Accolade

praise

Disdained

Allusion

indirect reference

Dowager
elevate social status

Ambivalent

unable to decide

Anecdote
short account of
something interesting; story

showed contempt for

an elderly woman of

Dubious

doubtful

Egalitarian

equal; believer in equality

Anomalous

odd; not fitting the pattern

Epitomizes

acts as a typical example of

Apparition
'appears'

ghost; something that

Equivocate

speak ambiguously/vaguely

Evasiveness

trying to avoid something

Aspersion
remark

negative feeling; damaging

Candid

truthful

Capricious

changeable; fickle

Cherished

cared for; firmly-held

Cliche

over-used expression

Convoluted

complicated or long-winded

Cryptic

hidden

Decorous
of behavior)
Denunciation
Derailed
Derivative

Foraging

searching for food

act of speaking out against

thrown off course
unoriginal

Despotic

acting like a tyrant

Detritus

rubbish

become fixed and rigid

Ostentatious

showy

Perfidy

treachery; betrayal

Prohibitive

very expensive

Prudence
Resonance

wisdom; caution
echo

Respite`

break (from work etc.)

Resurgence

revival

Sparse

thin; not thick

Iconoclast
person who goes against
accepted authority

Stringent

strict

Idiosyncratic

quirky; unique to an individual

Supercilious

arrogant

Imponderable

cannot be understood

Transcend

go beyond a limit

Variegated

multi colored

Venerable

worthy of respect

Ailurophile

A cat-lover.

Indigence
Inept

extreme poverty
clumsy

Inherent
good and correct (used

Ossified

inbuilt; genetic

Irrefutable

cannot be proved wrong

Assemblage

A gathering.

Loquacious
words

talkative; using too many

Becoming

Attractive.

Beleaguer

To exhaust with attacks.

Mendicancy

begging

Brood

To think alone.

Metaphorical

not literal; figurative

Bucolic

In a lovely rural setting.

Milieu

environment; surroundings

Bungalow

A small, cozy cottage.

Chatoyant

Like a cat's eye.

Comely

Attractive.

Mitigated

made less severe

Diaphanous

very thin and transparent

often-used saying

Nascent
stage of development

just begun; in an early

Dictum
Dilettante

person who dabbles in the arts

Obtrusive

easily seen

Conflate

To blend together.

Cynosure
admiration.

A focal point of

Halcyon
free.

Demesne

Dominion, territory.

Demure

Shy and reserved.

Harbinger
future.

Denouement

The resolution of a mystery.

Desuetude

Disuse.

Desultory
Diaphanous

Slow, sluggish.
Filmy.

Dissemble

Deceive.

Dulcet

Sweet, sugary.

Effervescent

Bubbly.

Efflorescence

Flowering, blooming.

Embrocation

Rubbing on a lotion.

Emollient
Ephemeral

A softener.
Short-lived.

Epiphany

A sudden revelation.

Erstwhile

At one time, for a time.

Ethereal
detectable.

Gaseous, invisible but

Evanescent
Vanishing quickly, lasting a
very short time.
Evocative

Suggestive.

Felicity

Pleasantness.

Forbearance
provocation.

Withholding response to

Gossamer
spider's silk

The finest piece of thread, a

Happy, sunny, care-

Messenger with news of the

Imbrication
Overlapping and forming a
regular pattern.
Imbroglio
An altercation or
complicated situation.
Imbue

To infuse, instill.

Incipient
stage.

eginning, in an early

Ineffable
inexpressible.

Unutterable,

Ingnue

A nave young woman.

Opulent

Lush, luxuriant.

Palimpsest
earlier ones.

A manuscript written over

Panacea
problems

A solution for all

Pastiche
An art work combining
materials from various sources.
Penumbra

A half-shadow.

Petrichor
rain.

The smell of earth after

Plethora

A large quantity.

Propinquity

An inclination.

Pyrrhic

Successful with heavy losses.

Inglenook

A cozy nook by the hearth.

Quintessential Most essential.

Insouciance

Blithe nonchalance.

Ravel

Inure

To become jaded.

Redolent

Fragrant.

Labyrinthine

Twisting and turning.

Riparian
stream.

By the bank of a

Lagniappe

A special kind of gift.

Languor

Listlessness, inactivity.

Lassitude

Weariness, listlessness.

Lilt
Lissome

To move musically or lively.

Slender and graceful.

Lithe

Slender and flexible.

Mellifluous

Sweet sounding.

Mondegreen

A slip of the ear.

Murmurous

Murmuring.

To knit or unknit.

Ripple

A very small wave.

Scintilla

A spark or very small thing.

Sempiternal

Eternal.

Seraglio
palace or harem.

Rich, luxurious oriental

Serendipity
Finding something nice while
looking for something else.
Sumptuous

Lush, luxurious.

Surreptitious

Secretive, sneaky.

Susurrous

Whispering, hissing.

Tintinnabulation
Untoward

Tinkling.

Vestigial

Unseemly, inappropriate.

Wafture

In trace amounts.
Waving.

Woebegone

Sorrowful, downcast.