1. Beatific (adj) Blissful; rendering or making blessed ***beautiful things/events make one feel bliss

2. Behemoth (n) A creature of enormous size, power, or appearance ***a behemoth is mammoth

3. Blandishment (n, often pl) Anything designed to flatter or coax; sweet talk, apple-polishing ***complement

4. Cacophonous (adj) Harsh-sounding, raucous, discordant, dissonant ***cackle on the phone

5. Chicanery (n) Trickery, deceptive practices or tactics, double-dealing ***trickery

6. Consign (v) To give over to another’s care, charge, or control; to entrust, deliver; to set apart for a special use ***sign something to turn over control

7. Coup (n) A highly successful stroke, master stroke, tour de force, act, plan or stratagem; a sudden takeover of power or leadership ***the coup went through the city by storm

8. Euphemism (n) a mild or inoffensive expression used in place of a harsh or unpleasant one; a substitute ***use less offensive language

9. Febrile (adj) Feverish; pertaining to or marked by fever; frenetic ***fever

10. Gainsay (v) To deny, contradict, controvert; to dispute, oppose ***against what you say We deny any wrongdoing in this case!

11. Imminent (adj) About to happen, threatening ***immediate

12. Innate (adj) Natural, inborn, inherent; built-in ***inborn

13. Loath (adj) Unwilling, reluctant, disinclined ***loath to do things one loathes

14. Manifest (adj)(v)(n) Clear, evident to the eyes or mind; (v) to show plainly, exhibit, evince; (n)a list of cargo and/or passengers ***manifest destiny

15. Minutiae (pl. n) Small or trivial details, trifling matters ***minute

16. Moratorium (n) A suspension of activity; an official waiting period; an authorized period of delay ***there was a moratorium on the payment for the new auditorium

17. Nostrum (n) An alleged cure-all; a remedy or scheme of questionable effectiveness ***putting rum in your nose to cure a cold would be a nostrum

18. Pariah (n) One who is rejected by a social group or organization ***stay away from a piranha

19. Visionary (adj) Not practical, lacking in realism; having the nature of a fantasy or dream; (n) one given to far-fetched ideas; a dreamer or seer characterized by vision or foresight ***vision/dream

20. Wizened (adj., part.) Dry, shrunken, and wrinkled (often as the result of aging) ***wise old person may have wrinkles