| alacrity |
willing promptness. |
| allay |
to quiet or lay to rest (fears, doubts, and the like). |
| auspice |
(usually plural) sponsorship or protection; patronage. |
| clout |
(informal) influence or power to persuade. |
| confidant |
one to whom a secret or secrets are entrusted. |
| coy |
artfully shy or retiring; playfully but calculatingly reticent. |
| deprave |
to change for the worse, especially morally; corrupt; pervert. |
| echelon |
a level of authority or rank, as in an organization. |
| intermittent |
alternately stopping and starting with pauses in between. |
| piety |
worshipful devotion to and veneration of God or family. |
| progeny |
a descendant, or descendants collectively; offspring. |
| putrid |
of, concerning, or exhibiting rot or decomposition. |
| reciprocate |
to give (feelings or things) in return. |
| stark |
in all respects; total; extreme. |
| wrest |
to take away with, or as if with, a twist or pull. |