From books

Didactic

Intended to teach or instruct, especially by giving a moral or intellectual lesson; can imply an overly instructional or preachy quality.

Pedantry

Excessive concern with minor rules, technicalities, or academic correctness, often at the expense of the larger point.

Antiquarian

Concerned with ancient or old objects, history, customs, manuscripts, artifacts, and other details of the past.

Imperious

Commanding and domineering; expecting obedience as though entitled to it.

Recalcitrant

Stubbornly resistant to authority, control, or persuasion.

Abdication

The act of giving up a position of power or responsibility, especially a throne; figuratively, a failure to fulfill a responsibility.

Expropriate

To take property from its owner, usually through legal or governmental authority, often for public use.

Connivance

Secret cooperation in or tolerance of wrongdoing; knowing complicity.

Convivial

Friendly, lively, and enjoying good company or feasting.

Paradigmatically

In a way that serves as a model or exemplary instance of something.

Interlocutors

People participating in a conversation or dialogue.

Inimical

Hostile or harmful to something; adverse.

Stultified

Made ineffective, dull, or incapable of acting or thinking freely.

Penultimate

Second-to-last.

Recapitulate

To summarize or restate the main points, especially after a longer discussion.

Panache

Distinctive flair, confidence, and stylishness in doing something.

Lurid

Shockingly vivid, sensational, or grotesquely bright.

Tawny

A warm yellowish-brown or golden-brown color.

Loup-garou

French for werewolf, especially in French-Canadian or folkloric usage.

Abraded

Worn, scraped, or rubbed away through friction.

Pelt

The skin or fur of an animal, especially when removed from the body.

Dun

A dull grayish-brown or brownish-yellow color.

Corsair

A pirate or privateer, especially historically in the Mediterranean.

Wolfsbane

A poisonous plant, especially Aconitum or monkshood; traditionally associated with werewolves in folklore.

Sardonically

With grim, mocking, often cynical humor.

Bohemian

Unconventional, artistic, and socially nonconformist; associated with a free-spirited artistic lifestyle.

Languid

Lacking energy; slow, relaxed, and almost sensuously effortless.

Brayed with laughter

Laughed loudly and harshly, like a donkey's bray.

Iniquity

Serious wickedness or injustice, especially moral wrongdoing.

Plasticine

A soft modeling clay used for making shapes or models; figuratively, something malleable or easily molded.

Traipsing

Walking casually or wearily, often with a suggestion of aimless wandering.

Efficacious

Effective; producing the intended result.

Vacillating

Unable to settle on a decision; repeatedly swinging between alternatives.

Reifying

Treating an abstract concept as though it were a concrete thing.

Phoneme

The smallest unit of sound in a spoken language capable of distinguishing meaning.

Antediluvian

Extremely old-fashioned or belonging to a very ancient period; literally, before the biblical Flood.

Precocious

Having developed abilities, intelligence, or maturity earlier than is usual for one's age.

Tawdry

Cheap, gaudy, showy, and lacking taste.

Inveterately

In a deeply established, habitual, or long-standing manner.

Recompense

To compensate, repay, or make amends; also compensation or reward given in return.

Anneal

To heat and gradually cool metal or glass to strengthen or alter it; figuratively, to strengthen or refine through experience or adversity.

Florid

Overly elaborate, decorative, or effusive in style; also, flushed or reddened.

Maugre

Archaic: despite or in spite of.

Louis-Quatorze

A style associated with the reign of Louis XIV of France, characterized especially by elaborate French Baroque design.

Propitious

Favorable or promising; likely to lead to success.

Gelid

Extremely cold or icy; figuratively, emotionally cold or unresponsive.

Vestige

A small remaining trace or remnant of something that has largely disappeared.

Countermand

To cancel, revoke, or reverse a previous order.

Abrogate

To formally abolish, repeal, or cancel a law, agreement, right, or institution.

Reprobate

A morally unprincipled or depraved person.

Tyro

A novice or beginner, especially in a specialized field.

Greenhorn

An inexperienced or naive person.

Connoisseur

An expert judge of art, food, wine, literature, or another field, especially one with highly developed taste.

Sitter

A person who sits or poses for an artist or photographer.

Blocktard

Nonstandard and derogatory slang; used to insult someone perceived as unintelligent, especially in relation to blocks or spatial tasks.

Languorously

In a languid, sensual, dreamy, or voluptuous manner.

Querulously

In a complaining, whining, or petulantly argumentative manner.

Espial

The act of seeing, discovering, or observing, especially secretly.

Incorrigible

Impossible or extremely difficult to reform or correct.

Titular

Having the title or name of a position, work, or character; existing in name or title.

Nacre-colored

Having the pearly, iridescent color of mother-of-pearl.

Gilt

Covered with a thin layer of gold; golden-looking.

Shock of grain

A bundle of harvested grain, typically standing upright or tied together.

Cab

The enclosed driver's or operator's compartment of a car, truck, train, tractor, or similar vehicle.

Diminution

A decrease or reduction in size, quantity, importance, or intensity.

Fulcrum

The fixed point or support on which a lever pivots, turns, or balances.

Rudder

A movable surface used to steer a boat, ship, or aircraft.

Ravel

To tangle or confuse; also, unusually, to untangle or separate.

Epithet

A descriptive name or phrase accompanying or replacing a person's name, often identifying a characteristic; can also mean an abusive or derogatory expression.

Anodyne

A pain-relieving substance or remedy; figuratively, something soothing or inoffensive.

Philistine

A person regarded as indifferent or hostile to art, culture, or intellectual pursuits.

Regatta

A sporting event consisting of a series of boat races.

Instantiation

The process of turning a general idea, class, or blueprint into a concrete example or instance.

Dahlia

A flowering plant of the genus Dahlia, known for large, often brightly colored flowers.

Panegyric

A formal or elaborate expression of praise.

Petulant

Easily annoyed or irritated, especially in a childish, rude, or complaining way.

Seminal work

A highly influential work that initiates or substantially shapes a new way of thinking or a field of study.

Dicta

Plural of dictum; authoritative statements, teachings, or pronouncements.

Nadir

The lowest point or worst moment of a situation; in astronomy, the point directly below an observer, opposite the zenith.

Equine

Relating to or resembling a horse.

Badgering

Persistently pestering, pressuring, or nagging someone.

Bucking

Violently kicking upward, especially like a horse; figuratively, resisting or defying a trend or expectation.

Clarinet

A woodwind instrument that uses a single reed to produce sound.

Isthmus

A narrow strip of land connecting two larger landmasses, with water on both sides.

Torpor

A state of physical or mental inactivity and reduced energy; in biology, a temporary state of reduced metabolism and activity.

Galvanization

The application of a protective zinc coating to iron or steel; figuratively, the act of stimulating or energizing people into action.

Ennui

A deep feeling of boredom, listlessness, dissatisfaction, or mental weariness.

Quotidian

Ordinary, everyday, or occurring daily.

Calamity

A great disaster, misfortune, or source of severe suffering.

Clock pendulum

The swinging regulator in a mechanical clock that controls the timing of its movement.

Protégé

A person guided, taught, and supported by a more experienced or influential mentor.

Rectitude

Moral integrity, righteousness, or strict honesty.

Obsequious

Excessively eager to obey, flatter, or please someone important, often in a servile manner.

Anatopism

Something incorrectly placed in space or geography.

Anachronism

Something incorrectly placed in time or belonging to a different historical period.

Malapropism

The mistaken use of a word in place of a similar-sounding word, often producing an absurd or humorous meaning.

Artifice

A clever trick, device, or strategy; especially deceptive or crafty means used to achieve an end.

Convalescence

The gradual recovery of health and strength after illness, injury, or surgery.

Senescence

The biological process of growing old and undergoing gradual deterioration of bodily functions.

Dolt

A stupid, slow-witted, or foolish person.