| acclivity |
a rising slope. |
| animus |
a feeling or attitude of enmity. |
| apocryphal |
of dubious authorship or authority. |
| cloture |
in U.S. parliamentary procedure, a method of ending debate and causing an immediate vote on the matter being discussed. |
| coalesce |
to grow together or unite to form a single body or organization; unify; fuse. |
| decedent |
in law, one who has died. |
| emulous |
filled with the desire to equal or surpass. |
| extort |
to extract or obtain (money or the like) by force, threats, or abuse of authority. |
| foible |
a minor flaw or weakness in personality, character, or behavior. |
| idiosyncrasy |
a characteristic of temperament, habit, or physical structure particular to a given individual or group; peculiarity. |
| impugn |
to call into question; challenge or try to discredit. |
| indistinct |
not clearly perceived or perceiving. |
| oppugn |
to oppose, contradict, criticize, or call into question. |
| 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. |
| stridulate |
to produce a shrill grating, creaking, or chirping sound by rubbing certain parts of the body together, as some insects do. |