| annuity |
a regular yearly income paid at fixed intervals and produced by money invested or by an insurance contract. |
| cognate |
having a common origin, as languages. |
| confederation |
the act or process of confederating or allying. |
| contentious |
inclined to argue; quarrelsome; belligerent. |
| culvert |
a man-made channel for drainage or the like that passes under a street or other thoroughfare. |
| dogmatist |
one who asserts opinions or beliefs as though they were facts. |
| elaboration |
the act or an instance of adding explanatory material or detail, or the material or detail so added. |
| equivocate |
to express oneself ambiguously, often to avoid giving a direct answer or to deceive. |
| finesse |
refined and delicate skill or tact in executing a task or coping with a situation. |
| innuendo |
an indirect and usually derogatory hint, allusion, or insinuation. |
| introspection |
examination of one's own thoughts, emotions, and sensations; self-scrutiny. |
| preoccupy |
to absorb the entire time or attention of. |
| proscribe |
to make illegal or prohibit. |
| readjust |
to adapt oneself anew. |
| regression |
the act or condition of return to an earlier form or less advanced state; biological or psychological reversion. |