| accretion |
the process of gradual increase or growth, especially by additions from the outside. |
| assuage |
to make less severe or more bearable; alleviate. |
| austerity |
a tightened or stringent economy, as when there are high taxes, frozen wages, and shortages of consumer goods. |
| dawdle |
to waste time; be slow. |
| epistemology |
the branch of philosophy dealing with the origin, nature, and limits of human knowledge. |
| gird |
to surround, bind, or encircle, as with a belt. |
| gullible |
believing almost anything; easily tricked. |
| maverick |
a person who thinks and behaves independently, especially one who refuses to adhere to the orthodoxy of the group to which he or she belongs. |
| oligarchy |
a government or state in which only a relatively few people or members of a family have real power. |
| pastiche |
a work of visual art, music, or literature that consists mostly of materials and techniques borrowed from other works, sometimes done as an exercise to learn the technique of others. |
| penumbra |
an indefinite, borderline area. |
| recessional |
a piece of music that accompanies the exit of participants in a program or religious ceremony. |
| stanch1 |
to cause (a liquid, especially blood) to stop flowing. |
| trabeated |
using horizontal beams or lintels as supports instead of arches. |
| woebegone |
displaying or full of distress. |