| adulteration |
the act or process of making worse or impure by adding unnecessary or inferior ingredients. |
| asperity |
harshness or roughness, especially of tone or manner. |
| assuage |
to make less severe or more bearable; alleviate. |
| cognoscente |
someone who has exceptional knowledge in a given area, especially of fashion, literature, or the fine arts; connoisseur. |
| disinter |
to dig up or remove from a place of burial; exhume. |
| encomium |
a formal expression of praise. |
| halcyon |
tranquil; peaceful; calm. |
| impediment |
an obstacle or hindrance. |
| ineptitude |
incompetence; lack of skill. |
| inquest |
a legal investigation, usually involving a jury, especially a coroner's investigation of a suspicious death. |
| occlude |
to close or obstruct (a passage or opening, one's vision, or the like). |
| reprise |
repetition of a musical phrase or theme in an identical or slightly altered way. |
| sanguine |
having an optimistic temperament or outlook. |
| saturnine |
gloomy, sullen, or cynical in temperament or appearance. |
| stickler |
one who must observe or conform to something (usually followed by "for"). |