1benign
Abraham Lincoln's sensitive stepmother had a benign influence on the lonely boy you had lost his mother.
2attenuate
After making sure the wound was clean, the doctor took steps to attenuate the victim's pain.
3decimate
Again and again, Napoleon was able to decimate the armies of his enemies and lead his men to further victories.
4foible
Backbiting is on human foible not likely to be eradicated.
5fraught
Even with the most advanced equipment, expeditions to the top of Mt. Everest are still fraught with danger.
6cavil
I suggest you do not cavil over small things but instead focus on what is important.
7reconnoiter
Infantry officers often ask for volunteers to reconnoiter the terrain ahead before ordering their soldiers to advance.
8obsequious
Jane Austen ridiculed characters who were obsequious to the aristocracy but condescending to theri social inferiors.
9forgo
One of the best, if not the easiest, ways to lose weight is to forgo dessert.
10peremptory
The board members resented the director's peremptory tone of voice.
11shambles
The burlars made a complete shambles of the apartment in their search for money and jewelry.
12askance
The English teacher looked askance at the suggestion that students read compendiums of Dicken's novels.
13inure
The Inuit have become inure to the hardships of hte long Arctice winters through years of expereince.
14obtuse
The lieutenant was too obtuse to see the danger and led his company right into the hands of the enemy.
15rebuff
The old man rebuff his neighbors by refusing all offers of friendship.
Her rebuff of my inviation was quite rude.
16charlatan
The reporter exposed the real estate agent as a charlatan who routinely deceived her customers.
17sporadic
The soldiers heard sporadic gunfire from the other side of the river.
18oscillate
The terrified narrator in Poe's story "The Pit and the Pendulum" watches the dreaded instrument oscillate as it slowly moves toward him.
19penitent
The thief was sincerely penitent.
In the Middle Ages, penitent often confessed their sins publicly and were publicly punished.
20luminous
Walking under theat luminous night sky induced in me weighty thoughts not often pondered.