| abeyance |
temporary suspension or cessation. |
| canard |
a deliberately false story or rumor, usually defamatory to someone. |
| deadeye |
an expert shooter. |
| distraught |
mentally or emotionally unbalanced; crazed. |
| extenuate |
to reduce the magnitude or seriousness of (a fault or offense) by offering partial excuses. |
| fledge |
to grow flight feathers. |
| frangible |
easy to break; breakable; fragile. |
| hypocrisy |
the practice or an instance of stating or pretending to hold beliefs or principles that one does not actually live by; insincerity. |
| indurate |
to make hard in texture; harden. |
| lanugo |
fine, soft hair, especially that with which a human fetus or newborn is covered. |
| maunder |
to speak in an aimless or foolish way; babble. |
| parlous |
full of dangers or risks; perilous. |
| periphrasis |
an indirect or roundabout way of phrasing something; circumlocution. |
| pusillanimous |
shamefully timid; cowardly. |
| schadenfreude |
(often capitalized) pleasure derived from the misfortune of others. |