| austerity |
a tightened or stringent economy, as when there are high taxes, frozen wages, and shortages of consumer goods. |
| bereft |
deprived or stripped of something. |
| castellated |
constructed with turrets and battlements like a castle. |
| comity |
mutual courtesy and respectful treatment among people or nations. |
| derision |
mockery or ridicule. |
| despoil |
to forcefully take belongings or goods from; plunder. |
| disinter |
to dig up or remove from a place of burial; exhume. |
| epistolary |
established or continued through letters. |
| extempore |
without plan or preparation; impromptu or improvised. |
| extenuate |
to reduce the magnitude or seriousness of (a fault or offense) by offering partial excuses. |
| irrefragable |
impossible to refute or dispute; undeniable. |
| peremptory |
not permitting refusal or disobedience. |
| pliant |
easily flexed; supple. |
| pusillanimous |
shamefully timid; cowardly. |
| quondam |
having been in the past; former. |