| askance |
with distrust or suspicion. |
| declivity |
a downward or descending slope. |
| descry |
to see or make out, especially something obscured or at a distance. |
| deter |
to stop or discourage from some action by creating doubt or fear. |
| duress |
intimidation or coercion. |
| forbear |
to keep or abstain from (an action or utterance). |
| froward |
unwilling to agree or obey; stubborn; perverse. |
| insipid |
having a bland or uninteresting flavor; tasteless. |
| lachrymose |
weeping, tending to weep readily, or being on the point of tears; tearful. |
| lacuna |
a gap or omitted part. |
| nostrum |
a favorite but unproven scheme or theory, offered as a remedy for social or political problems; panacea. |
| ostentation |
a showy display to impress others. |
| 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. |
| peroration |
the concluding part of a speech in which there is a summing up of the principal points. |
| prolix |
wordy and boringly long. |