| abrogate |
to abolish, repeal, or nullify by authority. |
| abut |
to adjoin or press against; be next to; border on. |
| calumny |
a harmful statement, known by the maker to be false. |
| dearth |
a shortage or scarcity of something; lack. |
| epigraph |
a pertinent quotation or motto, especially found at the beginning of a literary work or of a chapter. |
| harbinger |
someone or something that signals or foreshadows a later arrival or occurrence; herald; forerunner. |
| ligature |
a band or tie. |
| reconnoiter |
to go through or over (an area) so as to gain information about it, as for military or engineering purposes. |
| regicide |
the murderer of a king. |
| remonstrate |
to say in opposition, protest, or objection. |
| sepsis |
infection, especially by pus-forming bacteria in the blood or tissues. |
| sequester |
to remove into protection and isolation; seclude. |
| stridulate |
to produce a shrill grating, creaking, or chirping sound by rubbing certain parts of the body together, as some insects do. |
| 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. |
| unabashed |
not feeling or showing embarrassment, uneasiness, or shame. |