Accolade
An expression of approval; a special acknowledgment, such as an award
Acrimony
Bitter, sharp hostility, esp. in a speech
Angst
A feeling of anxiety or apprehension
Anomaly
Someone or something that deviates from normal/common form, order, or rule; abnormality
Antidote
An agent that counteracts something that is poisonous or otherwise harmful
Avant-garde
A group that creates/promotes innovative or unconventional ideas in a given field, esp. the arts
Baroque
Extravagant, complex, or bizarre, esp. in ornamentation
Bona fide
Made or carried out in good faith; sincere; authentic; genuine
Boondoggle
An unnecessary or wasteful activity
Bourgeois
Relating to/typical of the middle class, esp. in espousing respectability and conventional materialistic values
Bravado
A show of bravery or defiance, often intended to make an impression or mislead someone
Brogue
A strong dialectal accent, esp. a strong Irish or Scottish accent in English
Brusque
Abrupt and curt in manner or speech; discourteously blunt
Byzantine
Highly complicated; intricate and involved
Cacophony
Jarring, discordant sound
Camaraderie
Goodwill and lighthearted rapport between or among friends; comradeship
Capricious
Characterized by or subject to whim; impulsive and unpredictable
Carte blanche
Unrestricted power to act at one's own discretion; unconditional authority
Catch-22
A situation where a desired outcome or solution is impossible to attain b/c contradictory rules/conditions
Caustic
Incisively critical or sarcastic; cutting
Charisma
Exceptional personal magnetism or charm
Cloying
Causing distaste or disgust because of an excess of something originally pleasant
Déjà vu
An impression of having seen or experienced something before
Dichotomy
A division into two contrasting things or parts
Dilettante
A person with superficial interest in an art/field of knowledge; a dabbler; superficial; amateurish
Disheveled
Being in loose disarray; marked by disorder; untidy
Élan
Enthusiastic vigor and liveliness; distinctive style or flair
Ennui
Listlessness and dissatisfaction resulting from lack of interest; boredom
Epitome
The best or most representative example of a class or type
Equanimity
The quality of being calm and even-tempered; composure
Equivocate
To use vague or ambiguous language to avoid committing oneself to a position or to deceive
Esoteric
Intended for or understood by only a restricted number of people
Euphemism
A mild, indirect, or vague word used instead of one considered harsh, blunt, or offensive
Fait accompli
An accomplished, presumably irreversible deed or fact
Fastidious
Possessing or displaying meticulous attention to detail; excessively scrupulous or sensitive, esp. in taste
Faux pas
A social blunder
Fiasco
A complete failure
Finagle
To obtain or achieve something by cleverness or deviousness, esp. in using words
Freudian slip
A verbal mistake that is thought to reveal an unconscious belief, thought, or emotion
Glib
Performed with natural, offhand ease; marked by ease/fluency of speech/writing from insincerity
Gregarious
Seeking and enjoying the company of others; sociable
Harbinger
Something that indicates or foreshadows what is to come; a forerunner
Hedonist
A person who is devoted to the pursuit of pleasure, esp. to the pleasure of the senses
Heresy
An opinion or a teaching at variance with established beliefs or opinions
Idiosyncratic
Peculiar to a specific individual or group
Idyllic
Tranquil, carefree, or picturesque
Indelicate
Marked by a lack of good taste or consideration for the feelings of others; tactless or improper
Infinitesimal
Immeasurably or incalculably small
Insidious
Doing harm in a subtle or imperceptible manner; treacherous
Junket
A trip or tour, esp. taken by an official at public expense or by a guest of a business-seeking patron
Kitsch
Art or other objects appealing to popular taste, as by being gaudy or overly sentimental
Litany
A repetitive recital or list
Lurid
Characterized by vivid description or explicit details that are meant to provoke or shock
Machiavellian
Characterized by cunning and deceit
Malaise
A general sense of unease
Propriety
Conformity to prevailing customs and usages
Quid pro quo
Something given in return for something else or accepted as a reciprocal exchange
Quintessential
Being the best or most typical example of its kind
Red herring
Something that draws attention away from the matter at hand
Revel
To take great pleasure or delight in something
Rhetoric
Language that is intended to persuade, esp. when viewed as lacking intellectual merit
Scintillating
Lively and exceptionally intelligent; animated and brilliant
Spartan
Rigorously self-disciplined or self-restrained; having a simple or severe manner or appear.
Stigma
An association of disgrace or public disapproval with a characteristic, condition, or behavior
Stoic
Seemingly indifferent to pleasure and pain; showing little or no emotion
Suave
Gracious and sophisticated
Svengali
A person who manipulates or controls another for malicious purposes, esp. by personality
Sycophant
A person who attempts to gain advantage by flattering influential people; submissive
Teetotaler
One who abstains completely from alcoholic beverages
Tête-à-tête
A private conversation between two people
Tirade
A long, angry speech, usually of a critical nature
Tryst
An agreement, as between lovers, to meet at a certain time and place; a meeting or mtg place
Ubiquitous
Being or seeming to be everywhere at the same time
Unrequited
Not given, rewarded, or felt in return
Untenable
Impossible to maintain or defend, as against criticism; impossible to tolerate or endure
Vicarious
Experienced or felt by empathy with or imaginary participation in the life of another person
Vile
Loathsome; disgusting; morally depraved or wicked
Waft
To move or cause to move gently and smoothly through the air
White elephant
A possession that is burdensome to or unwanted by its owner
Zealous
Passionately devoted to a cause, ideal, or goal
Malinger
To fake illness in order to avoid work or duty
Mantra
A word or phrase that is expressed repeatedly, as in reaffirming an idea or motivating someone
Maudlin
Excessively sentimental
Mercenary
Motivated solely by a desire for monetary or material gain
Minimalist
Characterized by the use of only the simplest or most essential elements, as in arts, lit, design
Misnomer
A name wrongly or unsuitably applied to a person or an object
Narcissist
One who is excessively preoccupied with oneself; an extremely self-centered person
Nirvana
An ideal condition of harmony, stability, or joy
Non sequitur
A statement that does not follow logically from what precedes it
Nouveau riche
Characterized by newly acquired wealth, esp. when it is flaunted
Oblivion
The condition of being completely forgotten; a condition of total forgetfulness
Ogle
To stare at something, esp. in a desirous or impertinent manner
Ostentatious
Characterized by showiness meant to impress others; pretentious in display
Ostracize
To exclude from a group
Panacea
A remedy for all diseases, evils, or difficulties; a cure-all
Paradox
A statement that seems to contradict itself but that may nonetheless be true
Peevish
Discontented or irritable
Perfunctory
Done routinely and with little interest or care
Philistine
A person who is smugly indifferent or antagonistic to art and culture; displaying or characterizing the attitude
Precocious
Displaying or characterized by unusually early development or maturity, esp. in intelligence