| Term | Definition |
|---|
| acme | (n.) the highest point |
| attribute | (n.) a quality or characteristic belonging to or associated with someone or something; (v.) to assign to, credit with; to regard as caused by or resulting from |
| belittle | (v.) to make something appear smaller than it is; to refer to in a way that suggests lack of importance or value |
| convey | (v.) to transport; to transmit; to communicate, make known; to transfer ownership or title to |
| doctrine | (n.) a belief, principle, or teaching; a system of such beliefs or principles; a formulation of such beliefs or principles |
| excise | (v.) to remove by cutting; (n.) an indirect tax on the manufacture, sale, or distribution of a commodity or service |
| exotic | (adj.) foreign; charmingly unfamiliar or strikingly unusual |
| haggard | (adj.) thin, pale, and careworn as a result of worry or suffering; wild-looking |
| jaunty | (adj.) lively, easy, and carefree in manner; smart or trim in appearance |
| juncture | (n.) a joining together; the point at which two things are joined; any important point in time |
| menial | (adj.) lowly, humble, lacking importance or dignity; (n.) a person who does the humble and unpleasant tasks |
| parry | (v.) to ward of, fend off, deflect, evade, avoid; (n.) a defensive movement in fencing and other sports |
| predatory | (adj.) preying on, plundering, or piratical |
| ravage | (v.) to destroy, lay waste, ruin; (n.) ruinous damage, destruction |
| stance | (n.) a way of holding the body; an attitude or position on an issue |
| tawdry | (adj.) showy and flashy but lacking in good taste |
| turncoat | (n.) a person who switches to an opposing side or party |
| unassuming | (adj.) not putting on airs, unpretentious; modest |
| wallow | (v.) to roll about in a lazy, clumsy, or helpless way; to overindulge in; to have in abundance; (n.) a wet, muddy, or dusty area used by animals as a sort of bath; a state of moral or physical collapse |
| waver | (v.) to move to and fro, become unsteady; to show lack of firmness or decision |
| abut | (v.) to join at one end or be next to; to support, prop up |
| attire | (n.) clothes, apparel, garb; (v.) to dress, adorn, or bedeck |
| avail | (v.) to be of use or benefit to; to make use of; to take advantage of; to profit or benefit; (n.) use, benefit, or value |
| crony | (n.) a very close friend, pal, chum, buddy |
| cryptic | (adj.) puzzling, mystifying, or enigmatic |
| divergent | (adj.) going in different directions; different from each other; departing from conversation, deviant |
| enmity | (n.) hatred, ill-will |
| fervent | (adj.) very earnest, emotional, passionate; extremely hot |
| gaunt | (adj.) thin and bony, starved looking; bare, barren |
| infiltrate | (v.) to pass through or gain entrance to gradually or stealthily |
| nullify | (v.) to make of no value or consequence, cancel, wipe out |
| perceptible | (adj.) capable of being grasped by the sense or mind |
| plummet | (v.) to plunge straight down; (n.) a weight fastened to a line |
| proclaim | (v.) to declare publicly or officially |
| proxy | (n.) an agent, substitute; a written permission allowing one person to act in another's place |
| rankle | (v.) to cause anger, irritation, or bitterness (with the suggestion that the pain grows worse with time) |
| scavenger | (n.) a person who collects or removes usable items from waste materials; an animal that feeds on refuse or dead bodies |
| stint | (v.) to limit, be sparing or frugal; (n.) a limit or restriction; a fixed share of work or duty; a period of activity |
| stoical | (adj.) self-controlled; not showing feeling in response to pleasure or pain |
| unflagging | (v.) tireless, continuing with vigor |
| apt | (adj.) suitable, fitting, likely; quick to learn |
| awry | (adj., adv.) in a turned or twisted position or direction; wrong, out of the right or hoped-for course |
| bludgeon | (n.) a short club used as a weapon; (v.) to strike with a heavy club; to use force or strong arguments to gain some point |
| capitulate | (v.) to end resistance, give up, surrender, throw in the towel |
| chafe | (v.) to warm by rubbing; to wear sore by rubbing; to feel annoyance or dissatisfaction, annoy, irk; to strain or press against; (n.) a sore or injury caused by rubbing |
| defile | (v., trans.) to make unclean or dirty, destroy the purity of; (v., intrans.) to march in a single line or in columns; (n.) a narrow passage; gorge, canyon |
| dire | (adj.) dreadful, causing fear or suffering; warning of trouble to come; demanding immediate action to avoid disaster |
| disarming | (adj.) charming, tending to get rid of unfriendliness or suspicion |
| disgruntled | (adj., part.) in bad humor, discontented, annoyed |
| encroach | (v.) to advance beyond the usual or proper limits, trespass |
| endow | (v.) to furnish, equip, provide with funds or some other desirable thing or quality |
| fend | (v.) to ward off, resist; to get along, manage |
| impunity | (n.) freedom from punishment |
| mien | (n.) air, manner; appearance; expression |
| penal | (adj.) having to do with punishment |
| pertinent | (adj.) related to the matter at hand, to the point |
| predominant | (adj.) the greatest in strength or power; most common |
| prodigy | (n.) something wonderful or marvelous; something monstrous or abnormal; an unusual feat; a child or young person with extraordinary ability or talent |
| recluse | (n.) a person who leads a life shut up or withdrawn from the world |
| renown | (n.) fame, glory |
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