| acclivity |
a rising slope. |
| animus |
a feeling or attitude of enmity. |
| contumacious |
stubbornly disobedient; insubordinate; rebellious. |
| descant |
a secondary, usually higher, melody that is played or sung at the same time as the chief melody. |
| ensconce |
to position (oneself) firmly or comfortably. |
| erratic |
not expected or predicted; not regular. |
| festoon |
a decorative chain or strip of ribbons, flowers, leaves, or the like, suspended at the ends and hung in a curve. |
| gird |
to surround, bind, or encircle, as with a belt. |
| liminal |
of or at the threshold of a physiological or psychological response or change of state. |
| parvenu |
a person who has suddenly acquired wealth or status, without acquiring the tastes, manners, customs, or the like of his or her new station. |
| penury |
severe poverty; pennilessness. |
| 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. |
| solipsism |
the self-centered habit of interpreting and judging all things exclusively according to one's own concepts of meaning and value. |
| stanch1 |
to cause (a liquid, especially blood) to stop flowing. |
| topography |
the shape of the earth's surface across an area or region. The topography of an area includes the size and location of hills and dips in the land. |