1. Abstruse (adj) Extremely difficult to understand
Syn: esoteric, arcane, recondite, occult
Ant: simple, straightforward
**confusing

2. Affront (n)
An open or intentional insult; a slight; (v) to insult to one’s face; to face in defiance, confront
Syn: (n) offense; (v) offend
Ant: (n., v.) compliment, praise
**offense

3. Canard (n) A false rumor, fabricated story Syn: hoax
**can hardly be true

4. Captious (adj)
Excessively ready to find fault; given to petty criticism; intended to trap, confuse, or show up
Syn: faultfinding, nit-picking, carping
Ant: uncritical
**carping

5. Cognizant (adj) Aware, knowledgeable, informed; having jurisdiction
Syn: conscious, acquainted
Ant: unaware, unconscious, oblivious
**conscious

6. Contrite (adj)
Regretful for some misdeed or sin; plagued by a sense of guilt; thoroughly penitent
Syn: remorseful, rueful
Ant: unrepentant, unapologetic, impenitent
**it’s right to be contrite

7. Cynosure (n)
The center of attraction, attention, or interest; something that serves to guide or direct
Syn: focus
**sign that’s sure to attract attention

8. Decorous (adj) Well behaved, dignified, socially proper
Syn: seemly, becoming, tastful
Ant: unseemly, unbecoming, improper, tasteless
**dignified

9. Deign (v)
To think it appropriate or suitable to one’s dignity to do something; to condescend
Syn: deem, stoop
**a king who reigns may not deign to talk to commoners

10. Desiccated (adj., part.)
Thoroughly dried out; divested of spirit or vitality; arid and uninteresting
Syn: dehydrated, shriveled, parched
Ant: sodden, soggy, waterlogged, drenched
**dehydrated

11. Efficacy (n) The power to produce a desired result
Syn: effectiveness, potency, reliability
Ant: ineffectiveness, impotence
**effectiveness

12. Engender (v)
To bring into existence, give rise to, produce; to come into existence, assume form
Syn: beget, generate, cause, form
Ant: stop, deter
**generate interest

13. Ethereal (adj)
Light, airy, delicate; highly refined; suggesting what is heavenly (rather than earthbound)
Syn: heavenly, celestial, gossamer
Ant: infernal, hellish, thick, heavy
**celestial

14. Façade (n)
The front or face of a building; a surface appearance (as opposed to what may lie behind)
Syn: exterior, surface, mask, pretense
Ant: interior
**face of

15. Ghoulish (adj)
Revolting in an unnatural or morbid way; suggestive of someone who robs graves or otherwise preys on the dead
Syn: fiendish, barbarous, monstrous
**monstrous

16. Incongruous (adj) Not in keeping, unsuitable, incompatible
Syn: discordant, jarring
Ant: compatible, harmonious, consistent
**incongruent, not the same

17. Machination (n)
A crafty, scheming, or underhanded action designed to accomplish some (usually evil) end
Syn: plot, scheme, maneuver
**machines against a nation

18. Mesmerize (v) To hypnotize, entrance; to fascinate, enthrall, bewitch

19. Opprobrium (n)
Disgrace arising from shameful conduct; contempt, reproach
Syn: infamy, dishonor, odium, shame
Ant: acclaim, honor, glory, renown
**in-appropriate behavior leads to opprobrium

20. Putative (adj)
Generally regarded as such; reputed; hypothesized, inferred
Syn: supposed, presumed
Ant: known, corroborated, confirmed
**reputed