| Term | Definition |
|---|
| meretricious | (adj) 1. alluring by a show of flashy or vulgar attractions; tawdry. 2. based on pretense, deception, or insincerity. 3. pertaining to or characteristic of a prostitute. |
| malapropism | (noun) 1. an act or habit of misusing words ridiculously, esp. by the confusion of words that are similar in sound. 2. an instance of this, as in “Lead the way and we'll precede.” |
| magnanimous | (adj) 1. generous in forgiving an insult or injury; free from petty resentfulness or vindictiveness. 2. high-minded; noble. 3. proceeding from or revealing generosity or nobility of mind, character, etc. |
| metamorphosis | (noun) 1. a transformation, as by magic or sorcery. 2. a marked change in appearance, character, condition, or function. 3. Biology. a change in the form and often habits of an animal during normal development after the embryonic stage. 4. Pathology. a usually degenerative change in the structure of a particular body tissue. |
| missive | (noun) 1. a written message; letter. (adj) 2. sent or about to be sent, esp. of a letter from an official source. |
| miscreant | (adj) 1. depraved, villainous, or base. (noun) 2. a vicious or depraved person; villain. |
| moiety | (noun) 1. a half. 2. an indefinite portion, part, or share. 3. Anthropology. one of two units into which a tribe or community is divided on the basis of unilineal descent. |
| milieu | (noun) surroundings, esp. of a social or cultural nature |
| nemesis | (noun) 1. something that a person cannot conquer, achieve, etc. 2. an opponent or rival whom a person cannot best or overcome. 3. (initial capital letter) Classical Mythology. the goddess of divine retribution. 4. an agent or act of retribution or punishment. |
| nihilism | (noun) 1. total rejection of established laws and institutions. 2. anarchy, terrorism, or other revolutionary activity. 3. total and absolute destructiveness, esp. toward the world at large and including oneself. 4. Philosophy. a. an extreme form of skepticism: the denial of all real existence or the possibility of an objective basis for truth. b. nothingness or nonexistence. 5. (sometimes initial capital letter) the principles of a Russian revolutionary group, active in the latter half of the 19th century, holding that existing social and political institutions must be destroyed in order to clear the way for a new state of society and employing extreme measures, including terrorism and assassination. |
| nostrum | (noun) 1. a medicine sold with false or exaggerated claims and with no demonstrable value; quack medicine. 2. a scheme, theory, device, etc., esp. one to remedy social or political ills; panacea. 3. a medicine made by the person who recommends it. 4. a patent medicine. |
| nonsectarian | (adj) not affiliated with or limited to a specific religious denomination. |
| obstreperous | (adj) 1. resisting control or restraint in a difficult manner; unruly. 2. noisy, clamorous, or boisterous. |
| oligarchy | (noun) 1. a form of government in which all power is vested in a few persons or in a dominant class or clique; government by the few. 2. a state or organization so ruled. 3. the persons or class so ruling. |
| obdurate | (adj) 1. unmoved by persuasion, pity, or tender feelings; stubborn; unyielding. 2. stubbornly resistant to moral influence; persistently impenitent |
| obsequious | (adj) 1. characterized by or showing servile complaisance or deference; fawning. 2. servilely compliant or deferential. 3. obedient; dutiful. |
| obtuse | (adj) 1. not quick or alert in perception, feeling, or intellect; not sensitive or observant; dull. 2. not sharp, acute, or pointed; blunt in form. 3. (of a leaf, petal, etc.) rounded at the extremity. 4. indistinctly felt or perceived, as pain or sound. |
| onerous | (adj) 1. burdensome, oppressive, or troublesome; causing hardship. 2. having or involving obligations or responsibilities, esp. legal ones, that outweigh the advantages. |
| ostensible | (adj) 1. outwardly appearing as such; professed; pretended. 2. apparent, evident, or conspicuous |
| orthography | (noun) 1. the art of writing words with the proper letters, according to accepted usage; correct spelling. 2. the part of language study concerned with letters and spelling. 3. an orthographic projection, or an elevation drawn by means of it. |
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