| affidavit |
a written statement that is sworn in the presence of an authorized official to be true, used as legal evidence. |
| apocryphal |
of dubious authorship or authority. |
| apropos |
appropriate; relevant; opportune. |
| curmudgeon |
an irritable or ill-tempered person. |
| dawdle |
to waste time; be slow. |
| diatribe |
a bitter, abusive attack in speech or writing. |
| impugn |
to call into question; challenge or try to discredit. |
| inquest |
a legal investigation, usually involving a jury, especially a coroner's investigation of a suspicious death. |
| intelligentsia |
the elite class of highly learned people within a society, or those who consider themselves part of such a class. |
| modus operandi |
a method of accomplishing something; way of working. |
| scion |
an offspring or heir. |
| spurn |
to reject, refuse, or treat with scorn; disdain; despise. |
| stentorian |
extremely loud and powerful. |
| supine |
lying with the face upward. |
| vitiate |
to harm the quality of; mar; spoil. |