| appurtenance |
(plural) equipment or instruments used for a given purpose; gear. |
| assuage |
to make less severe or more bearable; alleviate. |
| austerity |
a tightened or stringent economy, as when there are high taxes, frozen wages, and shortages of consumer goods. |
| constrict |
to pull or squeeze in; make smaller or more narrow; tighten. |
| derision |
mockery or ridicule. |
| diatribe |
a bitter, abusive attack in speech or writing. |
| foment |
to encourage the development of; instigate or foster. |
| gamut |
the whole extent or range of anything. |
| glean |
to gather or discover (facts, information, or the like) a little at a time. |
| goad |
something that spurs a person to action; stimulus. |
| guru |
in a cult or religious movement, a spiritual guide or leader, sometimes believed to be divine. |
| reprisal |
injury inflicted in retaliation for injury received, as in war; revenge. |
| sotto voce |
in a low voice or undertone, so as not to be overheard; softly (often used as a musical direction). |
| surcingle |
a girth or belt that wraps around the body of a horse to secure a saddle, pack, or the like to its back. |
| uxorial |
of, pertaining to, or befitting a wife. |