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atavism – n.
1. Biology. a. the reappearance in an individual of characteristics of some remote ancestor that have been absent in intervening generations.
b. an individual embodying such a reversion.

2. reversion to an earlier type; throwback.

paucity – n.
1. smallness of quantity; scarcity; scantiness: a country with a paucity of resources.
2. smallness or insufficiency of number; fewness.

contrive –
–verb (used with object) 1. to plan with ingenuity; devise; invent: The author contrived a clever plot.
2. to bring about or effect by a plan, scheme, or the like; manage: He contrived to gain their votes.
3. to plot (evil, treachery, etc.).
–verb (used without object) 4. to form designs; plan.
5. to plot.

militate – 1. to have a substantial effect; weigh heavily: His prison record militated against him.
2. Obsolete. a. to be a soldier.
b. to fight for a belief.

casuistry – 1. specious, deceptive, or oversubtle reasoning, esp. in questions of morality; fallacious or dishonest application of general principles; sophistry.
2. the application of general ethical principles to particular cases of conscience or conduct.

balk – 1. to stop, as at an obstacle, and refuse to proceed or to do something specified (usually fol. by at): He balked at making the speech.
2. (of a horse, mule, etc.) to stop short and stubbornly refuse to go on.
–verb (used with object) 4. to place an obstacle in the way of; hinder; thwart: a sudden reversal that balked her hopes.
5. Archaic. to let slip; fail to use: to balk an opportunity.
–noun 6. a check or hindrance; defeat; disappointment.
7. a strip of land left unplowed.
8. a crossbeam in the roof of a house that unites and supports the rafters; tie beam.
9. any heavy timber used for building purposes.

plaudits – 1. an enthusiastic expression of approval: Her portrayal of Juliet won the plaudits of the critics.
2. a demonstration or round of applause, as for some approved or admired performance.

supplicate – –verb (used without object) 1. to pray humbly; make humble and earnest entreaty or petition.
–verb (used with object) 2. to pray humbly to; entreat or petition humbly.
3. to seek or ask for by humble entreaty.

insuperable – incapable of being passed over, overcome, or surmounted: an insuperable barrier.

dilatory – 1. tending to delay or procrastinate; slow; tardy.
2. intended to cause delay, gain time, or defer decision: a dilatory strategy.

effusive – 1. unduly demonstrative; lacking reserve: effusive greetings; an effusive person.
2. pouring out; overflowing.

schismatic – 1. Also, schis·mat·i·cal. of, pertaining to, or of the nature of schism; guilty of schism.
–noun 2. a person who promotes schism or is an adherent of a schismatic body.

ignoble – 1. of low character, aims, etc.; mean; base: his ignoble purposes.
2. of low grade or quality; inferior.
3. not noble; of humble descent or rank.

fetor – a strong, offensive smell; stench.

callosity – 1. a callous condition.

quittance – 1. recompense or requital.
2. discharge from a debt or obligation.
3. a document certifying discharge from debt or obligation, as a receipt.

thraldom – the state of being a thrall; bondage; slavery; servitude.

verdure – 1. greenness, esp. of fresh, flourishing vegetation.
2. green vegetation, esp. grass or herbage.
3. freshness in general; flourishing condition; vigor.

contumacy – stubborn perverseness or rebelliousness; willful and obstinate resistance or disobedience to authority.

perforce – of necessity; necessarily; by force of circumstance: The story must perforce be true.

ignominy – 1. disgrace; dishonor; public contempt.
2. shameful or dishonorable quality or conduct or an instance of this.

farrago – a confused mixture; hodgepodge; medley: a farrago of doubts, fears, hopes, and wishes.

huckster –
–noun 1. a retailer of small articles, esp. a peddler of fruits and vegetables; hawker.
2. a person who employs showy methods to effect a sale, win votes, etc.: the crass methods of political hucksters.
3. a cheaply mercenary person.
4. Informal. a. a persuasive and aggressive salesperson.
b. a person who works in the advertising industry, esp. one who prepares aggressive advertising for radio and television.

–verb (used with object), verb (used without object) 5. to deal, as in small articles, or to make petty bargains: to huckster fresh corn; to huckster for a living.
6. to sell or promote in an aggressive and flashy manner.

polity – 1. a particular form or system of government: civil polity; ecclesiastical polity.
2. the condition of being constituted as a state or other organized community or body: The polity of ancient Athens became a standard for later governments.
3. government or administrative regulation: The colonists demanded independence in matters of internal polity.
4. a state or other organized community or body.

excrescence – 1. an abnormal outgrowth, usually harmless, on an animal or vegetable body.
2. a normal outgrowth, as hair or horns.
3. any disfiguring addition.
4. abnormal growth or increase.

skein – 1. a length of yarn or thread wound on a reel or swift preparatory for use in manufacturing.
2. anything wound in or resembling such a coil: a skein of hair.
3. something suggestive of the twistings of a skein: an incoherent skein of words.
4. a flock of geese, ducks, or the like, in flight.
5. a succession or series of similar or interrelated things: a skein of tennis victories.

expatiate – 1. to enlarge in discourse or writing; be copious in description or discussion: to expatiate upon a theme.
2. Archaic. to move or wander about intellectually, imaginatively, etc., without restraint.

artifice – 1. a clever trick or stratagem; a cunning, crafty device or expedient; wile.
2. trickery; guile; craftiness.
3. cunning; ingenuity; inventiveness: a drawing-room comedy crafted with artifice and elegance.
4. a skillful or artful contrivance or expedient.

querulous – 1. full of complaints; complaining.
2. characterized by or uttered in complaint; peevish: a querulous tone; constant querulous reminders of things to be done.

parsimony – extreme or excessive economy or frugality; stinginess; niggardliness.

recur – 1. to occur again, as an event, experience, etc.
2. to return to the mind: The idea kept recurring.
3. to come up again for consideration, as a question.
4. to have recourse.

ratiocination – the process of logical reasoning.

gibe –
–verb (used without object) 1. to utter mocking or scoffing words; jeer.
–verb (used with object) 2. to taunt; deride.
–noun 3. a taunting or sarcastic remark.

self-effacement – the act or fact of keeping oneself in the background, as in humility.

plenteous – 1. plentiful; copious; abundant: a plenteous supply of food.
2. yielding abundantly; fruitful: a plenteous harvest.

scruples – motivation deriving logically from ethical or moral principles that govern a person’s thoughts and actions

liniment – n. A medicinal fluid rubbed into the skin to soothe pain or relieve stiffness.

indomitable – that cannot be subdued or overcome, as persons, will, or courage; unconquerable: an indomitable warrior.

indolent – 1. having or showing a disposition to avoid exertion; slothful: an indolent person.

culpable – deserving blame or censure; blameworthy.

meed – a reward or recompense.

officious – 1. objectionably aggressive in offering one’s unrequested and unwanted services, help, or advice; meddlesome: an officious person.
2. marked by or proceeding from such forwardness: officious interference.

coxcomb – 1. a conceited, foolish dandy; pretentious fop.

candour – 1. the state or quality of being frank, open, and sincere in speech or expression; candidness: The candor of the speech impressed the audience.
2. freedom from bias; fairness; impartiality: to consider an issue with candor.
3. Obsolete. kindliness.
4. Obsolete. purity.

vestige – 1. a mark, trace, or visible evidence of something that is no longer present or in existence: A few columns were the last vestiges of a Greek temple.
2. a surviving evidence or remainder of some condition, practice, etc.: These superstitions are vestiges of an ancient religion.
3. a very slight trace or amount of something: Not a vestige remains of the former elegance of the house.
4. Biology. a degenerate or imperfectly developed organ or structure that has little or no utility, but that in an earlier stage of the individual or in preceding evolutionary forms of the organism performed a useful function.
5. Archaic. a footprint; track.

casuist – 1. an oversubtle or disingenuous reasoner, esp. in questions of morality.
2. a person who studies and resolves moral problems of judgment or conduct arising in specific situations.

pertness – boldness, impertinence

pedant – 1. a person who makes an excessive or inappropriate display of learning.
2. a person who overemphasizes rules or minor details.
3. a person who adheres rigidly to book knowledge without regard to common sense.

transversal – adj. Transverse.
n. Mathematics. A line that intersects a system of other lines.

sepulchre – 1. A burial vault.
2. A receptacle for sacred relics, especially in an altar.

demiurge – 1. A powerful creative force or personality.
2. A public magistrate in some ancient Greek states.
3. A deity in Gnosticism, Manichaeism, and other religions who creates the material world and is often viewed as the originator of evil.
4. A Platonic deity who orders or fashions the material world out of chaos.

indefatigable – Incapable or seemingly incapable of being fatigued; tireless.

inimitably – Defying imitation; matchless.

farragoes – An assortment or a medley; a conglomeration.

perfidious – Of, relating to, or marked by perfidy; treacherous.

apradations – ???

febrile – Of, relating to, or characterized by fever; feverish.

mecum – ???

opprobrium – 1. Disgrace arising from exceedingly shameful conduct; ignominy.
2. Scornful reproach or contempt: a term of opprobrium.
3. A cause of shame or disgrace.

vicissitudes – 1. A change or variation.
2. The quality of being changeable; mutability.
3. One of the sudden or unexpected changes or shifts often encountered in one’s life, activities, or surroundings. Often used in the plural.

vertiginous – 1. Turning about an axis; revolving or whirling.
2. Affected by vertigo; dizzy.
3. Tending to produce vertigo.
4. Inclined to change quickly; unstable.

pusillanimous – Lacking courage; cowardly.

venal – 1. Open to bribery; mercenary.
2. Capable of betraying honor, duty, or scruples for a price; corruptible.
3. Marked by corrupt dealings, especially bribery.
4. Obtainable for a price.

pecuniary – 1. Of or relating to money.
2. Requiring payment of money.

laconism – Terseness or succinctness of style or expression.

sacerdotalism – The belief that priests act as mediators between God and humans.

congenital – 1. Of or relating to a condition that is present at birth, as a result of either heredity or environmental influences.
2. Being or having an essential characteristic as if by nature; inherent or inveterate.

amatory – Of, relating to, or expressive of love, especially sexual love: an amatory mood; an amatory embrace.

regale – 1. To provide with great enjoyment; entertain.
2. To entertain sumptuously with food and drink; provide a feast for.

bedlam – A place or situation of noisy uproar and confusion.

crocus – 1. A grayish to light reddish purple.
2. A dark red powdered variety of iron oxide, Fe2O3, used as an abrasive for polishing.
3. A coarse, loosely woven material like burlap, once used to make sacks for shipping saffron.

lithe – 1. Readily bent; supple: lithe birch branches.
2. Marked by effortless grace: a lithe ballet dancer.

predaceous – 1. Living by seizing or taking prey; predatory.
2. Given to victimizing, plundering, or destroying for one’s own gain.

proselytize – 1. To induce someone to convert to one’s own religious faith.
2. To induce someone to join one’s own political party or to espouse one’s doctrine.

assiduous – 1. Constant in application or attention; diligent.
2. Unceasing; persistent.

genuflect – 1. To bend the knee or touch one knee to the floor or ground, as in worship.
2. To be servilely respectful or deferential; grovel.

homomorphism – 1. Biology. Similarity of external form or appearance but not of structure or origin.
2. Zoology. A resemblance in form between the immature and adult stages of an animal.
3. Mathematics. A transformation of one set into another that preserves in the second set the operations between the members of the first set.

interlocutor – 1. Someone who takes part in a conversation, often formally or officially.
2. The performer in a minstrel show who is placed midway between the end men and engages in banter with them.

confabulate – 1. To talk casually; chat.
2. Psychology. To fill in gaps in one’s memory with fabrications that one believes to be facts.

There are probably more that I’ve forgotten…

parvenu – A person who has suddenly risen to a higher social and economic class and has not yet gained social acceptance by others in that class.

dottle – The plug of tobacco ash left in the bowl of a pipe after it has been smoked.

ort – 1. small scrap or leaving of food after a meal is completed. Often used in the plural.
2. A scrap; a bit.

desideratum – Something considered necessary or highly desirable.

iniquity – 1. Gross immorality or injustice; wickedness.
2. A grossly immoral act; a sin.

piker – 1. A cautious gambler.
2. A person regarded as petty or stingy.

aplomb – Self-confident assurance; poise.

phlegmatic – 1. Of or relating to phlegm; phlegmy.
2. Having or suggesting a calm, sluggish temperament; unemotional.

peignoir – A woman’s loose-fitting dressing gown.

cussedness – Mean-spirited disagreeable contrariness.

brocade – A heavy fabric interwoven with a rich, raised design.

grackle – 1. Any of several American blackbirds of the family Icteridae, especially of the genus Quiscalus, having iridescent blackish plumage. Also called crow blackbird.
2. Any of several Asian mynas of the genus Gracula

concupiscence – A strong desire, especially sexual desire; lust.

abrogate – To abolish, do away with, or annul, especially by authority.

augur – 1. One of a group of ancient Roman religious officials who foretold events by observing and interpreting signs and omens.
2. A seer or prophet; a soothsayer.

polymath – A person of great or varied learning.

spurious – 1. Lacking authenticity or validity in essence or origin; not genuine; false.
2. Of illegitimate birth.

pithy – 1. Precisely meaningful; forceful and brief: a pithy comment.
2. Consisting of or resembling pith.

didactic – 1. Intended to instruct.
2. Morally instructive.
3. Inclined to teach or moralize excessively.

exchequer – 1. A treasury, as of a nation or an organization.
2. Financial resources; funds.

bellicose – Warlike in manner or temperament; pugnacious.

dissimulation – To disguise (one’s intentions, for example) under a feigned appearance.

solicitude – 1. The state of being solicitous; care or concern, as for the well-being of another.
2. A cause of anxiety or concern. Often used in the plural.