| asperity |
harshness or roughness, especially of tone or manner. |
| attenuate |
to cause to be thin, rarefied, or fine. |
| cantankerous |
irritable, stubborn, and quarrelsome. |
| corporeal |
having to do with a physical body; bodily. |
| curmudgeon |
an irritable or ill-tempered person. |
| deadeye |
an expert shooter. |
| flout |
to show scorn or contempt for, especially by openly or deliberately disobeying. |
| garble |
to mix up, distort, or confuse (a message, translation, or the like); cause to be disordered or unintelligible. |
| maunder |
to speak in an aimless or foolish way; babble. |
| mendicant |
living on charity; begging. |
| oligarchy |
a government or state in which only a relatively few people or members of a family have real power. |
| oppugn |
to oppose, contradict, criticize, or call into question. |
| paroxysm |
a sudden strong outburst of feelings or actions. |
| pungency |
sharpness or bite in taste or smell. |
| shibboleth |
a slogan, phrase, or belief that characterizes or is held devotedly by a group. |