- brevity: shortness
- comport: to conduct or bear oneself, behave; to be in agreement
- concise: expressing much in few words
- demure: sober or serious in manner, modest
- depreciation: the lessening in value; a belittling
- deteriorate: to lower in quality or value; to wear away
- divulge: to tell, reveal; to make public
- enlightened: free from ignorance and false ideas; possessing sound understanding
- forestall: to prevent by acting first
- garble: to distort in such a way as to make unintelligible
- proponent: one who puts forward a proposal; one who supports a cause or belief
- quaver: to shake, tremble; to trill
- recoil: to spring back, shrink
- recoup: to make up for, regain
- reek: an unpleasant smell; to give off unpleasant smells; to give a strong impression
- relentless: unyielding, harsh, without pity
- rivulet: a small stream
- squander: to spend foolishly, waste
- staccato: detached or disconnected in sound or style
- statute: a law