 | Term | Definition |
| |
abstruse |
(adj.) extremely difficult to understand |
| |
affront |
(n.) an open or intentional insult; a slight; (v.)to insult to one's face; to face in defiance, confront |
| |
canard |
(n.) a false rumor, fabricated story |
| |
captious |
(adj.) excessively ready to find fault; given to petty criticism; intended to trap, confuse, or show up |
| |
cognizant |
(adj.) aware, knowledgeable, informed; having jurisdiction |
| |
contrite |
(adj.) regretful for some misdeed or sin; plagued by a series of guilt; thoroughly penitent |
| |
cynosure |
(n.) the center of attraction, attention, or interest; something that serves to guide or direct |
| |
decorous |
(adj.) well behaved, dignified, socially proper |
| |
deign |
(v.) to think it appropriate or suitable to one's dignity to something; to condescend |
| |
desiccated |
(adj., part.) thoroughly dried out; divested of spirit or vitality; arid and uninteresting |
| |
efficacy |
(n.) the power to produce a desired result |
| |
engender |
(v.) to bring into existence, give rise to, produce; to come into existence, assume form |
| |
ethereal |
(adj.) light, airy,delicate; highly refined; suggesting what is heavenly (rather than earthbound |
| |
facade |
(n.) the front of face of a building; a surface appearance (as opposed to what may lie behind) |
| |
ghoulish |
(adj.) revolting in an unnatural or morbid way; suggestive of someone who robs graves or otherwise preys on the dead |
| |
incongruous |
(adj.) not in keeping, unsuitable , incompatible |
| |
machination |
(n.) a crafty, scheming, or underhand action designed to accomplish some (usually evil) end |
| |
mesmerize |
(v.) to hypnotize, entrance; to fascinate, enthrall, bewitch |
| |
opprobrium |
(n.) disgrace arising from shameful conduct; contempt, reproach |
| |
putative |
(adj.) generally regarded as such; reputed; hypothesized, inferred |
