| augury |
the art or practice or an instance of predicting the future or obtaining hidden knowledge by interpreting omens. |
| baneful |
causing or leading to death, destruction, or ruin; harmful or deadly. |
| cantankerous |
irritable, stubborn, and quarrelsome. |
| cession |
the act of formally giving up or signing over, as a territory; ceding. |
| decedent |
in law, one who has died. |
| delectation |
enjoyment; delight; pleasure. |
| ersatz |
serving as a substitute, especially when of inferior quality. |
| gnomic |
short and pithy, as an aphorism. |
| impute |
to ascribe or attribute to a source or cause. |
| meretricious |
appealing or attracting in a cheap, showy, or shallow way. |
| preferment |
the act of promoting or being promoted to a higher position or office. |
| pretentious |
assuming or marked by an air of importance or superiority that is unwarranted. |
| recessional |
a piece of music that accompanies the exit of participants in a program or religious ceremony. |
| sanguine |
having an optimistic temperament or outlook. |
| tyro |
one who is beginning to learn a business, trade, sport, or the like; novice; neophyte. |