| adulteration |
the act or process of making worse or impure by adding unnecessary or inferior ingredients. |
| apocryphal |
of dubious authorship or authority. |
| appurtenance |
(plural) equipment or instruments used for a given purpose; gear. |
| assail |
to attack with vigor or violence; assault. |
| banal |
lacking originality or liveliness; disappointingly ordinary; commonplace; trite. |
| brash |
rudely self-assertive; bold; impudent. |
| cynosure |
a thing or person that is the center of attention and admiration. |
| debauch |
to lead or seduce into immorality or intemperance; corrupt. |
| elide |
to leave out or slur, as a syllable or letter, in pronunciation. |
| emulous |
filled with the desire to equal or surpass. |
| equivocal |
having at least two plausible alternative meanings, often intentionally so in order to deceive or avoid commitment; ambiguous. |
| hackneyed |
made trite or commonplace by overuse, as an expression or phrase. |
| kismet |
destiny, fortune, or fate. |
| perquisite |
a payment or benefit in addition to the wages or salary associated with a position. |
| scabrous |
characterized by a rough or scaly surface, as the leaf of a plant. |