| accretion |
the process of gradual increase or growth, especially by additions from the outside. |
| attenuate |
to cause to be thin, rarefied, or fine. |
| blandishment |
(often plural) flattering or coaxing remarks or stratagems intended to persuade. |
| crass |
lacking in sensitivity or refinement; crude. |
| determinism |
the belief or teaching that every effect, including human thoughts and actions, is completely and predictably brought about by preceding causes and that, therefore, free will does not exist. |
| disencumber |
to remove burdens or hindrances from. |
| disheveled |
not neat; messy. |
| emote |
to express or simulate feelings, especially in an exaggerated or theatrical manner. |
| gnomic |
short and pithy, as an aphorism. |
| indurate |
to make hard in texture; harden. |
| malfeasance |
an illegal act or wrongdoing, especially by a public official. |
| oblique |
not direct or straightforward in intent, means, or achievement; indirect or devious. |
| solipsism |
the self-centered habit of interpreting and judging all things exclusively according to one's own concepts of meaning and value. |
| stipple |
a method of painting, drawing, or engraving by applying small points, dots, or dabs to a surface. |
| travesty |
something so grotesque or inferior as to seem a parody. |