| Term | Definition |
|---|
| abulia | A symptom of a mental disorder involving impairment or loss of volition. |
| acumen | Keen insight; shrewdness. |
| agitprop | Agitation and propaganda, especially for Communist purposes. |
| amanuensis | A person employed to write what another dictates; a secretary. |
| ambit | Circumference; boundary; sphere of influence or activity. |
| ambuscade | An ambush; to ambush. |
| animadversion | Very harsh criticism. |
| anodyne | (N) Something that relieves pain; (adj) relieving pain, soothing. |
| apogee | The highest or most distant point. |
| atelier | A workshop or studio, especially of an artist. |
| autochthonous | Indigenous; also, in reference to an idea that seems to come from a source outside the thinker, and has little to do with the current thought process. |
| bagatelle | Something of little importance; a short, light musical composition. |
| beau ideal | Conception of perfection. |
| bedizen | To adorn in a showy, gaudy, or tasteless manner |
| bellwether | An indication of a trend; a warning sign. |
| boulevardier | One who frequents fashionable locales. |
| bowdlerize | To expurgate passages that could be considered objectionable from literature. |
| camarilla | A group of unofficial or private advisors to a person of authority; a cabal. |
| carom | To strike something and then rebound from it. |
| cavil | To raise trivial objections, or find fault unnecessarily. |
| claque | A group of sycophants. |
| clerisy | Learned persons as a class; also, intelligentsia, literati. |
| collude | To conspire, to act together in secret understanding, usually for evil purposes. |
| commination | A threat of punishment; denunciation. |
| condign | Well-deserved; fitting; appropriate. |
| confluence | Flowing or running together; a junction. |
| conspectus | A general or comprehensive view; a survey, summary, or resume. |
| cupidity | Greed; avarice. |
| deracinate | To uproot; to isolate or alienate a person from a native or accustomed culture or environment. |
| desideratum | Something that is greatly desired. |
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