abase - verb cause to feel shame; hurt the pride of
When I didn't get good grades, I abased my family.
abdicate - verb give up, such as power, as of monarchs and emperors, or duties and obligations
In Game of Thrones, Ned Stark abdicated the throne to Prince Joffery when he came of age.
abomination - noun an action that is vicious or vile; an action that arouses disgust or abhorrence; a person who is loathsome or disgusting; hate coupled with disgust
Some strict Christians think that gay marriage is an abomination.
brusque - adj. marked by rude or peremptory shortness
I'm not giving that brusque waiter a tip.
saboteur - noun someone who commits sabotage or deliberately causes wrecks; a member of a clandestine subversive organization who tries to help a potential invader
The saboteur man planted the bomb, to prevent a man from killing more people.
debauchery - noun a wild gathering involving excessive drinking and promiscuity
I'm sure in college they know how to throw some good debaucheries.
proliferate - verb cause to grow or increase rapidly; grow rapidly
By watering flowers often, it can lead to the proliferation of weeds.
anachronism - noun an artifact that belongs to another time; a person who seems to be displaced in time; who belongs to another age; something located at a time when it could not have existed or occurred
If there was a coke bottle in a movie about Ancient Rome, it would be an example of anachronism.
nomenclature - noun a system of words used to name things in a particular discipline
The Periodic Table of Elements are listed in a nomenclature order.
expurgate - verb edit by omitting or modifying parts considered indelicate
The radio expurgates explicit words on songs.
bellicose - adj. having or showing a ready disposition to fight
When he made fun of my mom, I had a bellicose temper.
gauche - adj. lacking social polish
The bum we picked up off the street had a gauche vocabulary.
rapacious - adj. excessively greedy and grasping; devouring or craving food in great quantities; living by preying on other animals especially by catching living prey
I have a rapacious desire for chocolate chip cookies.
paradox - noun (logic) a statement that contradicts itself
My friends mother has seven children, but she says she hates children is a paradox.
conundrum - noun a difficult problem
The crisis in the middle east is a conundrum.
anomaly - noun (astronomy) position of a planet as defined by its angular distance from its perihelion (as observed from the sun); a person who is unusual; deviation from the normal or common order or form or rule
The strict Christian man believed in gay marriage.
ephemeral - adj. lasting a very short time; noun anything short-lived, as an insect that lives only for a day in its winged form
Relationships in junior high were ephemeral.
rancorous - adj. showing deep-seated resentment
I had rancorous feelings for the man who killed my father.
churlish - adj. having a bad disposition; surly; rude and boorish
The dictator had a churlish tone in his speeches.
precipitous - adj. characterized by precipices; extremely steep; done with very great haste and without due deliberation
The slopes of Mount Everest are precipitous.