| acumen |
superior insight; quickness and shrewdness of judgment, especially in practical matters. |
| concealment |
the act of hiding something from sight, or the condition of being hidden from sight. |
| contemptible |
deserving of scorn or moral disgust; disgraceful; dishonorable. |
| crossfire |
a volley of projectiles, especially gunfire, directed at some central point from two separated positions. |
| demagogue |
a leader, especially a speaker or politician, who attempts to persuade and to gain a following by appealing to the emotions and prejudices of the public, rather than by rational argument. |
| grandiloquence |
speech that is pretentious, pompous, or excessively mannered. |
| impart |
to give all or a part of; bestow or transmit. |
| peevish |
irritable or easily annoyed; ill-tempered. |
| perfidy |
an act or the practice of conscious, deliberate disloyalty or treachery; breach of faith. |
| pristine |
pure, fresh, or clean as new; unspoiled or unsullied. |
| rabid |
extreme in opinion or action; fanatical. |
| rostrum |
a raised platform or dais for public speaking. |
| stanza |
a group of related lines in a poem that make up one section within the poem. Stanzas often have a regular meter and rhyme pattern. |
| umbrage |
a feeling of offense, irritation, or resentment. |
| venerate |
to treat or regard with great respect, honor, or reverence. |