| adamant |
unlikely to change in response to any request or argument; firmly decided or fixed; unyielding. |
| austerity |
a tightened or stringent economy, as when there are high taxes, frozen wages, and shortages of consumer goods. |
| berate |
to reproach or scold severely. |
| Byzantine |
characterized by complexity and intrigue. |
| cognomen |
a last name; surname. |
| despoil |
to forcefully take belongings or goods from; plunder. |
| effete |
marked by excessive refinement or delicateness of taste. |
| forbear |
to keep or abstain from (an action or utterance). |
| occlude |
to close or obstruct (a passage or opening, one's vision, or the like). |
| phlegmatic |
not given to shows of emotion or interest; slow to excite. |
| prolix |
wordy and boringly long. |
| proselytize |
to convert or try actively to convert (others) to one's own beliefs or religion. |
| rodomontade |
puffed-up boasting or bravado. |
| tort |
in law, any civil rather than criminal harm or injury that violates the implicit duty of each citizen not to harm others, and for which one may bring a civil suit and collect compensation. |
| travesty |
something so grotesque or inferior as to seem a parody. |