having a tightening effect on living tissue; harsh; severe

1541, from L. astringentum (nom. astringens), prp. of astringere "to bind fast," from ad- "to" + stringere "draw tight" (see strain (v.)).

synonym:  constricting 

sharing a border; touching; adjacent

1605–15; < L contiguus bordering upon, equiv. to con- con- + tig- (var. s. of -tingere, comb. form of tangere to touch; see tangent, contingent, contact ) + -uus deverbal adj. suffix; cf. -ous, continuous

think of "in contact with"

damaging; harmful; injurious

1643, from L.L. inimicalis "hostile," from L. inimicus "unfriendly, an enemy" (see enemy).

means, essentially, "the effect of an enemy". 

adherence to highest principles; uprightness

1514, from M.Fr. probité, from L. probitatem (nom. probitas) "uprightness, honesty," from probus "worthy, good" (see prove). 

a natural predisposition or inclination

1591, from L. proclivitatem (nom. proclivitas) "a tendency, propensity," from proclivis "prone to," lit. "sloping," from pro- "forward" + clivus "a slope," from PIE *klei-wo-, suffixed form of *klei "to lean" (see lean (v.)).

shares root with cliff, which is also seen in incline, which is then the root of inclination, which is a synonym of proclivity.

excessively wasteful; recklessly extravagant

1526, "overthrown" (implied in profligation), from L. profligatus "destroyed, dissolute," pp. of profligare "to cast down, defeat, ruin," from pro- "down, forth" + fligere "to strike" (see afflict). Meaning "recklessly extravagant" is 1779, via notion of "ruined by vice" (1647).

similar sounding (sort of) synonym: prodigal 

a natural inclination or tendency

maybe shares a root with prone... so in this sense, the word means "being prone to". 

dull; unimaginative

shares root with prose (the ordinary form of spoken or written language, without metrical structure, as distinguished from poetry or verse.)... which extended to mean ordinary in all senses. 

foolishly impractical; marked by lofty romantic ideals

"extravagantly chivalrous," 1791, from Don Quixote, romantic, impractical hero of Cervantes' satirical novel "Don Quixote de la Mancha" (1605). 

occurring or recurring daily; commonplace

shares root with the "how many" associated  quotient, and also shares a root with day.  Therefore, refers to occuring in some number every day... which then evolved further to mean commonplace.

to make or become thin, less dense; to refine

1398, from O.Fr. rarefier (14c.), from M.L. rarificare, from L. rarefacere "make rare," from rarus "rare, thin" (see rare (1)) + facere "to make" (see factitious).

similar sounding synonym: "refine" 

hidden; concealed; difficult to understand; obscure

1649, "removed or hidden from view," from L. reconditus, pp. of recondere "store away," from re- "away" + condere "to store, hide, put together," from con- "together" + -dere "to put, place." Meaning "removed from ordinary understanding, profound" is from 1652; of writers or sources, "obscure," it is recorded from 1817.

means, essentially, "removed from being put together". 

radiant; shiny; brilliant

shares root with flame... means "that which flames back"... or "that which shines back"... or simply "shiny".

implied; not explicitly stated

1604, from Fr. tacite, from L. tacitus "that is passed over in silence, done without words, assumed, silent," prop. pp. of tacere "to be silent," from PIE base *tak- "to be silent" (cf. Goth. þahan, O.N. þegja "to be silent," O.N. þagna "to grow dumb," O.S. thagian, O.H.G. dagen "to be silent"). The musical instruction tacet is the 3rd person present sing. of the L. verb. 

brief and concise in wording

1599 (implied in tersely), "clean-cut, burnished, neat," from Fr. ters "clean," from L. tersus "wiped off, clean, neat," from pp. of tergere "to rub, polish, wipe." Sense of "concise or pithy in style or language" is from 1777, which led to a general sense of "neatly concise."  

to publicly praise or promote

1700, thieves' cant, "to act as a lookout, spy on," from M.E. tuten "to peep, peer," probably from a variant of O.E. totian "to stick out, peep, peer," from P.Gmc. *tut- "project" (cf. Du. tuit "sprout, snout," M.Du. tute "nipple, pap," M.L.G. tute "horn, funnel," O.N. tota "teat, toe of a shoe"). The sense developed to "look out for jobs, votes, etc., to try to get them" (1731), then "praise highly" (1920). 

sharply perceptive; keen; penetrating

c.1330, "cutting, sharp," from O.Fr. trenchant "cutting, sharp," prp. of trenchier "to cut" (see trench). Figurative sense is recorded from 1603.

when you dig a trench, you are penetrating the ground... when you are trenchant, you are penetratingly perceptive

to waver indecisively between one course of action or opinion and another; waver

slightly similar sounding synonym: fluctuate 

multicolored; characterized by a variety of patches of different color

shares roots with varied and agent (meaning "reprentative")... so this then means "of varied representations"... which has become "of varied colors". 

quick, keen, or accurate knowledge or insight

1531, from L. acumen "a point, sting," hence "sharpness, shrewdness," from acuere "to sharpen" (see acuity).

shares root with acute (sharp) 

to disguise or conceal; to mislead

shares root with simulate, meaning "to create a likeness of"... so this means the opposite.  it is the antonym of resemble. 

rendered trite or commonplace by frequent usage

c.1700, originally, "person hired to do routine work," short for hackney "an ordinary horse" (c.1300), probably from place name Hackney (Middlesex), from O.E. Hacan ieg "Haca's Isle" (or possibly "Hook Island"). Now well within London, it was once pastoral. Apparently nags were raised on the pastureland there in early medieval times and taken to Smithfield horse market (cf. Fr. haquenée "ambling nag," an Eng. loan-word). Extended sense of "horse for hire" (1393) led naturally to "broken-down nag," and also "prostitute" (1579) and "drudge" (1546). Special sense of "one who writes anything for hire" led to hackneyed "trite" (1749); hack writer is first recorded 1826, though hackney writer is at least 50 years earlier. 

devotion to pleasurable pursuits, esp. to the pleasures of the senses

1855–60; < Gk hēdon() pleasure + -ism 

the consistent dominance of one state of ideology over others

1567, from Gk. hegemonia "leadership," from hegemon "leader," from hegeisthai "to lead." Originally of predominance of one city state or another in Gk. history. 

one who attacks or undermines traditional conventions or institutions

"breaker or destroyer of images," 1596, from Fr. iconoclaste, from M.L. iconoclastes, from Late Gk. eikonoklastes, from eikon (gen. eikonos) "image" + klastes "breaker," from klas- pt. stem of klan "to break." Originally those in the Eastern Church in 8c. and 9c. whose mobs of followers destroyed icons and other religious objects on the grounds that they were idols. Applied to 16c.-17c. Protestants in Netherlands who vandalized former Catholic churches on similar grounds. Extended sense of "one who attacks orthodox beliefs or institutions" is first attested 1842. Iconoclasm in this sense is from 1858. 

revealing no emotion

refers to "emotional passivity" 

immunity from punishment or penalty

Similar Sounding Synonym: Immunity

Shares root with punish 

in an initial stage; not fully formed

1525–35; < L inchoātus, var. of incohātus ptp. of incohāre to begin, start work on, perh. equiv. to in- -in-2 + coh(um) hollow of a yoke into which the pole is fitted + -ātus -ate 1 

unfortunate; inappropriate

felicity means "well-suited" 

without taste or flavor; lacking in spirit; bland

1620, "without taste or perceptible flavor," from Fr. insipide, from L.L. inspidus "tasteless," from L. in- "not" + sapidus "tasty," from sapere "have a taste" (also "be wise"). Fig. meaning "uninteresting, dull" first recorded 1649, but it was also a secondary sense in M.L.

shares root with sage, meaning "have a taste"... which is where the name for the spice came from. 

to obstruct or block

shares root with close, which is still a synonym 

the art or profession of training, teaching, or instructing

"pedagogue" means teacher...

1387, "schoolmaster, teacher," from O.Fr. pedagogue "teacher of children," from L. paedagogus "slave who escorted children to school and generally supervised them," later "a teacher," from Gk. paidagogos, from pais (gen. paidos) "child" + agogos "leader," from agein "to lead" (see act). Hostile implications in the word are at least from the time of Pepys. Pedagogy is 1583 from M.Fr. pédagogie, from Gk. paidagogia "education, attendance on children," from paidagogos "teacher." 

poverty; destitution

shares root with penurious (meaning "penny-pinching") 

the essential or central part

shares root with pit... as in the seed or "heart" of a fruit... evolved to mean to mean the "heart" of anything... 

precise and brief

"gets to the pith (central idea) of the issue" 

a superficial remark, esp. one offered as meaningful

shares root with plate, and both share a root with the word flat... so this is meant as a "flat statement". 

given or coming forth abundantly; extravagant

1432, from L. profusus "spread out, lavish, extravagant," lit. "poured forth," prop. pp. of profundere "pour forth," from pro- "forth" + fundere "to pour" (see found (2)). Profusion is first attested 1545, from L. profusionem (nom. profusio) "a pouring out," from profusus. 

to grow or increase swiftly and abundantly

shares root with prolific, meaning "productive" 

prone to complaining or grumbling; quarrelsome

shares root with quarrelsome, which is still a similar sounding synonym 

obstinately defiant of authority; difficult to manage

Similar Sounding Synonyms: Rebellious, Refractory, Resistant 

to refuse to have anything to do with; disown

1545, "to cast off by divorce," from adj. meaning "divorced, rejected, condemned" (1464), from L. repudiatus, pp. of repudiare "to divorce or reject," from repudium "divorce, rejection," from re- "back, away" + pudium, probably related to pes-/ped- "foot." The original notion may be of kicking something away, but folk etymology commonly connects it with pudere "cause shame to." Of opinions, conduct, etc., attested from 1824.

Similar Sounding Synonym: Reject 

to invalidate; to repeal; to retract

Similar Sounding Synonym: Retract 

seeming true, but actually being fallacious; misleadingly attractive

c.1400, "pleasing to the sight, fair," from L. speciosus "good-looking, beautiful," from species "appearance" (see species). Meaning "seemingly desirable, reasonable or probable, but not really so" is first recorded 1612. 

lacking authenticity or validity; false; counterfeit

1598, "born out of wedlock," from L. spurius "illegitimate, false" (cf. It. spurio, Sp. espurio), from spurius (n.) "illegitimate child," probably from Etruscan spural "public." Sense of "having an irregular origin, not properly constituted" is from 1601; that of "false, sham" is from 1615. 

excess; overindulgence

c.1300, from O.Fr. surfet "excess," noun use of pp. of surfaire "overdo," from sur- "over" + faire "do," from L. facere "to make" (see factitious). The verb is first recorded 1393. 

agreeable; responsive to suggestion

Similar Sounding Synonym: agreeable 

to demonstrate contempt for, as in a rule or convention; mock; scoff

1551, perhaps a special use of M.E. flowten "to play the flute" (cf. M.Du. fluyten "to play the flute," also "to jeer"). 

calm and peaceful

1545, in halcyon dayes (L. alcyonei dies, Gk. alkyonides hemerai), 14 days of calm weather at the winter solstice, when a mythical bird (identified with the kingfisher) was said to breed in a nest floating on calm seas. From halcyon (n.), 1390, from L. halcyon, from Gk. halkyon, variant (perhaps a misspelling) of alkyon "kingfisher," from hals "sea, salt" + kyon "conceiving," prp. of kyein "to conceive," lit. "to swell," from PIE base *keue- "to swell." Identified in mythology with Halcyone, daughter of Aeolus, who when widowed threw herself into the sea and became a kingfisher. 

arrogant presumption or pride

1884, from Gk. hybris "wanton violence, insolence, outrage," originally "presumption toward the gods," of unknown origin. 

in Classical Athenian usage, the intentional use of violence to humiliate or degrade. The most famous example was the case of Meidias, who punched the orator Demosthenes in the face when the latter was dressed in ceremonial robes and performing an official function. Hubris could also characterize rape. Hubris was a crime at least from the time of Solon (6th century BC), and any citizen could bring charges against another party, as was the case also for treason or impiety. (In contrast, only a member of the victim's family could bring charges for murder.) 

using few words; terse

"concise, abrupt," 1589, from Gk. Lakonikos, from Lakon "person from Lakonia," the district around Sparta in southern Greece in ancient times, whose inhabitants were famous for their brevity of speech. When Philip of Macedon threatened them with, "If I enter Laconia, I will raze Sparta to the ground," the Spartans' reply was, "If." 

the condition of being untruthful; dishonesty

shares root with amend... while "amend" means "to correct an error", "mendacity" means "to make an error intentionally". 

unyielding; hardhearted; intractable; stubborn

shares root with endure (dure, meaning "hard"). 

to deliberately obscure; to make confusing

1536, from L. obfuscatus, pp. of obfuscare "to darken," from ob "over" + fuscare "to make dark," from fuscus "dark."

Similar sounding synonym: obscure 

exhibiting a fawning attentiveness; full of or exhibiting servile compliance

c.1450, "prompt to serve," from L. obsequiosus "compliant, obedient," from obsequium "compliance, dutiful service," from obsequi "to accommodate oneself to the will of another," from ob "after" + sequi "follow" (see sequel). Pejorative sense of "fawning, sycophantic" had emerged by 1599 (implied in obsequiously). 

stubborn; hardheaded; uncompromising

shares root with stand... suggesting the connection between being stubborn and taking a stand. 

disgrace; contempt; scorn; infamy

similar sounding syonym (a stretch): the result of causing a problem 

controversial; argumentative

French polémique, from Greek polemikos, hostile, from polemos, war 

characterized by bitter, long-lasting resentment

shares root with rancid, referring to "bitterness" 

diligent; persistent; hard-working

shares root with sit... therefore akin to "sitting steadfastly"..? 

greed, esp. for wealth.

c.1300, from O.Fr. avarice, from L. avaritia "greed," from avarus "greedy," adj. form of avere "crave, long for." 

severe criticism or punishment.

shares root with chastise 

regretful; penitent; seeking forgiveness

trite originally meant "worn; exhausted"... contrite therefore suggests a "conscience worn down".  the word trite now means something tedious and unoriginal because it is in itself worn out.

smallness of quantity or number; scarcity; a lack

c.1250, derthe "scarcity," abstract n. formed from root of O.E. deore "precious, costly" (see dear). Originally used of famines, when food was costly because scarce. 

to question or oppose

c.1225, "to linger, tarry," from O.Fr. demorer "delay, retard," from L. demorari, from de- + morari "to delay," from mora "a pause, delay." Main modern sense of "raise objections" is first attested 1639. 

a mournful poem, esp. one lamenting the dead

1514, from M.Fr. elegie, from L. elegia, from Gk. elegeia ode "an elegaic song," from elegeia, fem. of elegeios "elegaic," from elegos "poem or song of lament," perhaps from a Phrygian word. 

Similar but different: eulogy 

marked by stealth; covert; surreptitious

shares root with fertile (meaning to bear)... furt implied to bear another's things... suggesting a thief.  this in turn, led to thief-like, which led to stealthy.

Fur"tive\, a. [L. furtivus, fr. furtum theft, fr. fur thief, akin to ferre to bear: cf. F. furtif. See Fertile.] Stolen; obtained or characterized by stealth; sly; secret; stealthy; as, a furtive look. 

to deliver a pompous speech or tirade.

 shares root with ring... meaning originally "to speak to a ring of people."

lacking funds; without money

1590–1600; im- 2 + obs. pecunious wealthy < L pecūniōsus, equiv. to pecūni(a) wealth + -ōsus -ous 

beginning to come into being or to become apparent

[L. incipiens, p. pr. of incipere to begin. See Inception.]... think of conception. 

unmoving; lethargic; sluggish

from the root art, meaning skill.  inert meant "unskilled", and evolved into "unmoving".

Think of "inertia", which could be interpreted as meaning "the tendency of something to resist movement." 

refusing to compromise

shares root with transaction... means unwilling to come to an agreement. 

to obtain by deception or flattery

1494, "to blind (someone's) judgment," from M.Fr. aveugler "delude, make blind," from V.L. *aboculus "without sight, blind," from L. ab- "without" + oculus "eye." Loan-transl. of Gk. ap ommaton "without eyes." Meaning "to win over by deceit, seduce" is c.1540. 

evoking intense aversion or dislike

c.1380, from Anglo-Fr. odious, from O.Fr. odieus (1376, Mod.Fr. odieux), from L. odiosus "hateful," from odium "hatred"

synonym: hateful 

think of how much garfield dislikes odie. 

abundant in size, force, or extent; extraordinary

1552, "having the appearance of a prodigy," from L. prodigiosus "strange, wonderful, marvelous," from prodigium (see prodigy).

to depart cladestinely; to steal off and hide

1565, from L. abscondere "to hide, conceal," from ab(s)- "away" + condere "put together, store," from com- "together" + dere "put," from PIE *dhe- "to put, place, make" (see factitious). The notion is of "to hide oneself," esp. to escape debt or the law. 

one who practices rigid self-denial, esp. as an act of religious devotion

Synonym: abstainer 

a song of hymn of praise or thanksgiving

[Latin paeān, hymn of thanksgiving, often addressed to Apollo, from Greek paiān, from Paiā, a title of Apollo.] 

penny-pinching; excessively thrifty; ungenerous

sounds like penny-pinching 

intentional breach of faith; treachery

per is through... fidy is faith... "through faith" 

extremely harmful; potentially causing death

from nex, meaning death... think of noxious 

acutely perceptive; having keen discernment

related to perspective (also to spectacle)... means to "see through".

stillness; motionlessness; quality of being at rest

shares root with quiet. 

awe-inspiring; worthy of honor

doubt originally meant "to fear"... this therefore meant "worthy of fear", which later lead to "worthy of respect."

quiet; reserved; reluctant to express thoughts and feelings

related to tacit, meaning "silent"... think of taciturn, which means "inclined to silence... reserved".

"Deviating from the norm."

Adjective 

Ab: “away from”

Errant: "deviating from the regular or proper course"

 Combined: "Away from the regular course"

Similar to:  Errant 

"intentional obstruction, especially using prolonged speechmaking to delay legislative action."

noun

freebooter: “pirate”

 Combined: "time pirate..?"

"Accustomed to accepting something undesirable."

Adjective 

in: “in”

ure: "to exercise, accustom by practice"

 Combined: "accustomed to by experience" 

Example:  he has become inured to the cold.

Similar to:  in use

"easily angered; prone to temperamental outbursts."

Adjective 

irasci: “to be angry”

ible: "susceptible"

 Combined: "susceptible to become angry" 

Similar to:  ire (intense anger)

"To anticipate and dispose of effectively; render unnecessary. See Synonyms at prevent."

verb

obvious: “easily recognized”

ate:suffix sometimes used in verb-formation

 Combined: "the action of recognizing"

Similar to: obvious