| appellative |
a descriptive name or title, as "Terrible" in "Ivan the Terrible". |
| disingenuous |
not candid or sincere. |
| espouse |
to take up, hold, or commit oneself to (a cause, idea, or belief); embrace. |
| expiation |
the act or the means of making amends, as for a sin or crime. |
| figurehead |
a person whose title sounds important but who has no real power. |
| gossamer |
delicately fine, gauzelike, or filmy. |
| indistinct |
not clearly perceived or perceiving. |
| jeremiad |
a long complaint about life or one's situation; lamentation. |
| minatory |
presenting a threat; menacing. |
| naturalism |
in literature, a method of depicting life that reflects a philosophy of determinism. |
| raffish |
carelessly unconventional or disreputable, sometimes appealingly so. |
| sepsis |
infection, especially by pus-forming bacteria in the blood or tissues. |
| solecism |
a gross violation of convention in grammar, etiquette, or the like; impropriety. |
| spurn |
to reject, refuse, or treat with scorn; disdain; despise. |
| symbiosis |
a close association, usually a mutually beneficial relationship, between two dissimilar organisms. |