| abeyance |
temporary suspension or cessation. |
| agog |
highly excited and full of anticipation. |
| animus |
a feeling or attitude of enmity. |
| derision |
mockery or ridicule. |
| devolve |
of a duty or the like, to be passed on to someone else. |
| figurehead |
a person whose title sounds important but who has no real power. |
| gadfly |
a persistent critic, especially of established institutions and policies. |
| gullible |
believing almost anything; easily tricked. |
| humanism |
a doctrine or mode of thought that gives highest importance to human dignity, values, potentials, and achievements. |
| imbroglio |
a difficult, confused, or complicated situation, often involving a misunderstanding, disagreement, or quarrel. |
| impromptu |
without advance plan or preparation; spontaneously. |
| kismet |
destiny, fortune, or fate. |
| nonfeasance |
in law, failure to perform a required duty, as by a public official. |
| obtrude |
to thrust or force (oneself, one's concerns, or one's opinions) on another or others without being asked. |
| periphrasis |
an indirect or roundabout way of phrasing something; circumlocution. |