| appellative |
a descriptive name or title, as "Terrible" in "Ivan the Terrible". |
| avow |
to assert or affirm. |
| cloture |
in U.S. parliamentary procedure, a method of ending debate and causing an immediate vote on the matter being discussed. |
| contumely |
contemptuous insolence; rudeness. |
| discomfit |
to upset or confuse. |
| eidetic |
pertaining to or designating the ability to recall images in almost perfect detail. |
| epigraph |
a pertinent quotation or motto, especially found at the beginning of a literary work or of a chapter. |
| equivocal |
having at least two plausible alternative meanings, often intentionally so in order to deceive or avoid commitment; ambiguous. |
| harbinger |
someone or something that signals or foreshadows a later arrival or occurrence; herald; forerunner. |
| insipid |
having a bland or uninteresting flavor; tasteless. |
| interdict |
to deter or impede by the steady use of firepower. |
| linguistics |
(used with a singular verb) the scientific and historical study of the form and structure of human language. |
| neophyte |
a beginner or novice at any activity. |
| obscurantism |
a deliberate lack of clarity or directness of expression, as in certain styles of art or literature. |
| travesty |
something so grotesque or inferior as to seem a parody. |