prediction

wry

Using or expressing dry, especially mocking, humor; twisted to one side.

winsome

Attractive or appealing in a fresh, innocent way.

vociferous

Expressing or characterized by vehement opinions; loud and forceful.

tenacious

Tending to keep a firm hold of something; persistent.

torpor

A state of physical or mental inactivity; lethargy.

trenchant

Vigorous or incisive in expression or style.

truculent

Eager or quick to argue or fight; aggressively defiant.

ubiquitous

Present, appearing, or found everywhere.

unanimity

Agreement by all people involved; complete accord.

underpin

To support, justify, or form the basis for.

unequivocal

Leaving no doubt; clear and unambiguous.

urbane

(Of a person) suave, courteous, and refined in manner.

utilitarian

Designed to be useful or practical rather than attractive.

vacillate

To alternate or waver between different opinions or actions.

venal

Showing or motivated by susceptibility to bribery; corruptible.

virulent

Extremely severe or harmful in its effects; bitterly hostile.

serendipitous

Occurring or discovered by chance in a happy or beneficial way.

solicitous

Characterized by or showing interest or concern.

spurious

Not being what it purports to be; false or fake.

staid

Sedate, respectable, and unadventurous.

staunch

Very loyal and committed in attitude.

steadfast

Resolutely or dutifully firm and unwavering.

surmount

To overcome a difficulty or obstacle.

surreptitious

Kept secret, especially because it would not be approved of.

temperate

Showing moderation or self-restraint; (of climate) mild.

recondite

(Of a subject or knowledge) little known; abstruse.

repudiate

To refuse to accept or be associated with; to deny the truth of.

reticent

Not revealing one's thoughts or feelings readily.

sagacious

Having or showing keen mental discernment and good judgment.

sanguine

Optimistic or positive, especially in an apparently bad situation.

sardonic

Grimly mocking or cynical.

scrupulous

Diligent, thorough, and extremely attentive to details; morally upright.

presage

To be a sign or warning of a future event.

prescient

Having or showing knowledge of events before they take place.

probity

The quality of having strong moral principles; honesty.

prodigal

Spending money or resources freely and recklessly; wastefully extravagant.

prodigious

Remarkably or impressively great in extent, size, or degree.

prolix

(Of speech or writing) using or containing too many words; tediously lengthy.

propitious

Giving or indicating a good chance of success; favorable.

prosaic

Commonplace; unromantic.

provincial

Relating to a province; narrow-minded or unsophisticated.

prudent

Acting with or showing care and thought for the future.

purport

To appear or claim to be or do something, especially falsely.

querulous

Complaining in a petulant or whining manner.

quixotic

Exceedingly idealistic; unrealistic and impractical.

ramify

To form branches or offshoots; to spread out.

rancor

Bitterness or resentfulness, especially when long-standing.

recalcitrant

Having an obstinately uncooperative attitude toward authority.

paramount

More important than anything else; supreme.

parsimonious

Extremely unwilling to spend money or use resources; stingy.

pedantic

Excessively concerned with minor details or rules.

perfunctory

(Of an action) carried out with a minimum of effort or reflection.

perspicacious

Having a ready insight into and understanding of things.

plague

To cause continual trouble or distress to.

platitude

A remark or statement that has been used too often to be interesting or thoughtful.

polemical

Of or involving strongly critical or disputatious writing or speech.

preclude

To prevent from happening; to make impossible.

predilection

A preference or special liking for something.

misgiving

A feeling of doubt or apprehension about the outcome or consequences of something.

morose

Sullen and ill-tempered.

multitude

A large number of people or things.

myopic

Nearsighted; lacking imagination or foresight.

nascent

Just coming into existence and beginning to display signs of future potential.

nebulous

In the form of a cloud or haze; unclear, vague, or ill-defined.

obdurate

Stubbornly refusing to change one's opinion or course of action.

obeisance

Deferential respect or homage; a bow or curtsy.

oblique

Neither parallel nor at right angles; slanting; not explicit or direct.

onerous

Involving an amount of effort and difficulty that is oppressively burdensome.

opaque

Not able to be seen through; hard to understand.

oscillate

To move or swing back and forth at a regular speed; to waver between extremes.

ostensible

Stated or appearing to be true, but not necessarily so.

ostentatious

Designed to impress or attract notice; showy.

largesse

Generosity in bestowing money or gifts upon others.

legerdemain

Skilled use of one's hands; trickery or deception.

limpid

(Of a liquid) completely clear and transparent; (of writing) lucid.

loquacious

Tending to talk a great deal; talkative.

lugubrious

Looking or sounding sad and dismal.

machination

A plot or scheme, especially a sinister one.

magnanimous

Generous or forgiving, especially toward a rival or less powerful person.

malfeasance

Wrongdoing, especially by a public official.

mawkish

Sentimental in a feeble or sickly way.

mendacious

Not telling the truth; lying.

mercurial

(Of a person) subject to sudden or unpredictable changes of mood.

meretricious

Apparently attractive but having no real value; tawdry.

mettle

A person's ability to cope well with difficulties; spirit and resilience.

minatory

Expressing or conveying a threat.

mirth

Amusement, especially as expressed in laughter.

inimical

Tending to obstruct or harm; hostile.

inscrutable

Impossible to understand or interpret.

insouciant

Free from concern, worry, or anxiety; carefree.

insular

Ignorant of or uninterested in cultures, ideas, or peoples outside one's own experience.

interdict

To forbid or prohibit authoritatively.

intractable

Hard to control or deal with.

intransigent

Refusing to agree or compromise; uncompromising.

invective

Insulting, abusive, or highly critical language.

inveigh

To speak or write about something with great hostility.

inveterate

Having a particular habit, activity, or interest that is long-established and unlikely to change.

irascible

Having or showing a tendency to be easily angered.

jejune

Naive, simplistic, and superficial; (of ideas) dull.

kowtow

To act in an excessively subservient manner.