Assiduous adj. 1. Constant in application or attention; diligent: “An assiduous worker who strove for perfection.” 2. Unceasing; persistent: “Assiduous cancer research.”

Precarious adj. 1. Dangerously lacking in security or stability: “The precarious life of an undercover cop.” 2. Subject to chance or unknown conditions. 3. Based on uncertain, unwarranted, or unproved premises. “A precarious solution to a difficult problem.”

Guile n. Treacherous cunning; skillful deceit. Particular skill and cleverness in tricking or deceiving people. “Considerable guile was involved in the transaction.”

Obtuse adj. 1. Lacking quickness of perception or intellect. 2. Characterized by a lack of intelligence or sensitivity. “An obtuse remark.” 3. Not distinctly felt. “An obtuse pain.”

Intrepid adj. 1. Resolutely courageous; fearless. Persistent in the pursuit of something. “A team of intrepid explorers.”

Acrimonious adj. 1. Bitter and sharp in language or tone; rancorous: “An acrimonious debate between the two candidates.”

Demure adj. 1. Modest and reserved in manner or behavior. “Despite her demure appearance, she is an accomplished mountain climber.”

Divisive adj. Creating dissension or discord; Causing disagreement or hostility within a group so that it is likely to split. “Divisive politics.”

Pervasive adj. Having the quality or tendency to pervade or permeate. “The pervasive odor of garlic.”

Benevolent adj. 1. Charitable: performing good or charitable acts and not seeking to make a profit. 2. Characterized by or suggestive of doing good; showing kindness or goodwill.

Truculent adj. Eager or quick to argue or fight; aggressively defiant. “Truculent children.”

Garish adj. 1. Marked by strident color or excessive ornamentation; gaudy. 2. Loud and flashy. “Garish makeup.”

Supercilious adj. 1. Full of contempt and arrogance. 2. Behaving as if or showing that a person thinks they are better than other people, and that their opinions, beliefs or ideas are not important, condescending. “He spoke in a haughty, supercilious voice.”

Systemic adj. Relating to or common to a system. A problem, risk, or change that is a basic one, experienced by the whole of a system or organization and not just particular parts of it. “The systemic risks of the investment.”

Hubris n. 1. Overbearing pride or presumption; arrogance. 2. A strong belief in a person’s own importance. “He was disciplined for his hubris.”

Precipitous adj. Done rashly: acting too quickly and without sufficient thought. “Excessive spending caused the precipitous demise of the company.”

Specificity n. 1. The condition or state of being specific rather than general. “His input added a desirable note of specificity to the discussion.”

Avarice n. Immoderate desire, greed for wealth: an unreasonably strong desire to obtain and keep money. “His life was consumed by ambition and avarice.”

Extrapolate v.tr. To infer or estimate by extending or projecting known information. “He extrapolated the historical data to determine the projected outcome.”

Prolific adj. Productive: Producing abundant works or results. “A prolific artist.” “A prolific writer.”

Haughty adj. Condescending: behaving in a superior, condescending, or arrogant way. “He always seemed haughty in company meetings.”

Synergism n. Interaction of discrete agencies or conditions where the total effect is greater than the sum of the individual parts. “The directors saw considerable synergism in the business merger.” (also Synergy).

Extemporaneous adj. 1. Unrehearsed. Done or said without advance preparation or thought; impromptu. 2. Prepared in advance but delivered without notes or text: “An extemporaneous speech.”

Furtive adj. 1. Marked by quiet, caution or secrecy; taking pains to avoid being observed. “A furtive kiss.” 2. Characterized by stealth; surreptitious. “A furtive attempt to take control of the business.”

Anecdotal adj. Based on casual observations or indications rather than rigorous or scientific analysis: “There is anecdotal evidence that the stock will soon double in price.”

Sanguine adj. Cheerfully optimistic, hopeful, or confident: “A sanguine disposition;” “Sanguine expectations.”

Feckless adj. 1. Careless and irresponsible. “The kids were feckless during spring break.” 2. Lacking purpose or vitality; feeble or ineffective – unlikely to be successful. “It was a feckless attempt to make the company

Innocuous adj. 1. Having no adverse effect; harmless. 2. Not likely to offend or provoke to strong emotion; insipid. “The innocuous looking e-mail actually contained a virus.”

Autonomous adj. 1. Independent in mind or judgment; self-directed. 2. Not controlled by others or by outside forces; independent: “The business divisions operate autonomously.”

Mercurial adj.  1. Quick and changeable in temperament; volatile: “His mercurial temperament made him difficult to work for.”

Petulant; Petulance adj. 1. Contemptuous in speech or behavior. 2. Unreasonably irritable or ill-tempered; rude. “She was fired over her petulant attitude to our customers.”

Plethora n. A superabundance; an excessive amount or number: “Upon returning from the trip, she had a plethora of calls to make.”

Ephemeral adj. 1. Lasting for a markedly brief time: “The ephemeral nature of fashion trends.” 2. Living or lasting only for a day, as with certain plants or insects.

Myriad adj.  Constituting a very large, indefinite number; innumerable: “The myriad snowflakes in the winter.”

Dogmatic adj. 1. Expressing rigid opinions; Prone to expressing strongly held beliefs and opinions. “A dogmatic speech.” 2. Asserting opinions in a doctrinaire or arrogant manner; opinionated.

Capricious adj.  Characterized by or subject to whim; impulsive and unpredictable. “He’s such a capricious boss I never know how he’ll react.”

Gregarious adj. 1. Seeking and enjoying the company of others; sociable. “She is a gregarious, outgoing person.”

Visceral adj. 1. Instinctual: proceeding from instinct rather than from reasoned thinking or intellect. “A visceral business decision.” 2. Emotional: characterized by or showing crude or elemental emotions.

Auspicious adj. Marked by success; prosperous. Suggesting a positive and successful future. “An auspicious time to purchase the stock.”

Pensive [pen·sive] adj. Deeply, often wistfully or dreamily thoughtful. Expressive of melancholy thoughtfulness. “She was feeling pensive after seeing an old boyfriend.”

Cognitive [cog·ni·tive] adj. 1. Relating to the process of acquiring knowledge by the use of reasoning, intuition, or perception. 2. Having a basis in or reducible to empirical factual knowledge. “A Cognitive model for success.”

Specious adj.  1. Having the ring of truth or plausibility but actually fallacious. “A specious argument.” 2. Deceptively attractive.

Quixotic [quix·ot·ic] adj. 1. Idealistic without regard to practicality; impractical. 2. Impulsive: tending to act on whims or impulses. “It was clearly a quixotic case against the defendant.”

Incredulous [in·cred·u·lous] adj. 1. Skeptical; disbelieving. “Most people are incredulous of stories about flying saucers.” 2. Expressive of disbelief. “An incredulous stare.”

Odious (o·di·ous) adj. Extremely unpleasant; repulsive. Deserving of hatred or repugnance. “The detective said it was the most odious crime she had ever seen.”

Acerbic [a·cer·bic] adj. Sharp or biting, as in character or expression. “The director occasionally allowed an acerbic tone to an otherwise subtle dialogue.”

Esoteric [es·o·ter·ic] adj. 1. Difficult to understand; abstruse. 2. Not publicly disclosed; confidential. 3. Of rare, special, or unusual interest. “Her software’s success was based on an esoteric programming language.”

Incongruous [in·con·gru·ous] adj. 1. Lacking in harmony; incompatible. 2. Not in agreement, as with principles; inconsistent. “A plan incongruous with reason.” 3. Not in keeping with what is correct, proper, or logical; inappropriate. “She showed incongruous behavior.”

Ominous [om·i·nous] adj. Menacing; threatening. “Ominous black clouds;” “An ominous scream prior to the shooting.”

Anachronism n. One that is out of its proper, chronological, or historical order, especially a person or practice that belongs to an earlier time. “A sword is an anachronism in modern warfare.”