| austerity |
a tightened or stringent economy, as when there are high taxes, frozen wages, and shortages of consumer goods. |
| canard |
a deliberately false story or rumor, usually defamatory to someone. |
| caparison |
decorative trappings to cover a horse's saddle or harness. |
| colloquialism |
a word or phrase typically used in conversational, informal, or regional speech or writing, hence sometimes considered inappropriate in formal writing. |
| discomfit |
to upset or confuse. |
| disheveled |
not neat; messy. |
| disingenuous |
not candid or sincere. |
| effete |
marked by excessive refinement or delicateness of taste. |
| immiscible |
not able to be mixed or blended. |
| lupine2 |
fierce; greedy. |
| mélange |
a mixture, usually of very dissimilar elements. |
| minatory |
presenting a threat; menacing. |
| phlegmatic |
not given to shows of emotion or interest; slow to excite. |
| stridulate |
to produce a shrill grating, creaking, or chirping sound by rubbing certain parts of the body together, as some insects do. |
| transpose |
to exchange the position or order of (two things). |