beatitude: supreme blessedness; exalted happiness
Unfortunately, the beatitude of Christmas morning fades with age.
bete noire: a person or thing strongly detested or avoided
Although the accusations were disproved, he became a bete noire.
bode: to be an omen of; portend
The dark clouds did not bode well for the coming day.
dank: unpleasantly moist or humid; damp and often chilly
As a cough racked his body, he cursed the dank dungeon he inhabited.
ecumenical: general; universal
There is no truly ecumenical definition of happiness.
fervid: heated or vehement in spirit
Backed by his own conviction of correctness, he fervidly argued the point.
fetid: having an offensive odor; stinking
Pinching their noses shut, they hurried through the fetid city sewers.
gargantuan: gigantic; enormous; colossal
Blocking the path was a gargantuan creature.
heyday: the stage or period of greatest vigor, strength, success
Many "90s kids" claim that their decade was the heyday of cartoons.
incubus: an imaginary demon or evil spirit fabled to have sexual intercourse with women during their sleep; a nightmare or something of similar oppressive nature
The impending trials were an incubus to their tortured minds.
infrastructure: the basic, underlying framework or features of a system or organization
With basic societal infrastructure gone, chaos soon consumed the city.
inveigle: to entice, lure, or ensnare by flattery or artful talk
Cleverly, he was able to inveigle the officers into letting him go.
kudos: honor; glory; acclaim
Kudos to anybody sticking around for these definitions.
lagniappe: a gratuity or tip; unexpected or indirect benefit
As a sign of good faith, twenty extra dollars were loaned out as a lagniappe.
prolix: extended to great, unnecessary, or tedious length; long and wordy
Quickly growing bored of the prolix user agreement, he skipped to the bottom and clicked "accept".
protege: a person under the patronage, protection, or care of someone interested in his or her career or welfare
Seeing potential early on, he took in the orphan as his protege.
prototype: the original or model on which something is based or formed
Although unrefined, the prototype remained a favorite among collectors.
sycophant: a self-seeking, servile flatterer; fawning parasite
Tired of dealing with sycophants, the king relied only on his closest advisers.
tautology: needless repetition of an idea, esp. in words other than those of the immediate context, without imparting additional force or clearness
Intended to clarify, the professor's tautology simply muddied the original point.
truckle: to submit or yield obsequiously or tamely
Not wanting to come across as rude, he quickly truckled to the salesman's unreasonable offers.
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