Words I Don't Know: This is it.

ennui (n.):  a feeling of utter weariness and discontent resulting from satiety or lack of interest; boredom.
derisive (adj.):  characterized by or expressing derision; contemptuous; mocking.
pedantic (adj.):  overly concerned with minute details or formalisms, esp. in teaching.
extenuate (v.):  to serve to make (a fault, offense, etc.) seem less serious.
poignant (adj.):  to the point; cutting or piercing.
vertiginous (adj.):  whirling; spinning; rotary.
aberration (n.):  the act of deviating from the ordinary, usual, or normal type; deviation from truth or moral rectitude; mental irregularity or disorder, esp. of a minor or temporary nature; lapse from a sound mental state.

circumvent (v.):  to go around or bypass.

gentry (n.):  well-born and well-bred people;(in England) the class below the nobility.

equipage (n.):  a carriage drawn by horses and attended by servants.

clout (n.):  a blow with the hand or a hard object.

ardor (n.):  great warmth of feeling; fervor; passion.

sub judice (n.):  before a judge or court; awaiting judicial determination.

implicit (adj.):  unquestioning or unreserved.

scrupulous (adj.):  punctiliously or minutely careful, precise, or exact.

tenacious (adj.):  pertinacious, persistent, stubborn, or obstinate.

majordomo (n.):  a man in charge of a great household, as that of a sovereign; a chief steward.

lugubrious (adj.):  mournful, dismal, or gloomy, esp. in an affected, exaggerated, or unrelieved manner.

rictus (n.):  the gaping or opening of the mouth.

parapet (n.):  a defensive wall or elevation, as of earth or stone, in a fortification.