| assuage |
to make less severe or more bearable; alleviate. |
| bellicose |
easily incited to quarrel or fight; belligerent. |
| blatant |
completely obvious or undisguised, sometimes offensively so. |
| contretemps |
an embarrassing or unfortunate happening; mishap; mischance. |
| descant |
a secondary, usually higher, melody that is played or sung at the same time as the chief melody. |
| fracas |
a noisy disturbance or quarrel. |
| glean |
to gather or discover (facts, information, or the like) a little at a time. |
| incessant |
never stopping; constant. |
| intelligentsia |
the elite class of highly learned people within a society, or those who consider themselves part of such a class. |
| lacuna |
a gap or omitted part. |
| luminary |
a famous, important, or inspirational person. |
| parlance |
manner of speaking or writing, especially word choice; vernacular. |
| proselytize |
to convert or try actively to convert (others) to one's own beliefs or religion. |
| recant |
to withdraw from commitment to (a former position or statement), especially publicly; retract. |
| tamp |
to compress and pack tightly by repeated light taps. |