| assuage |
to make less severe or more bearable; alleviate. |
| burgeon |
to start to grow; send forth shoots, leaves, buds, or the like (often followed by "out" or "forth"). |
| Byzantine |
characterized by complexity and intrigue. |
| expiation |
the act or the means of making amends, as for a sin or crime. |
| facsimile |
an exact copy or duplicate of something printed or of a picture. |
| flak |
(informal) irritating opposition, criticism, or dissent. |
| fledge |
to grow flight feathers. |
| gadfly |
a persistent critic, especially of established institutions and policies. |
| pandemic |
a widespread outbreak of disease that afflicts many people over different continents. |
| pedagogy |
the act, process, or profession of teaching. |
| profligate |
totally given over to immoral and shameful pursuits; dissolute. |
| prolix |
wordy and boringly long. |
| recant |
to withdraw from commitment to (a former position or statement), especially publicly; retract. |
| sere1 |
dried up or withered. |
| splenetic |
ill-tempered or spiteful. |