| adversary |
a person, group, or thing that is against another; opponent; enemy. |
| degeneration |
the process of decline or decay. |
| entail |
to call for or bring about as a necessary accompaniment; necessarily involve. |
| gouge |
a cut or hole made with something sharp. |
| harangue |
a long, vehement, and often pompous speech or piece of writing, especially such a speech delivered in public; tirade. |
| hitherto |
until this time; previously. |
| inaccessible |
hard or impossible to reach, approach, or attain. |
| pallor |
unnatural lack of color, especially of the face. |
| Philistine |
(sometimes lower case) one who is ignorant of, smugly indifferent to, or hostile to aesthetic and cultural values. |
| secular |
of or concerning the world and material concerns as opposed to religious or spiritual concerns; temporal. |
| singular |
extraordinary or exceptional. |
| strident |
harsh-sounding or loud; raucous; grating. |
| tentative |
not yet fully developed or definitely decided; provisional. |
| vexation |
the condition of being annoyed. |
| whimsy |
an odd, fanciful, or capricious notion, or such notions collectively. |