| apotheosis |
a perfect or ideal example; epitome. |
| assuage |
to make less severe or more bearable; alleviate. |
| bereft |
deprived or stripped of something. |
| cantankerous |
irritable, stubborn, and quarrelsome. |
| cognomen |
a last name; surname. |
| deracinate |
to pull up by or as if by the roots; uproot; isolate; exile. |
| derision |
mockery or ridicule. |
| desideratum |
something that is needed or wanted. |
| insouciant |
having no cares or anxieties; light-hearted; carefree. |
| intelligentsia |
the elite class of highly learned people within a society, or those who consider themselves part of such a class. |
| lapidary |
an expert on or dealer in gemstones. |
| oblique |
not direct or straightforward in intent, means, or achievement; indirect or devious. |
| penumbra |
an indefinite, borderline area. |
| repose2 |
to put or place (confidence, hope, or the like) in someone or something. |
| unadulterated |
unmixed with or undiluted by additives or extraneous elements; pure; complete. |