Lucid: clear
Precpice: steep slope
Salubrious: health-giving
Impecunious: having no money
Truncate: cut short
Impious: wicked; profane
Orthodox: conventional
Ameliorate: make better
Tumult: uproar; noise
Carping: constant criticism
Precocious: developing early
Sanction: give approval to
Amiable: friendly
Tyro: beginner
Sardonic: mocking
Expedite: make faster
Deter: put off; prevent
Savant: person with knowledge
Prerogative: right or privilege
Extol: praise