| abeyance |
temporary suspension or cessation. |
| avow |
to assert or affirm. |
| banal |
lacking originality or liveliness; disappointingly ordinary; commonplace; trite. |
| bathos |
a sudden descent from an exalted style or esteemed state to the commonplace. |
| cognizant |
aware; informed (usually followed by "of"). |
| contumacious |
stubbornly disobedient; insubordinate; rebellious. |
| cyst |
a small pouch within body tissue that is filled with fluid or air. Some cysts are connected with serious disease, but most are not harmful at all. |
| ligature |
a band or tie. |
| malapropism |
the humorous or ridiculous misuse of a word, especially by using a word that sounds similar to the correct word, but whose meaning is inappropriate. |
| nonfeasance |
in law, failure to perform a required duty, as by a public official. |
| opprobrious |
expressing condemnation or scorn; accusing of shameful behavior. |
| pronate |
to turn or rotate (the hand or forearm) so that the palm of the hand faces down or backwards. |
| rebarbative |
tending to irritate or repel; forbidding or unattractive. |
| sanctimony |
a pretense of righteousness or piety; feigned devotion or holiness. |
| vitiate |
to harm the quality of; mar; spoil. |