compact body or brought together for a common purpose. “A phalanx of lawyers took charge of the case.”

Tangential adj. Superficially relevant; divergent. Diverging from a previous course or line; erratic. “He took credit for anything tangentially related to their work.”

Discern; Discerning v. Perceive or recognize (something). Distinguish (someone or something) with difficulty by sight or with the other senses. “Discern who is telling the truth.”

Canonize v. Regard as being above reproach or of great significance. “He canonized women.”

Equivocal adj. Open to more than one interpretation; ambiguous. Uncertain or questionable in nature. “Congress was equivocal on its domestic spending package.”

Audacious; Audacity adj. Showing a willingness to take risks. “An audacious attack on the company.” Showing an impudent lack of respect. “An audacious move.”

Obdurate adj. Stubbornly refusing to change one’s opinion or course of action. “Despite her plea, he remained obdurate.”

Sapid adj. Having a strong, pleasant taste; palatable. “The wine tasting was a most sapid event.” (of talk or writing) Pleasant or interesting.

Profligate Adj. Recklessly extravagant or wasteful in the use of resources. A profligate lifestyle resulted in his bankruptcy.”

Portent n. A sign or warning that something significant is likely to happen. “an occurrence of crucial portent.”

Virulent adj. Extremely severe or harmful in its effects. Bitterly hostile or antagonistic; hateful. “Virulent criticism.”

Prescient; Prescience adj. Having or showing knowledge of events before they take place; foresight. “You should be prescient about choosing your employer.”

Affinity n. A spontaneous or natural liking or sympathy for someone or something. “He has an affinity for science fiction movies.”

Timorous adj. Showing or suffering from nervousness, fear, or a lack of confidence: “A timorous demeanor.”

Recondite adj. (of a subject or knowledge) Little known, obscure, abstruse. “Recondite information.”

Obsequious adj. Obedient or attentive to an excessive degree. “The obsequious service resulted in an excellent tip.”

Colloquial (ism) adj. (of language) Used in ordinary conversation; not formal or literary. “His lecture was quite engaging due to his colloquial speech.”

Ostracize v. Exclude (someone) from a society or group. “She felt ostracized by society.”

Irascible adj. Characterized by or arising from anger. (of a person) Easily made angry. “He was always irascible and quick to get into a fight.”

pertaining to or occurring in the morning; early in the day.

Recondite [rec·on·dite] adj. (of a subject or knowledge) Little known, obscure, abstruse. “Recondite information.”

Colloquial (ism) [col·lo·qui·al] adj. (of language) Used in ordinary conversation; not formal or literary. “His lecture was quite engaging due to his colloquial speech.”

Precocious adj. Manifesting or characterized by unusually early development or maturity, especially in mental aptitude. “A precocious child.”

Assertive adj. 1.Inclined to bold or confident assertion; aggressively self-assured. “She is an assertive businesswoman.”

Ethereal adj. Characterized by lightness and insubstantiality; intangible. “Her fragrance lingered in the room, an ethereal reminder of her presence.” 2. Highly refined; delicate. “Ethereal beauty.”

Licentious adj. Promiscuous and unprincipled. Lacking moral discipline. “The judge treated her in a most licentious manner.”

Contrite [con·trite] adj. 1. Arising from sense of guilt: done or said out of a sense of guilt or remorse. 2. Very sorry: genuinely and deeply sorry about something. “He was suitably contrite.”

Futile adj. Incapable of producing any useful result; pointless. “All of his attempts to rectify the situation proved futile.”

Ingratiate tr.v. Bring oneself into favor or good graces of another, especially by deliberate effort. “She soon ingratiated herself with her new boss.”

Histrionic adj. Overly theatrical or dramatic. n. Exaggerated dramatic behavior designed to attract attention. “His histrionic reaction disrupted the meeting.”

Sagacious adj. Shrewd; showing keen mental discernment and good judgment. “A sagacious remark.”

Apoplectic adj. Overcome with anger; extremely indignant. “He showed apoplectic rage.”

Serendipity; Serendipitous n. The faculty of making fortunate discoveries by accident. “A fortunate stroke of serendipity.”

Ingratiate [in·gra·ti·ate] tr.v. Bring oneself into favor or good graces of another, especially by deliberate effort. “She soon ingratiated herself with her new boss.”

Titular [tit·u·lar] adj. Relating to or constituting a title. “The titular head of the business.”