Modicum is a formal word that means “a small amount.” It is almost always used with of.

// The band enjoyed a modicum of success in the early 2010s before becoming an international sensation.

Bumptious describes people who are rudely and often noisily confident or over-assertive. It can also be applied to actions or behaviors that show this same attitude.

// Our host apologized for the bumptious party guest who caused a scene before being asked to leave.

Risible is a formal word used disapprovingly to describe things that deserve to be mocked or laughed at because they are absurd or unreasonable.

// Although the teachers derided the students’ slang as risible nonsense, the same had been said about their own generation’s lingo.

A ziggurat is an ancient Mesopotamian temple consisting of a pyramidal structure built in successive stages with outside staircases and a shrine at the top. The word ziggurat is also sometimes used for a similarly shaped structure.

// Ancient ziggurats were always built with a core of mud brick and an exterior covered with baked brick. They had no internal chambers and were usually square or rectangular.

Something described as convoluted is very complicated and difficult to understand, or has many curves and turns.

// The speaker’s argument was so convoluted that most of the audience had trouble determining whether they were for or against the new policy.

// The route from the airport to the village was long and convoluted.

Argot is language particular to a specific group. It can mean a kind of slang, a technical language or a code. In high school, only those who spend their time studying computer manuals could understand the argot of the computer lab kids.

Alacrity refers to a quick and cheerful readiness to do something.

// She accepted the invitation to go on the trip with an alacrity that surprised her parents, who had assumed she wouldn’t be interested.

Decimate can mean both “to destroy a large number of (plants, animals, people, etc.)” or “to severely damage or destroy a large part of (something).”

// The bay’s lobsters have been decimated by disease.

// Budget cuts have decimated public services throughout the state.