clamber: to climb with difficulty, or on all fours. asperity: roughness of surface, sound, or manner. effete: infertile; also, worn out; also, decadent, effeminate. venerate: to regard or treat with reverence; revere. gustatory: pertaining to the sense of taste. tergiversation: evasion; also, desertion of a cause, party, etc. obstreperous: noisily and stubbornly defiant; also, boisterous. serendipity: the faculty or phenomenon of making fortunate accidental discoveries. yen: a desire or craving. timorous: full of apprehensiveness; fearful. irenic: promoting peace. bilious: of or pertaining to bile; also, ill-tempered. galvanic: pertaining to a direct current of electricity; also, having the effect of an electric shock. pantheon: the collective gods of a people; also, a group of highly esteemed persons. slaver: to slobber; to drool. unguent: an ointment. abeyance: suspension; temporary cessation. concinnity: elegance -- used chiefly of literary style. peripatetic: walking about or traveling from place to place. frangible: capable of being broken; easily broken. hebetude: mental dullness or sluggishness. soi-disant: self-styled; so-called. opprobrium: reproach mingled with contempt. quandary: a state of difficulty or perplexity. surreptitious: done, made, or gotten by stealth; also, marked by stealth. quixotic: foolishly impractical; also, capricious, impulsive. languor: lack of energy or vitality. pulchritude: beauty. censure: to criticize severely; also, an expression of disapproval. hector: to bully or harass. miasma: a thick vaporous atmosphere, often noxious. rapport: relation characterized by sympathetic understanding. forcible: effected by force used against resistance; also, powerful. bombinate: to buzz, hum, or drone. insuperable: incapable of being passed over, surmounted, or overcome. latitudinarian: having or expressing broad and tolerant views. hinterland: backcountry. buss: a kiss; to kiss. discrete: constituting a separate thing; also, consisting of distinct or unconnected parts. plaintive: expressive of sorrow or melancholy. tractable: docile; manageable, governable. quietus: final acquittance, as from debt; also, rest; death. inscrutable: difficult to fathom or understand. avatar: an incarnation. expiate: to make amends for; to atone for. gauche: lacking social polish; tactless. lambaste: to scold sharply; also, to beat. recrudescent: breaking out again. flibbertigibbet: a silly, flighty, or excessively talkative person. malapropism: the usually unintentionally humorous misuse of a word. raffish: gaudily vulgar or cheap; also, characterized by a carefree or fun-loving unconventionality. vet: to subject to thorough appraisal; to evaluate. pleonasm: the use of more words than are necessary to express an idea. tenet: any opinion, principle, or doctrine held to be true. qua: in the capacity or character of; as. invective: insulting or abusive language. bowdlerize: to remove or modify the parts considered offensive. fait accompli: an accomplished and presumably irreversible deed or fact. pettifogger: a petty, unscrupulous lawyer; also, who quibbles over trivia. vagary: an extravagant, erratic, or unpredictable notion, action, or occurrence. idyll: a poem or prose work depicting rural or pastoral life; also, a carefree episode or experience. truckle: to act in a subservient manner. patrician: a nobleman; also, a person of refined upbringing, manners, and taste. apocryphal: of doubtful authority or authenticity. efficacious: producing, or capable of producing, a desired effect. deign: to condescend. sanctum: a place where one is free from intrusion. malinger: to feign illness or inability. redound: to have a consequence or effect. perfidy: