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.”

Nebulous [neb·u·lous] adj. 1. Lacking definition or definite content. 2. Lacking definite form or limits; vague. “The test results were nebulous and determined to be unusable.”

Exacerbate [ex·ac·er·bate] transitive verb.  To make more violent, bitter, or severe; to irritate or make worse. “The continued delays were greatly exacerbated by the lack of workers on the project.”

Temporal [tem·po·ral] adj.  Relating to, or limited by time. Lasting only for a time; not eternal.  Also: fleeting, passing, momentary, temporary, transient, short-lived. “The beneficial effects of the loan were temporal.”

Pragmatic [prag·mat·ic] adj.  More concerned with practical results than with theories and principles. “The CEO used a pragmatic approach to making his business a success.”

Diminutive [di·min·u·tive] adj. Extremely small in size; tiny. A very small person or thing. “Although diminutive in stature, they were a formidable opponent;” “A diminutive report.”