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

Eviscerate v. Deprive or take away (something) of its essential content. “The compromise eviscerated the proposed agreement.”

Abate v. To reduce in amount, degree, or intensity; lessen. “The wind finally abated.”

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.”

Titular adj. Relating to or constituting a title. “The titular head of the business.”

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.”

Overt adj. Done or shown openly; plainly or readily apparent, not secret or hidden. “Overt hostility.”

Intrinsic adj. Belonging naturally; essential. “Intrinsic stock value.”

Confluence [con·flu·ence] n. The act or process of merging. A flowing together of two or more streams. “A fortunate confluence of factors led to his success.”

Trepidation n. A feeling of fear or agitation about something that may or may not actually happen. “He entered the cave with considerable trepidation.”

Egress n. The action of going out of or leaving a place. “The company’s egress procedures.”

Credulous; Credulity adj. A tendency to be too ready to believe that something is real or true. “A credulous rumor.”

Opprobrious adj. Disgraceful; shameful. “His actions were opprobrious.”

Sentient adj. Characterized by sensation and consciousness. Able to perceive or feel things: “Sentient life forms.”

Propensity n. An inclination or natural tendency to behave in a particular way. “He has a propensity for clear thinking.”

Sycophant [syc·o·phant] n. A person who acts attentively toward someone in order to gain advantage; a servile flatterer.

Perfidious adj. Deceitful and untrustworthy. “A perfidious relationship.”

Evocative; Evocate adj. Bringing strong memories, images, or feelings to mind.

Voracious adj. An eager approach to an activity; Wanting or devouring great quantities of something or somebody: “She has a voracious appetite for life.”

Insular adj. Ignorant of or uninterested in cultures, ideas, or people outside a person’s own experience. “An insular taste in music.” Lacking contact with other people. “She seemed too insular to leave her house.”

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.”