| acclivity |
a rising slope. |
| appellation |
a name, title, or other designation. |
| ascertain |
to learn without question; determine. |
| castellated |
constructed with turrets and battlements like a castle. |
| disinter |
to dig up or remove from a place of burial; exhume. |
| insularity |
the condition of being closed to new ideas or outside influences; narrow-mindedness. |
| liminal |
of or at the threshold of a physiological or psychological response or change of state. |
| lugubrious |
sad or mournful, especially in an exaggerated way; gloomy. |
| maverick |
a person who thinks and behaves independently, especially one who refuses to adhere to the orthodoxy of the group to which he or she belongs. |
| neologism |
a new word, phrase, or usage. |
| perilous |
causing or involving great danger; risky; hazardous. |
| stately |
dignified. |
| stickler |
one who must observe or conform to something (usually followed by "for"). |
| stridulate |
to produce a shrill grating, creaking, or chirping sound by rubbing certain parts of the body together, as some insects do. |
| welter |
to roll about or wallow, as in mud or the open sea. |