asperity |
harshness or roughness, especially of tone or manner. |
caste |
the status conferred by the class to which one belongs. |
glabrous |
having no hair or fuzz; bald; smooth. |
heinous |
extremely wicked or despicable; atrocious. |
indurate |
to make hard in texture; harden. |
kibbutz |
an Israeli farming settlement whose ownership is shared by those who live and work there. |
lattice |
a flat framework made with strips of wood or other material. The strips cross each other and have open spaces in between. A lattice is often used as a screen on a porch or in a garden. |
minatory |
presenting a threat; menacing. |
perquisite |
a payment or benefit in addition to the wages or salary associated with a position. |
precursory |
coming before and serving to indicate what will follow; premonitory. |
proselytize |
to convert or try actively to convert (others) to one's own beliefs or religion. |
recidivism |
chronic return to bad habits, especially criminal relapse. |
reprisal |
injury inflicted in retaliation for injury received, as in war; revenge. |
sanguine |
having an optimistic temperament or outlook. |
shunt |
to turn or move aside or out of the way; divert. |