SPELLING

abstemious

moderate in eating and drinking

acumen

ability to judge well

auspicious

favored by fortune

belie

to show to be false

bellicose

eager to fight

bowdlerize

remove (a written work) by removing or modifying passages

chicanery

trickery or deception

churlish

difficult to work or deal with

circumlocution

the use of more words than necessary

deciduous

not permanent

deleterious

harmful; injurious

diffident

lacking confidence in one’s own ability

enervate

to deprive of force (weaken)

equinox

time when the sun crosses the plane of the earth’s equator

echelon

a level of worthiness

facetious

not meant to be taken seriously

fatuous

foolish or insane

feckless

ineffective; incompetent

gauche

someone who is socially clumsy

hegemony

leadership or predominant influence