| Term | Definition |
| accelerate | to speed up, cause to move faster |
| bystander | one who looks or observes from the outside |
| canvass | to go through an area in order to procure votes, sales, or opinions |
| casual | happenening by chance or on an irregular basis |
| downtrodden | treated unfairly |
| entice | to attract, tempt |
| erode | to wear away gradually, eat away |
| flounder | to thrash about in a clumsy way |
| graphic | lifelike, vivid; relating to the pictorial arts |
| gruesome | horrible, revolting, ghastly |
| melancholy | sad, gloomy, unhappy |
| ordeal | a difficult or painful experience |
| parch | to make dry or thirsty |
| persist | to continue steadily in a course of action, refuse to stop or be changed; to last, remain |
| puny | of less than normal strength or size |
| quibble | to evade or belittle a point by twisting words or raising minor objections |
| ratify | to approve, give formal approval to, confirm |
| regal | royal, kinglike; fit for a king |
| stifile | to smother, prevent from breathing |
| vital | having life, necessary to life |