| attenuate |
to cause to be thin, rarefied, or fine. |
| calumny |
a harmful statement, known by the maker to be false. |
| cloture |
in U.S. parliamentary procedure, a method of ending debate and causing an immediate vote on the matter being discussed. |
| collateral |
property or other security put forward to guarantee repayment of a loan. |
| conduction |
the transmission or transfer, as of heat, electrical charges, or nervous impulses, through a medium. |
| denigrate |
to deny the worth of; sneer at; belittle. |
| desiccate |
to remove the moisture in (food) so as to preserve it. |
| devolve |
of a duty or the like, to be passed on to someone else. |
| disquisition |
a formal, often lengthy, oral or written discussion of a subject. |
| indurate |
to make hard in texture; harden. |
| obscurantism |
a deliberate lack of clarity or directness of expression, as in certain styles of art or literature. |
| parturient |
giving birth or about to give birth; in labor. |
| parvenu |
a person who has suddenly acquired wealth or status, without acquiring the tastes, manners, customs, or the like of his or her new station. |
| Sabbatarian |
one who observes the Sabbath on Saturday, as Jews and certain Christians. |
| woebegone |
displaying or full of distress. |