This is, quite simply, an ongoing list of words that I’ve come across in reading that I’ve found particularly interesting or useful.

abstemious
not self-indulgent, especially when eating and drinking.
agglomeration
a collection of unrelated items (versus conglomeration)
alacrity
brisk and cheerful readiness.
anapest
a metrical foot consisting of two short or unstressed syllables followed by one long or stressed syllable.
antipodes
exact opposites
aptronym
a person’s name that is regarded as amusingly appropriate to their occupation.
assiduity
constant or close attention to what one is doing.
atavistic
relating to or characterized by reversion to something ancient or ancestral.
bildungsroman
a novel dealing with one person’s formative years or spiritual education.
capacious
having a lot of space inside; roomy.
concupiscence
strong sexual desire; lust.
descry
catch sight of
desideratum
something that is needed or wanted.
discomfit
make (someone) feel uneasy or embarrassed.
escarpment
a long, steep slope, especially one at the edge of a plateau or separating areas of land at different heights.
erudition
the quality of having or showing great knowledge or learning; scholarship.
garrulous
excessively talkative, especially on trivial matters.
hagiographic
the writing of the lives of saints
jape
practical joke
limn
depict or describe in painting or words.
suffuse or highlight (something) with a bright color or light.
munificence
the quality or action of being lavishly generous; great generosity.
ontological
relating to the branch of metaphysics dealing with the nature of being.
showing the relations between the concepts and categories in a subject area or domain.
palimpsest
a manuscript or piece of writing material on which the original writing has been effaced to make room for later writing but of which traces remain.
something reused or altered but still bearing visible traces of its earlier form.
paroxysm
a sudden attack or violent expression of a particular emotion or activity.
pellucid
translucently clear.
lucid in style or meaning; easily understood.
peregrination
a journey, especially a long or meandering one.
perfidy
deceitfulness; untrustworthiness.
peripatetic
traveling from place to place, in particular working or based in various places for relatively short periods.
perspicuity
something that can be seen through, i.e., to lucidity, clearness of style or exposition, freedom from obscurity: the perspicuity of her argument.
plangent
(of a sound) loud, reverberating, and often melancholy.
poetaster
a person who writes inferior poetry.
profligacy
reckless extravagance or wastefulness in the use of resources.
licentious or dissolute behavior.
prurient
having or encouraging an excessive interest in sexual matters.
querulous
complaining in a petulant or whining manner.
ratiocination
the process of exact thinking : reasoning.
a reasoned train of thought.
redolent
strongly reminiscent or suggestive of.
fragrant or sweet-smelling.
refulgent
shining brightly.
sententious
given to moralizing in a pompous or affected manner.
upbraid
find fault with (someone); scold.
vertiginous
causing vertigo, especially by being extremely high or steep.
vituperative
harsh, abusive and critical