| apocryphal |
of dubious authorship or authority. |
| avow |
to assert or affirm. |
| bathos |
a sudden descent from an exalted style or esteemed state to the commonplace. |
| coeval |
coinciding in time of origin or existence; contemporary. |
| conversant |
familiar; acquainted; practiced (usually followed by "with" or "in"). |
| dilatory |
used to cause a delay. |
| etiolate |
to weaken, especially through deprivation of normal development. |
| guru |
in a cult or religious movement, a spiritual guide or leader, sometimes believed to be divine. |
| highbrow |
one who has or pretends to have highly sophisticated intellectual and cultural interests and tastes (often used disparagingly). |
| hypocrisy |
the practice or an instance of stating or pretending to hold beliefs or principles that one does not actually live by; insincerity. |
| libertine |
acting without restraint; dissolute; amoral. |
| mahatma |
(sometimes capitalized) in Buddhism and theosophy, any of a class of persons revered for their wisdom and love of humanity. |
| rebarbative |
tending to irritate or repel; forbidding or unattractive. |
| reprisal |
injury inflicted in retaliation for injury received, as in war; revenge. |
| risible |
provoking laughter; laughable or funny. |