| askance |
with distrust or suspicion. |
| consternation |
surprise and alarm, leading to panic, deep disappointment, or total confusion. |
| constrict |
to pull or squeeze in; make smaller or more narrow; tighten. |
| deterge |
to cleanse, wash, or wipe off. |
| duress |
intimidation or coercion. |
| exegesis |
a critical explanation or interpretive analysis, especially of religious texts. |
| froward |
unwilling to agree or obey; stubborn; perverse. |
| gadfly |
a persistent critic, especially of established institutions and policies. |
| granulate |
to make into small particles or grains. |
| impromptu |
without advance plan or preparation; spontaneously. |
| incursion |
a raid or sudden invasion. |
| quadrant |
any of the four parts that result when an area is divided by two lines, real or imaginary, that intersect each other at right angles. |
| rodomontade |
puffed-up boasting or bravado. |
| tort |
in law, any civil rather than criminal harm or injury that violates the implicit duty of each citizen not to harm others, and for which one may bring a civil suit and collect compensation. |
| uxorious |
excessively or foolishly devoted to one's wife, and often thereby submissive to her. |