| ambidextrous |
able to use both the left and right hands with equal skill. |
| consternation |
surprise and alarm, leading to panic, deep disappointment, or total confusion. |
| conversant |
familiar; acquainted; practiced (usually followed by "with" or "in"). |
| disheveled |
not neat; messy. |
| disquisition |
a formal, often lengthy, oral or written discussion of a subject. |
| dissemble |
to disguise or hide behind a false semblance; conceal the true nature or state of. |
| expiation |
the act or the means of making amends, as for a sin or crime. |
| figurehead |
a person whose title sounds important but who has no real power. |
| glut |
a greater supply or amount than is needed. |
| hackneyed |
made trite or commonplace by overuse, as an expression or phrase. |
| hagiography |
an admiring and uncritical biography of anyone. |
| intelligentsia |
the elite class of highly learned people within a society, or those who consider themselves part of such a class. |
| naturalism |
in literature, a method of depicting life that reflects a philosophy of determinism. |
| obfuscate |
to make (something) seem or be difficult to understand; obscure or darken. |
| pedagogy |
the act, process, or profession of teaching. |