to be on a par with	to be equal to sth (idiom)
bereft	deprieved of power or quality
at one swoop	single, deadly action (idiom)
seminal	strongly influencing further development
to surmise	to suppose, to guess
callow	inexperienced, immature
solvent	capable of meeting financial obligations
travesty	an absurd imitation of sth
dejected	depressed, sad
to connive	to allow a wrong action
unequivocal	clear, having one possible meaning
ponderous	awkward because of great weight
peevish	irritable
urbane	well-mannered, refined
overt	obvious
venial	forgivable, excusable, common
opportune	at the right moment
trite	commonly used
bedraggled	exhausted, tired, weaken
vapid	dull, uninteresting
to yank	to pull sharply with one move
lurid	gloomy, sensational, eerie
walkabout	a stroll among a crowd
yardstick	a point of reference for measurements
intractable	impossible to be solved
inscrutable	mysterious, impossible to be understood
to contrive	to plan sth carefully in a deceitful manner
impervious	insensitive
laudatory	expressing praise
moonlighter	sb who takes extra work after regular hours
subterfuge	a trick used to deceive sb
momentous	very important
steadfastness	loyalty
foolhardy	reckless, foolishly bold
to denigrate	to belittle
to beget	to result in/ to be the father of sth
on the blink	showing signs of breaking down
solicitous	very concerned, anxious
to waive	to disregard
morose	very unhappy, gloomy
to flaunt	to show off, to sport
to root for	to support, to cheer
arresting smile	attracting attention or interest
to intimidate	to frighten
to taunt sb	to try to provoke sb by critical or scornful remarks