| Bagatelle: A light piece of music for piano |
| That bagatelle is a delight to hear. |
| Callow: Young and inexperienced |
| Although he is 25, he still behaves like a callow youth in some ways. |
| Dolorous: Showing sorrow |
| The dolorous mourners followed the procession. |
| Encomium: A formal expression of praise |
| The piece is an encomium to God and his creation. |
| Hyperbole: Extravagant exaggeration |
| The debate was carried on with increasing rhetorical hyperbole. |
| Impudent: Marked by casual disrespect |
| The student was not allowed in the class for his impudent behaviour. |
| Internecine: within a group or organization |
| The fight amongst the staff has turned attention to the internecine strife here. |
| Livid: Anaemic looking from illness or emotion |
| His face was livid with shock on learning of the loss of her savings. |
| Martinet: Someone who demands exact conformity to rules and forms |
| He is a retired lieutenant and a bit of a martinet. |
| Munificent: Very generous |
| He gave a munificent donation to the old age home. |
| Nepotism: Favouritism shown to relatives or close friends by those in power |
| They protested at what they described as nepotism and corruption in the government. |
| Obloquy: State of disgrace resulting from public abuse |
| His political opinions have attracted obloquy. |
| Penchant: A strong liking |
| He had a penchant for playing jokes on people. |
| Potentate: A ruler who is unconstrained by law |
| The rich Eastern potentate took good care of his subjects. |
| Prerogative: A right reserved exclusively by a particular person or group |
| It is the principal’s prerogative to suspend any student. |
| Prevarication: A statement that deviates from or perverts the truth |
| After months of prevarication, a decision has been made. |
| Raconteur: A person skilled in telling anecdotes |
| He spoke eight languages and was a noted raconteur. |
| Ruminate: Reflect deeply on a subject |
| I had time to ruminate as I drove along on what to do next in life. |
| Sophistry: A deliberately invalid argument displaying ingenuity in reasoning in the hope of deceiving someone |
| She understood that the consolation being offered was mere sophistry. |
| Sullen: Showing a brooding ill humour |
| She worked with a sullen face throughout the day. |
| Termagant: A scolding nagging bad-tempered woman |
| The magic of money turned the termagant into a docile and attentive nurse. |
| Tyro: Someone new to a field or activity |
| He was still a tyro when he set out sailing. |