| aberration |
a deviation from what is considered normal or right; irregularity. |
| antebellum |
in or of the period prior to a war, especially the American Civil War. |
| calumny |
a harmful statement, known by the maker to be false. |
| decedent |
in law, one who has died. |
| flummox |
(informal) to confuse or puzzle. |
| fulminate |
to vehemently denounce or criticize something. |
| garrulous |
given to talking excessively. |
| inflection |
change that occurs in the form of words to show a grammatical characteristic such as the tense of a verb, the number of a noun, or the degree of an adjective or adverb. |
| insularity |
the condition of being closed to new ideas or outside influences; narrow-mindedness. |
| irrefragable |
impossible to refute or dispute; undeniable. |
| lien |
a legal claim on a piece of property when the current owner is in default on a debt or obligation. |
| malapropism |
the humorous or ridiculous misuse of a word, especially by using a word that sounds similar to the correct word, but whose meaning is inappropriate. |
| maunder |
to speak in an aimless or foolish way; babble. |
| plaudit |
(often plural) an enthusiastic show of approval, such as a round of applause or a very favorable review. |
| splenetic |
ill-tempered or spiteful. |