1. Askance (adv) With suspicion, distrust or disapproval
Syn: distrustfully, suspiciously, skeptically
**askew, a sideways glance

2. Attenuate (v)
To make thin or slender; to weaken or lessen in force, intensity, or value
Syn: thin out, dilute, water down
Ant: thicken, strengthen, bolster
**thin out, she’s thin she’s a “ten”

3. Benign (adj)
Gentle, kind; forgiving, understanding; having a favorable or beneficial effect; not malignant
Syn: benevolent, salutary, harmless
Ant: malevolent, deleterious
** benign is fine

4. Cavil (v)
To find fault in a petty way, carp; (n) a trivial objection or criticism
Syn: (v) nitpick, quibble
**to cavil is evil

5. Charlatan (n)
One who feigns knowledge or ability; a pretender, imposter, or quack
Syn: fraud, mountebank
**charlatan charms you into believing

6. Decimate (v) To kill or destroy a large part of Syn: ravage, devastate

7. Foible (n) A weak point, failing, minor flaw
Syn: shortcoming, defect, quirk
Ant: forte, virtue
**flaw

8. Forgo (v) To do without, abstain from, give up
Syn: refrain from, renounce
Ant: indulge in, partake of
**say “no”

9. Fraught (adj) Full of or loaded with; accompanied by Syn: charged with
Ant: devoid of, lacking, deficient in
**after they fought, he was fraught with guilt

10. Inure (v)
To toughen, harden; to render used to something by long subjection or exposure
Syn: accustom, acclimate
**if you inure to something you show you’re sure how to handle it

11. Luminous (adj) Emitting or reflecting light, glowing; illuminating
Syn: radiant, bright, refulgent, lustrous
Ant: dark, opaque, dim, murky
**luminate

12. Obsequious (adj)
Marked by slavish attentiveness; excessively submissive, often for purely self interested reasons
Syn: fawning, servile, sycophantic
Ant: assertive, bumptious, overbearing, candid
**obsessed with pleasing or serving

13. Obtuse (adj)
Blunt, not coming to a point; slow or dull in understanding; measuring between degrees; not causing a sharp impression
Syn: stupid, dumb thick, mild
Ant: acute, perceptive, quick-witted
**obtuse angle has dull point

14. Oscillate (v)
To swing back and forth with a steady rhythm; to fluctuate or waver
Syn: vibrate, vacillate
**vacillate

15. Penitent (adj)
Regretful for one’s sins or mistakes; (n) one who is sorry for wrongdoing
Syn: remorseful, regretful, sorry
Ant: unrepentant, remorseless
**repent

16. Peremptory (adj) Don’t even ask! The answer is NO!
Having the nature of a command that leaves no opportunity for debate, denial, or refusal; offensively self-assured, dictatorial; determined, resolute
Syn: high-handed, unconditional
Ant: irresolute, tentative, mild
Don’t even ask! The answer is NO!

17. Rebuff (v) To snub; to repel, drive away (n) a curt rejection, a check
Syn: spurn, repulse, reject (n)setback
Ant: accept, welcome
**reject

18. Reconnoiter (v)
To engage in reconnaissance; to make a preliminary inspection
Syn: scout
**reconnaissance

19. Shambles (n)
A slaughterhouse; a place of mass bloodshed; a state of complete disorder and confusion, mess
**if you gamble, your life could end up in shambles

20. Sporadic (adj)
Occurring at irregular intervals, having no set plan or order
Syn: intermittent, spasmodic
Ant: constant, steady, continuous, uninterrupted
**spasmodic