APLit, S2L4

adage (n.)

a traditional saying expressing a common experience or observation

proverb, maxim, aphorism

bathos (n.)

a sudden change in tone from serious to silly (most often caused by excessive emotion)

anticlimax

concatenation (n.)

a series of interconnected events

chain

dénouement (n.)

the final resolution of a plot

resolution, culmination, conclusion, outcome

feckless (adj.)

ineffective or incompetent (usually in the case of expected competency)

feeble, irresponsible

peremptory (adj.)

leaving no opportunity for denial or refusal

decisive, imperious

prognosticate (v.)

to forecast or predict

prophesy, project,

tenebrous (adj.)

dark or gloomy

shadowy

vacillate (v.)

to waver in mind or opinion

sway, hesitate

verisimilitude (n.)

the appearance or semblance of truth

plausibility