| affiliate |
to join as a member or smaller branch of (usually followed by "with"). |
| callous |
not having kindness; not sensitive; having a hard heart. |
| contagion |
the spreading of a disease by contact or close association. |
| culvert |
a man-made channel for drainage or the like that passes under a street or other thoroughfare. |
| fusion |
the act of fusing or joining together. |
| iconoclast |
one who attacks and seeks to break down traditional beliefs and institutions or popular ideas and values. |
| irreverent |
not having or showing respect. |
| marquee |
a canopy or a covering like a roof over the entrance to a building. The marquee over a theater shows the title of the current play or film and sometimes the names of the actors. |
| ominous |
giving a sign of future evil or trouble. |
| ostracize |
to exclude or shun, by general agreement of the group imposing the exclusion. |
| plausible |
seeming to be true or reasonable; credible. |
| retard |
to cause (growth, development, or the like) to be slow or incomplete; stunt. |
| risqué |
very close to indecency or indelicacy; sexually suggestive; racy. |
| sumptuous |
large, lavish, or splendid, especially when created at great cost. |
| throe |
(usually plural) any convulsive or anguished struggle, or great exertion. |