aggress -- to commit the first act of hostility or offense; to make an attack

apostasy -- abandonment of one's religious faith, a political party, one's principles, or a cause; abandonment of what one has voluntarily professed

bombinate -- to buzz; to hum; to drone

booboisie -- a class of people regarded as stupid or foolish

camarilla -- a group of secret and often scheming advisors; a cabal or clique

cavil -- to raise trivial or frivolous objections; to find fault without good reason

chthonic -- dwelling in or under the earth; also, pertaining to the underworld

consanguineous -- of the same blood; related by birth; descended from the same parent or ancestor

crepuscular -- pertaining to twilight; glimmering; hence, imperfectly clear or luminous

expiate -- to make amends for; to atone for

flagitious -- disgracefully or shamefully criminal; grossly wicked; scandalous

irrefragable -- impossible to refute; incontestable; undeniable

lambaste -- to give a thrashing to; to beat severely; to scold sharply; to attack verbally; to berate

latitudinarian -- having or expressing broad and tolerant views, especially inreligious matters; a person who is broad-minded and tolerant; one who displays freedom in thinking, especially in religious matters

lucubration -- the act of studying by candlelight; nocturnal study; meditation; that which is composed by night; that which is produced by meditation in retirement

mephitic -- offensive to the smell; poisonous; noxious

monomania -- pathological obsession with a single subject or idea; excessive interest upon one particular subject or idea

osculation -- the act of kissing; also: a kiss

pelf -- money; riches; gain; -- generally conveying the idea of something ill-gotten

perfidy -- the act of violating faith or allegiance; violation of a promise or vow; faithlessness; treachery

pettifogger -- a petty, unscrupulous lawyer; a shyster; a person who quibbles over trivia

pleonasm -- the use of more words than are necessary to express an idea; a superfluous word or expression

propinquity -- nearness in place, proximity, time, relation, kinship

quidnunc -- one who is curious to know everything that passes; one who knows or pretends to know all that is going on; a gossip; a busybody

recrudescent -- breaking out again after temporary abatement or suppression

redivivus -- living again; brought back to life; revived; restored

sesquipedalian -- given to or characterised by the use of long words; long and ponderous, having many syllables

schadenfreude -- a malicious satisfaction obtained from the misfortunes of others

slugabed -- one who stays in bed until a late hour; a sluggard

sough -- to make a soft, low sighing or rustling sound, as the wind

subfusc -- dark or dull in color; drab, dusky

truckle -- to yield or bend obsequiously to the will of another; to act in a subservient manner

Bon Mot	Quizzes	Quotables	It Made Me Laugh