Contentious adj. Causing or likely to cause an argument; controversial. Involving a heated argument. “The terms of the agreement remain contentious between the parties.”

Pontificate [pon·tif·i·cate] v. To speak or behave in a pompous or dogmatic manner. “He pontificates at great length in political matters.”

Corpulent [cor·pu·lent] adj. Physically bulky; fat. “The once corpulent woman is now trim and fit

Dubious [du·bi·ous] adj. Hesitating or doubting. Not to be relied upon; suspect. “He seemed dubious about the idea.”

Slavish [slav·ish] adj. Showing no originality; blindly imitative: “A slavish copy of the original work.”

Reciprocal; Reciprocate [re·cip·ro·cal] adj. Done or performed in return: “Reciprocal respect.”

Frugal; Frugality [fru·gal] adj. Economical with regard to money or food. Simple and plain that costs very little: “A frugal meal.”

Docile [doc·ile] adj. Submissive. Ready to accept control or instruction. “The dog was very docile around children.”

Gravitas [grav·i·tas] n. Dignity, seriousness, or solemnity in manner. “He has the necessary gravitas to lead the company.”

Incendiary [in·cen·di·ar·y] adj. Designed to cause fires. “An incendiary device.”

Dismal [dis·mal] adj Gloomy. Depressing; dreary. “The business was a dismal failure;” “Dismal weather.”

Provenance [prov·e·nance] n. The beginning of something’s existence; something’s origin. The place of origin or earliest known history of something. “An exquisite vase of Chinese provenance.”

Tepid [tep·id] adj. Showing little enthusiasm: “The president had a tepid response to the proposal.”

Efficacious [ef·fi·ca·cious] adj. Successful in producing a desired or intended result; effective. “Efficacious treatment for the disease.”

Incorrigible [in·cor·ri·gi·ble] adj. Not able to be corrected, improved, or reformed. “His bad habits were incorrigible.”

Malicious [ma·li·cious] adj. Characterized by malice; intending or intended to do harm. “Malicious rumors.”

Doleful [dole·ful] adj Expressing sorrow; mournful. “A doleful look.” Causing misfortune or grief. “Doleful consequences.”

Bromide n. A commonplace remark or notion; a platitude. “Her speech contained the usual bromides about teamwork.” A tiresome or dull person; a bore

Bromide n. A commonplace remark or notion; a platitude. “Her speech contained the usual bromides about teamwork.” A tiresome or dull person; a bore.

Abstruse [ab·struse] adj. Difficult to understand; obscure. “An abstruse argument presented by the lawyers.”

Veracity [ve·rac·i·ty] n. Conformity to facts; accuracy. “What is the veracity of these allegations.” Habitual truthfulness. “Her veracity and character.”

Sardonic adj. Grimly mocking or cynical. “His sardonic smile.”

Predacious [pre·da·cious] adj. Predatory; Given to victimizing, plundering, or destroying for one’s own gain. “A victim of predacious behavior.”

Capacious [ca·pa·cious] adj. Having a lot of space inside; roomy. “A capacious closet.”

Vitriol; Vitriolic [vit·ri·ol] n. Cruel, bitter, scathing criticism; Abusive feeling or expression. “A vitriolic tone of voice.”

Alchemy [al·che·my] n. 1. A power or process of transforming something common into something special. 2. An inexplicable or mysterious process by which paradoxical results are achieved with no obvious rational explanation.

Indolent; Indolence [in·do·lent] n. Having or showing a disposition to avoid exertion; slothful, lazy: “an indolent person.”

Caprice [ca·price] n. A sudden and unaccountable change of mood or behavior.

Existential [ex·is·ten·tial] adj. (1) Of or relating to existence. (2) Concerned with existence, esp. human existence as viewed in the theories of existentialism. “An existential threat.”

Facetious [fa·ce·tious] adj. Treating serious issues with deliberately inappropriate humor; flippant.

Tactile [tac·tile] adj. (1) Of or connected with the sense of touch. (2) Perceptible by touch or apparently so; tangible: “A tactile keyboard.”

Propitious [pro·pi·tious] adj. (1) Indicating a good chance of success; favorable. “It was a propitious time to leave the party without offending the host.” (2) Favorably disposed toward someone.

Divergence [di·ver·gence] n. (1) A difference or conflict in opinions, interests, wishes, etc. (2) The process or state of diverging.

Mitigate [mit·i·gate] v. (1) Make less severe, serious, or painful: “he wanted to mitigate the damages in court.” (2) Lessen the gravity of (an offense or mistake).

Luminous [lu·mi·nous] adj. Bright or shining, esp. in the dark. Glowing with health, vigor, or a particular emotion: “Her eyes were luminous with joy.”

Austerity [aus·ter·i·ty] n. (1) Sternness or severity of manner or attitude. (2) Extreme plainness and simplicity of style or appearance.

Fractious [frac·tious] adj. (1) Easily irritated; bad-tempered: “they fight and squabble like fractious kids.” (2) (of an organization) Difficult to control; unruly.

Abysmal [a·bys·mal] adj. Extremely bad; appalling. “The results were pretty abysmal;” “Abysmal failure.”

Atrocious [a·tro·cious] adj. Horrifyingly wicked: “Atrocious cruelties.” Of a very poor quality; extremely bad or unpleasant: “Atrocious weather.”

Endemic [en·dem·ic] adj. Native to a specific region or environment and not occurring naturally anywhere else. “Malaria is endemic in tropical climates.” (n.) An endemic plant or animal.

Paradox [par·a·dox] n. A statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth. An opinion or statement contrary to commonly accepted opinion, but may be factual.

Superfluous [su·per·flu·ous] adj. Unnecessary, being beyond what is required or sufficient. “The repeated warnings were superfluous.” “Superfluous details.”

Lascivious adj. Feeling or revealing an overt and often offensive sexual desire. “He gave her a lascivious wink.” Inclined to lustfulness; wanton; lewd. “The lascivious old man.”

Didactic [di·dac·tic] adj. (1) Intended to teach, particularly in having moral instruction as an ulterior motive. (2) In the manner of a teacher, particularly so as to treat someone in a patronizing way. “The didactic speech influenced the weaker members of the audience

Decadent [dec·a·dent] n. A person who is luxuriously self-indulgent. (adj.) Characterized by or reflecting a state of decay or cultural decline, as in being self-indulgent or morally corrupt.

Innervate [in·ner·vate] v. To stimulate or supply nervous energy.

Insolent [in·so·lent] adj. Showing a rude or arrogant lack of respect. “The child’s insolentbehavior was unacceptable.”

Garrulous [gar·ru·lous] adj. Excessively talkative, especially on trivial matters. “A garrulousreprimand.”

Vacuous [vac·u·ous] adj. Having or showing a lack of thought or intelligence; mindless: “a vacuous smile.”

Juxtapose [jux·ta·pose] tr.v. 1. To place side by side, especially for comparison or contrast. “The exhibition juxtaposes Picasso’s early drawings with some of his later works.”