| antebellum |
in or of the period prior to a war, especially the American Civil War. |
| bibulous |
addicted to alcohol; alcoholic. |
| castellated |
constructed with turrets and battlements like a castle. |
| colloquialism |
a word or phrase typically used in conversational, informal, or regional speech or writing, hence sometimes considered inappropriate in formal writing. |
| consternation |
surprise and alarm, leading to panic, deep disappointment, or total confusion. |
| desideratum |
something that is needed or wanted. |
| exponent |
one that expounds or interprets. |
| inflection |
change that occurs in the form of words to show a grammatical characteristic such as the tense of a verb, the number of a noun, or the degree of an adjective or adverb. |
| intersperse |
to place or scatter among other things. |
| lattice |
a flat framework made with strips of wood or other material. The strips cross each other and have open spaces in between. A lattice is often used as a screen on a porch or in a garden. |
| maunder |
to speak in an aimless or foolish way; babble. |
| proselytize |
to convert or try actively to convert (others) to one's own beliefs or religion. |
| somatic |
of or pertaining to the body itself; corporeal. |
| syntax |
the word order or pattern of word order in a sentence. |
| welter |
to roll about or wallow, as in mud or the open sea. |