1. Capitulate
   Clairvoyant
2. Capacious
   Circumlocution

To capitulate is to surrender, as armies have to do from time to time. Clairovoyant is an adjective or noun refering to an ability to predict the future, capacious means wide or spacious and circumlocution is a roundabout way of expressing something.

1. Maverick
   More
2. Morass
   Modicum

Although the term "moor" is a geographical one (it refers to an upland tract of undeveloped land), a "more" (pronounced "moray") is a social belief, convention or accepted behavior. The correct answer, in this case, is "morass," which is a low-lying boggy area.

1. Panacea
   Paradigm
2. Plethora
   Presage

A panacea is a remedy. It can be used in a medical context (such as the cure for an illness or the antidote to a poison) or in a broader sense, such as "Bill often found that books were the best panacea for boredom on rainy days."

1. Semaphore
   Sanctimonious
2. Serendipity
   Solipsism

Solipsism is basically the philosophical theory that your mind is the only thing that you can be sure exists. (Yikes.) Rene Descartes's famous assertion "I think, therefore I am" is the quintessential example of solipsism.

1. Abscond
   Amorphous
2. Anathema
   Annex

In science (physics and chemistry in particular), an amorphous solid is a solid without a crystalline structure. Examples include glass, plastic and rubber. In the world outside science, amorphous can refer to anything without a definite shape.

1. Anathema
   Ambiguity
2. Arboreal
   Abject

An anathema (noun) is a formal curse or denouncement of a person or a doctrine that comes from an ecclesiastical (relating to the Christian church) higher-up. Outside of religious usage, it can be used in a general sense to describe someone or something that's vehemently disliked.

1. Health & Medicine
   Religion & Spirituality
2. Teaching & Learning
   Weather & Climate

A "zephyr" is a slight breeze. Here are a few more challenging words relating to weather and climate: isobar (a line drawn on an atmospheric pressure map connecting points of the same pressure), okta (a unit for measuring cloud cover) and "prevailing wind" (the term for the most frequent direction the wind blows in a particular place.)

1. Calumny
   Circumscribe
2. Caucus
   Camaraderie

"Camaraderie" is a noun that indicates mutual friendship, trust and easy sociability. For instance, "The job itself could be tedious, but Mark loved his coworkers and found that the office camaraderie made it worthwhile."

1. Caucus
   Capitulate
2. Carp
   Cavort

A caucus (noun) is a closed meeting of members of the same political party. As a verb, to caucus is to gather to pick a candidate or advocate for a particular policy. "Capitulate" means "to surrender," a carp is a kind of fish and to cavort is to play boisterously.

1. Cobbler
   Carp
2. Cleave
   Covet

Native to Asia and Europe, a carp (noun) is a species of freshwater fish. A cobbler makes or repairs shoes, to cleave is to cut or separate with a tool (such as a knife) and to covet is to desire or crave.

1. Fatuous
   Fetter
2. Foil
   Fortuitous

"Fortuitously, the would-be murderer's plot was foiled and he was taken to the local jail and put in fetters." All of these words could be worked into a prison story somehow, but "fetter" — a shackle worn around the ankle — is the best fit.

1. Wont
   Wrath
2. Wraith
   Wreak

A wraith is a ghost or a ghostlike image of someone seen after their death. Some other words for this type of apparition include specter, phantom, spirit, poltergeist, banshee and shade.

1. Insurgent
   Instigate
2. Inoculate
   Invective

To inoculate is to inject (or otherwise treat) a patient with the germ of a disease to make them immune to it. "Insurgent" is an adjective that describes someone or something as being in opposition to civil authority. To instigate is to provoke or "stir the pot," and "invective" (noun) is harsh or abusive language designed to express blame or ill will.

1. Licentious
   Legerdemain
2. Litigant
   Lynchpin

"Legerdemain" is a noun that refers to a deception, a trickery or a feat of illusion. It can refer to a skillfully performed conjuring trick, but it might have negative connotations outside the world of magic. (For example, "The candidate served up some classic political legerdemain.")

1. Semaphore
   Striate
2. Semantics
   Scion

Semaphore (noun) was a visual system designed in the late 18th century to send messages from long distances. It can be carried out with a specific apparatus constructed for semaphore, or it can be performed by a person with a brightly colored flag in each hand. Different flag positions correspond to different letters of the alphabet. Although technology had made its regular usage obsolete, it's still taught in some spheres as a backup in case communications break down.

1. Writhe
   Wry
2. Writ
   Wretched

To writhe is to twist in a contorted motion. "Wry" means dry-humored or sarcastic, and a writ is a legal document. Wretched is an adjective that describes someone in an unfortunate state who deserves pity.

1. Torpid
   Toady
2. Tome
   Trite

Librarians need to know lots of words, but "tome" is particularly handy, being a kind of book. Specifically, it refers to a book that's large, dense and/or scholarly. Alternatively, it could refer to a volume of a larger work.

1. Vilify
   Vitriol
2. Virtuoso
   Vespers

A virtuoso is someone who is spectacularly skilled in a particular field, such as a virtuoso violinist. To vilify someone is to, fairly or not, make them seem evil, and vitriol is a noun that means "cruel or bitter criticism." Vespers is an evening prayer service in many branches of the Christian faith.

1. Law & Order
   Pride & Prejudice
2. Math & Science
   Heaven & Hell

A litigant is a person who's involved in a lawsuit. Some other contentious legal terms include: felony (a very serious crime), misdemeanor (a less serious crime) and statute (a written law that's been ratified by a legislative body).

1. Surreptitious
   Surfeit
2. Swarthy
   Sobriety

"Swarthy" is an adjective that means someone is dark in complexion. To be surreptitious (adjective) is to be sneaky or secretive, a surfeit (noun) is an excess of something and sobriety (noun) is the state of not being intoxicated by alcohol (or whatever the substance in question.)

1. Iconoclast
   Idiosyncratic
2. Impinge
   Inchoate

The word "inchoate" is an adjective that describes something that's in its early stages and not very well established yet. An iconoclast is someone who criticizes deep-seated beliefs, the adjective "idiosyncratic" describes something that's quirky or individual and the verb "impinge" means to have an impact (particularly a negative one) on something.

1. Munificent
   Modicum
2. Multifarious
   Maxim

Modicum is a noun that means "a little bit." Munificent is an adjective that means very generous, multifarious describes something with many aspects and a maxim is a saying that expresses a basic rule or truth about life.

1. Prurient
   Puerile
2. Punctilious
   Protean

Prurient means "characterized by lust." Puerile describes something immature, punctilious is something characterized by precise attention to detail and protean describes something that takes on many forms.

1. Love & Friendship
   Luck & Chance
2. Transportation
   Careers

Fortuitous things that come to a person by chance when they aren't looking come by serendipity. For example: "Jan was struck by the serendipity of running into her old friend at the grocery store after years."

1. Tundra
   Travesty
2. Trenchant
   Torpid

"Torpid" is an adjective that refers to something at rest or in suspension. For example: "Michael tapped the hibernating bear with a long stick, but the torpid animal scarcely twitched."

1. Yore
   Yonder
2. Yoke
   Yokel

A "yoke" is the piece of wood a farmhand might carry on their shoulders in order to carry two heavy buckets of milk or water at once. Alternatively, it can refer to the contraption harnessing two oxen together.

1. Military & Warfare
   Money & Finance
2. Myths & Legends
   Nature & Wildlife

Yen is the currency in Japan. (It can also refer to a desire or hankering for something.) Some other currencies in East Asia include the Chinese renminbi, the North Korean won, the South Korean won and the Hong Kong dollar.

1. Watershed
   Waver
2. Warble
   Wan

A watershed refers to an area of land that contains all of the streams and rivers that flow into a single body of water. The Mississippi River watershed, for example, is very large compared to most rivers' watersheds.

1. Jabber
   Joust
2. Juggernaut
   Jingoism

Jousting is a medieval sport where two knights on horseback charge at each other with lances (long, wooden, spear-like weapons with blunted tips) and try to knock one another from their mount. The aim wasn't to kill the opponent — jousting is a tournament sport — but fatalities were not uncommon.

1. Jugular
   Jaded
2. Jubilant
   Jargon

The "jugular vein" is actually four veins; they run down either side of the throat, two internally and two externally. (By "external" we don't mean they're outside the body, just closer to the surface.) The internal set drains blood from the brain, and the external set drains blood from the scalp, sinuses and other body parts around the skull.

1. Languid
   Lachrymose
2. Laconic
   Lampoon

To lampoon something is make fun of it in a satircal way. The word languid describes something that lacks spirit or liveliness. Lachrymose desribes something sorrowful, and laconic describes something brief and to the point.

1. Health & Medicine
   Nefarious Characters
2. Political Intrigue
   Television

People suffering from the disease known as jaundice often have yellowish skin and eyes due to an excess of a pigment called bilirubin in the blood. Jaundice can be caused by liver disease, among a number of other things.

1. Lecherous
   Leaven
2. Libation
   Laceration

When used as a noun, "leavening" is a substance that's put in bread dough to make it rise. (A common example is yeast, although things like baking powder, baking soda and cream of tartar are used sometimes, too.) As a verb, to leaven means to add leavening to dough. It can also mean to transform something for the better.

1. Gibe
   Grouse
2. Grotto
   Genuflect

A grotto is a small cave. Although caves aren't the first things that come to mind when one thinks of dwelling places, humans have a long history of using these natural shelters as homes. In modern times, Turkey, China and southern Spain are examples of places where many cave dwellers live today.

1. Assertions
   Exclamations
2. Interruptions
   Addictions

A hiatus is a break, gap or interruption in a process or series of actions. According to the venerable Merriam-Webster Dictionary, it derives from the Latin verb "hiare," meaning "to gape" or "to yawn."