abortive
a. unsuccessful; failing to accomplish an intended objective; fruitless |
aerostatics
n. a branch of statics that deals with the equilibrium of gaseous fluids and of solid bodies immersed in them |
animadvert
v. express blame or censure or make a harshly critical remark |
argot
n. a characteristic language of a particular group, as among thieves |
baroque
a. complex or bizarre, especially in ornamentation; irregular in shape |
biennium
n. a period of two years |
brogue
n. a thick and heavy shoe; a strong outdoor shoe with ornamental patterns |
cacophonous
a. discordant; inharmonious; sounding harshly; ill-sounding |
cantata
n. story or poem set to music that can be sung by chorus |
cathode
n. a negatively charged electrode that is the source of electrons entering an electrical device |
clangor
n. loud, resounding noise; sharp, metallic, ringing sound; resonant, clanging sound |
cogency
n. power of proving or of producing belief; quality of being highly probable or convincing; force; credibility |
comity
n. a state or atmosphere of harmony or mutual civility and respect |
concomitant
a. in conjunction with; accompanying; associated with |
consanguineous
a. of the same lineage or origin; having common ancestor |
contemn
v. look down on with disdain; treat or regard with contempt |
contuse
v. injure the underlying soft tissue or bone of |
corporeal
a. bodily; of a material nature; tangible |
coxswain
n. the helmsman of a ship's boat or a racing crew |
declension
n. the variation of the form of a noun, pronoun, or adjective, by which its grammatical case, number, and gender are identified; process of changing to an inferior state |
demagnetize
v. make nonmagnetic; take away the magnetic properties; erase |
deponent
n. a person who testifies or gives a deposition |
desiccant
n. a substance that promotes drying, e.g., calcium oxide absorbs water and is used to remove moisture |
diacritical
a. capable of distinguishing; showing up a distinction |
diminution
n. the act of decreasing or reducing something; change toward something smaller or lower |
discountenance
v. look with disfavor on; show disapproval by discouraging |
dissentient
a. disagreeing, especially with a majority |
distaff
n. the sphere of work by women; a stick or spindle onto which wool or flax is wound for spinning |
dowdy
a. lacking stylishness or neatness; shabby; old-fashioned |
duteous
a. willingly obedient out of a sense of duty and respect |
effervescent
a. marked by high spirits or excitement |
effuse
v. give out or emit; flow or spill forth; pour out |
embolism
n. an insertion into a calendar; obstruction of an artery, typically by a clot of blood or an air bubble |
empirical
a. derived from experiment and observation rather than theory |
ennoble
v. confer dignity or honor upon; give a title to someone; make someone a member of the nobility |
esquire
n. a title of respect for someone, whose rank just below a knight; an attendant and shield bearer to a knight; a candidate for knighthood |
eureka
n. an alloy of copper and nickel with high electrical resistance and a low temperature coefficient; used as resistance wire |
exigent
a. requiring precise accuracy; demanding attention |
expostulation
n. the act of expressing earnest opposition or protest; an exclamation of protest or remonstrance or reproof |
farrier
n. a person who shoes horses; a blacksmith |
feudalism
n. the social system that developed in Europe in the 8th century; vassals were protected by lords who they had to serve in war |
forecastle
n. living quarters consisting of a superstructure in the bow of a merchant ship where the crew is housed |
fusible
a. capable of being melted and fused |
grebe
n. small compact-bodied almost completely aquatic bird that builds floating nests; similar to loons but smaller and with lobate rather than webbed feet |
heterogeneous
a. consisting of dissimilar elements or parts; completely different |
incunabula
n. any book printed before 1501; the infancy or earliest stages of something |
inquisition
n. a severe interrogation, often violating the rights or privacy of individuals |
interposition
n. the act or fact of interjecting or interposing one thing between or among others |
inure
v. apply in use; use or accustom till no pain or inconvenience; harden; habituate |
iridescence
n. the visual property of something having a milky brightness and a play of colors from the surface |
isobar
n. an isogram connecting points having equal barometric pressure at a given time, for meteorology |
lackadaisical
a. lacking purpose or zest; halfhearted; lacking spirit or liveliness |
laxative
a. having a tendency to loosen or relax. |
libertine
n. free thinker, usually used disparagingly; one without moral restraint |
lingual
a. relating to, near, or on the side toward the tongue; relating to speech or language |
littoral
a. of or relating to a coastal or shore region |
macadamize
v. pave by laying and compacting successive layers of broken stone, often with asphalt or hot tar |
marmot
n. stocky coarse-furred burrowing rodent with a short bushy tail found throughout the northern hemisphere; hibernates in winter |
metonymy
n. substituting the name of an attribute or feature for the name of the thing itself |
ministration
n. assistance in time of difficulty |
modish
a. in the current fashion or style |
mordacious
a. capable of wounding; biting or given to biting |
muleteer
n. a worker who drives mules |
necromancer
n. one who practices magic or sorcery; one who practices divination by conjuring up the dead |
neurology
n. the branch of medicine that deals with the nervous system and its disorders |
obsolescence
n. the process of becoming obsolete; falling into disuse or becoming out of date |
occlude
v. block passage through; close, shut, or stop up a passage |
orthogonal
a. statistically unrelated; having a set of mutually perpendicular axes; meeting at right angles |
pamphleteer
n. a writer of pamphlets, usually taking a partisan stand on public issues |
patronymic
a. of or derived from a personal or family name |
peevish
a. easily irritated or annoyed |
penury
n. extreme poverty; lack of something; barrenness; insufficiency |
perspicuous
a. transparently clear of language; easily understandable |
phonograph
n. machine in which rotating records cause a stylus to vibrate and the vibrations are amplified acoustically or electronically |
pogrom
n. organized persecution of an ethnic group, especially Jews |
precipitant
a. done with very great haste and without due deliberation |
propitiate
v. make peace with; appease and render favorable |
ramify
v. divide into branches or subdivisions; subordinate branchlike parts |
renunciation
n. sacrificing; giving up; state of having rejected your religious beliefs |
reversion
n. returning to a former state; turning in the opposite direction; a failure to maintain a higher state |
salacious
a. lustful; suggestive of or tending to moral looseness |
secede
v. withdraw from an organization or communion |
solder
v. repair or unite by using fusible metal alloy, usually tin and lead |
threnody
n. a song or hymn of mourning composed or performed as a memorial to a dead person |
venereal
a. of or relating to the external sex organs |
wittingly
ad. with full knowledge and deliberation |