Portly means stout, usually in a manner that is stately and dignified.

To recant means to take back what was previously said.

Microcosm refers to a world in miniature.

To exacerbate means to worsen, to increase in severity.

To reproach means to scold, usually in disappointment or blame.

To exonerate means to free from blame, to prove innocent.

Audacity means boldness, impudence, reckless daring.

To proliferate means to spread or grow rapidly, to multiply.

Reclusive means hermit-like, characterized by seclusion.

Incorrigible means beyond correction, so entrenched, usually in badness, that there is no hope of change or improvement.

Pungent means sharp, biting, especially in taste or smell.

Furtive means secretive, stealthy, done in a way one hopes will not be noticed.

Indulgent means lenient; permissive; overly kind or agreeable; giving in to another's wishes.

Recalcitrant means stubbornly defiant of authority; disobedient, resistant.

A portent is an omen of something coming in the future, a warning.

Derogatory means belittling, disapproving, disparaging, showing an unfavorable opinion of the person or thing in question.

Qualitative means concerned with quality, not quantity.

A prerogative is an exclusive right or privilege that others do not have.

Sardonic means mocking, scornful, bitterly contemptuous.

Misanthropic means hatred of mankind.

Solace means comfort, consolation, relief from emotional pain.

Supple means flexible, pliant, bending or folding easily without breaking or cracking, able to move with ease.

Provisional means temporary, for the time being, interim.

To extol means to highly praise, to laud.

Sentient means having feeling, able to perceive with the senses, conscious.

Extraneous means unnecessary, extra, not belonging, coming from outside.

To postulate means to assume, to set forth without proof.

Hackneyed means trite, over-used, commonplace.

A perquisite is a privilege that goes along with a job, a perk.

To scintillate means to sparkle, to glitter, to twinkle.

To quibble is to argue in a petty manner, to evade truth by twisting the meaning of words, to argue a meaningless technicality.

To divest is to rid of, to deprive or strip.

A fabrication is something made up, a falsehood.

Prodigal means wastefully extravagant, spending too much.

To stymie means to thwart, hinder, or block.

Animosity means hostility, active dislike, enmity.

Subversive means undermining; tending to overthrow or cause destruction, especially as regards an established government.

A tenet is a shared doctrine, principle, belief, or opinion held as true by a school, sect, party, or person.

Officious means meddlesome, annoyingly eager to please, to the point of meddling.

A recrimination is a counter accusation, the act of accusing in return.

Subsequent means coming after, following, later.

To curtail means to cut short, to reduce, to lessen.

A proponent is a supporter, an advocate.

Levity means frivolity, a lack of seriousness, lightness of mind, character, or behavior.

To mediate is to help settle a difference, to act as a go-between.

Arduous means difficult, strenuous, requiring much effort.

Surrogate means substitute, something that takes the place of something else.

Tangible means touchable, physical, material, that which can be detected by touching.

Querulous means complaining, fretful, peevish, fault-finding.

Itinerant means moving from placed to place.