Word List

Meretricious

adjective
alluring by a show of flashy or vulgar attractions; tawdry.
based on pretense, deception, or insincerity.

Chintzy


of, like, or decorated with chintz.

cheap, inferior, or gaudy.


Chimerical


unreal; imaginary; visionary: a chimerical terrestrial paradise.
wildly fanciful; highly unrealistic: a chimerical plan.


Sublime


elevated or lofty in thought, language, etc.: Paradise Lost is sublime poetry.

impressing the mind with a sense of grandeur or power; inspiring awe, veneration, etc.: Switzerland has sublime scenery.

supreme or outstanding: a sublime dinner.

complete; absolute; utter: sublime stupidity


Sophist


any of a class of professional teachers in ancient Greece who gave instruction in various fields, as in general culture, rhetoric, politics, or disputation.

a person belonging to this class at a later period who, while professing to teach skill in reasoning, concerned himself with ingenuity and specious effectiveness rather than soundness of argument.

a person who reasons adroitly and speciously rather than soundly.

a philosopher.


Casuistry

specious, deceptive, or oversubtle reasoning, esp. in questions of morality; fallacious or dishonest application of general principles; sophistry.

the application of general ethical principles to particular cases of conscience or conduct.


Chandler


a person who makes or sells candles and sometimes other items of tallow or wax, as soap.

a dealer or trader in supplies, provisions, etc., of a specialized type: a ship chandler.

a retailer of provisions, groceries, etc.


Draper



a dealer in cloth; a retail merchant or clerk who sells piece goods.

a retail merchant or clerk who sells clothing and dry goods.


Milliner


a person who designs, makes, or sells hats for women.


Vintner

a person who makes wine or sells wines.


Haberdasher

a retail dealer in men's furnishings, as shirts, ties, gloves, socks, and hats.

Chiefly British . a dealer in small wares and notions.