Direct Hits 4

draconian

Characterized by very strict laws, rules, and punishments.

laconic

Very brief; concise; SUCCINCT; TERSE.

spartan

Plain; simple; AUSTERE.

halcyon

Idyllically calm and peaceful; an untroubled golden time of satisfaction, happiness, and tranquility.

sophistry

A plausible but deliberately misleading or FALLACIOUS argument designed to deceive someone.

chimerical

Given to fantastic schemes; existing only in the imagination; impossible; vainly conceived.

ostracize

To deliberately exclude from a group; to BANISH.

impecunious

Poor; penniless; NOT AFFLUENT.

nefarious

Famous for being wicked; VILLAINOUS; vile.

jovial

Good-humored; cheerful; JOCULAR.

dirge

A funeral hymn; a slow, mournful, LUGUBRIOUS musical composition.

maudlin

Tearful; excessively sentimental, but not MAWKISH.

quixotic

Foolishly impractical in the pursuit of ideals; impractical idealism.

pandemonium

A wild uproar; tumult.

martinet

A strict disciplinarian; a person who demands absolute adherence to forms and rules.

asco

A complete failure; a DEBACLE.

bowdlerize

To remove or delete parts of a book, song or other work that are considered offensive; to EXPURGATE.

galvanize

To electrify; to stir into action as if with an electric shock.

picayune

Small value or importance; petty; trifling.

gerrymander

To divide a geographic area into voting districts so as to give unfair advantage to one party in elections.

maverick

An independent individual who does not go along with a group or party; a nonconformist.

juggernaut

An irresistible force that crushes everything in its path.

serendipity

Discovery by fortunate accident.

zenith

The highest point; the peak; the APEX.

nadir

The lowest point; the bottom.