| adulteration |
the act or process of making worse or impure by adding unnecessary or inferior ingredients. |
| affidavit |
a written statement that is sworn in the presence of an authorized official to be true, used as legal evidence. |
| boudoir |
a woman's private sitting room or bedroom. |
| conclave |
a secret, private, or confidential meeting or gathering. |
| cyst |
a small pouch within body tissue that is filled with fluid or air. Some cysts are connected with serious disease, but most are not harmful at all. |
| equivocal |
having at least two plausible alternative meanings, often intentionally so in order to deceive or avoid commitment; ambiguous. |
| eulogy |
a spoken or written tribute, especially to honor a dead person; high praise; formal commendation. |
| exegesis |
a critical explanation or interpretive analysis, especially of religious texts. |
| gird |
to surround, bind, or encircle, as with a belt. |
| idiosyncrasy |
a characteristic of temperament, habit, or physical structure particular to a given individual or group; peculiarity. |
| macrocosm |
a large unit or entity that represents on a large scale one of its smaller components. |
| 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. |
| nostrum |
a favorite but unproven scheme or theory, offered as a remedy for social or political problems; panacea. |
| pliant |
easily flexed; supple. |
| vitiate |
to harm the quality of; mar; spoil. |