Churlish

• (adj.) Lacking politeness or good manners; lacking sensitivity; difficult to work with or deal with; rude

•  Saleslerks must avoid churlish behavior.

Laggard

•  (n.) a person who moves slowly or falls behind; (adj.) falling behind; slow to move, act, or respond

•  Tour guides often have to urge laggards to keep up with the rest of the group.

• Tenants who are laggard in paying rent run the risk of being forced to move.

Discordant

• (adj.) disagreeable in sound, jarring; lacking in harmony

• Their little spat struck a discordant in our otherwise happy family get-together.

Servile

• (adj.) of or relating to a servant; behaving like or suitable for a servant, menial; lacking spirit or independence, abjectly submissive

• Most serious performers prefer constructive criticism to servile flattery.

Gingerly

• (adv.) with extreme care or caution

• People walked gingerly along the streets.

Glut

• (v.) to provide more than is needed or wanted; to feed or fill to the point of overstuffing

• Hollywood studios glut theaters with big-budget action movies during the summer season.

Wanton

• (adj.) reckless; heartless, unjustifiable; loose in morals; (n.) a spoiled, pampered person; one with low morals

• The brave superhero soon put a stop to the evil villain's acts of wanton cruelty.

• The main character in the popular miniseries was a charming but heartless wanton.

Banter

• (v.) to exchange playful remarks, tease; (n.) talk that is playful and teasing

• There is nothing my friends and I enjoy more than to banter good-naturedly for hours.

• Casual banter helps to pass the time during a long journey.

Venerate

• (v.) to regard with reverence, look up to with great respect

• In a number of cultures, it is customary for people to venerate the oldest members of society.

Audacious

• (adj.) bold, adventurous, recklessly daring

• The audience cheered the audacious feats of the trapeze artists.

Skittish

• (adj.) extremely nervous and easily frightened; shy or timid; extremely cautious; unstable, undependable

• Only an experienced and confident rider should mount a skittish horse.

Perturb 

• (v.) to trouble, make uneasy; to disturb greatly; to throw into confusion

• The rude and disruptive behavior of several party guests perturb the host and hostess.

Vie 

• (v.) to compete; to strive for victory or superiority

• Many actors vie for the leading role in the famous director’s new film.

Oust

• (v.) to remove, drive out of a position or place

• Military leaders oust the duty elected president and took over the government.

Qualm

• (n.) a pang of conscience, uneasiness, misgiving, or doubt; a feeling of faintness or nausea

• Don’t you have serious qualms about voting for such a relatively unknown and inexperienced candidate.

Recourse 

• (n.) a person or thing turned to for help or advice; the act of seeking help or protection

• If my letter of complaint fails to get results, I will still have recourse to a higher authority.

Solicitous

• (adj.) showing concern or care; fearful or anxious about someone or something

• Neighbors made solicitous inquiries about the state of the elderly couple’s health.

Plausible

• (adj.) appearing true, reasonable, or fair

• Their story didn’t sound plausible to me.

Facetious 

• (adj.) humorous, not meant seriously

• We had to laugh at her facetious remarks.

Ample

• (adj.) more than enough, large, spacious

• Thanks to the wet spring weather, birds and other animals will have an ample food supply for the rest of the year.

Retentive

• (adj.) able to hold, keep, or recall; retaining knowledge easily

• A retentive memory is a great asset for any actor.

Genial

• (adj.) cordial, pleasantly cheerful or warm

• The genial host and hostess made each party guest feel especially welcome.

Aloof

• (adj.) withdrawn, standing apart from others by choice

• In almost every office or business, there are some people who keep decidedly aloof from their coworkers.

Resolute

• (adj.) bold, determined; firm

• Be resolute in pursuit of your dreams.

Menial

• (n.) a person who does the humble and unpleasant tasks

• Teenagers in need of work often find jobs as menial in grocery stores and restaurants.

Wallow

• (v.) to roll about in a lazy, clumsy, or helpless way; to overindulge in; to have in abundance; (n.)  a wet, muddy or dusty area used by animals as a sort of bath; a state of moral of physical collapse

• After a strenuous hike, I was too tired to do anything but wallow blissfully in a hot bath.

• On the Serengeti Plain, wallows offer animals much-needed relief from the sun’s scorching rays.

Belittle

• (v.) to make something appear smaller than it is; to refer to in a way that suggests lack of importance or value

• Candidates for public office may resort to negative ads that belittle their opponents’ records.

Excise

• (n.) an indirect tax on the manufacture, sale, or distribution of a commodity or service

• The excise imposed on products such as tobacco and alcohol have skyrocketed.

Divergent

• (adj.) going in different directions; different from each other; departing from convention, deviant

• Two people may be close friends despite their having very divergent interests and beliefs.

Gaunt

• (adj.) thin and bony, starved looking; bare, barren

• We left food and water for the gaunt alley cat.

Rankle

• (v.) to cause anger, irritation, or bitterness (with the suggestion that the pain grows worse in time)

• Insults may rankle a person for many years.

Stoical

• (adj.) self-controlled, not showing feeling in response to pleasure or pain

• The refugees’ stoical acceptance of their plight was deeply moving.

Fervent

• (adj.) very earnest, emotional, passionate; extremely hot

• The president delivered a fervent plea for tolerance and unity.

Infiltrate

• (v.) to pass through or gain entrance to gradually or stealthily

• Some of our men infiltrate the enemy’s camp and capture their leader.

Unflagging

• (adj.) tireless, continuing with vigor

• After the votes were counted, the candidates paid tribute to the unflagging loyalty of their supporters.