| calumny |
a harmful statement, known by the maker to be false. |
| deterge |
to cleanse, wash, or wipe off. |
| encomium |
a formal expression of praise. |
| incursion |
a raid or sudden invasion. |
| inquest |
a legal investigation, usually involving a jury, especially a coroner's investigation of a suspicious death. |
| intransigence |
refusal to alter one's ideas or position in response to the wishes of others. |
| nostrum |
a favorite but unproven scheme or theory, offered as a remedy for social or political problems; panacea. |
| pastiche |
a work of visual art, music, or literature that consists mostly of materials and techniques borrowed from other works, sometimes done as an exercise to learn the technique of others. |
| prolix |
wordy and boringly long. |
| quiescence |
a state of inaction, rest, or stillness; dormancy. |
| somatic |
of or pertaining to the body itself; corporeal. |
| surcingle |
a girth or belt that wraps around the body of a horse to secure a saddle, pack, or the like to its back. |
| sylph |
a slender, graceful woman or girl. |
| trabeated |
using horizontal beams or lintels as supports instead of arches. |
| untoward |
unexpected and unfortunate. |