| assuage |
to make less severe or more bearable; alleviate. |
| deter |
to stop or discourage from some action by creating doubt or fear. |
| dissemble |
to disguise or hide behind a false semblance; conceal the true nature or state of. |
| gadfly |
a persistent critic, especially of established institutions and policies. |
| gossamer |
delicately fine, gauzelike, or filmy. |
| harbinger |
someone or something that signals or foreshadows a later arrival or occurrence; herald; forerunner. |
| heterodox |
deviating from an officially approved belief or doctrine, especially in religion. |
| hypocrisy |
the practice or an instance of stating or pretending to hold beliefs or principles that one does not actually live by; insincerity. |
| lorgnette |
eyeglasses, such as opera glasses, that have a short handle by which one holds them in position. |
| mendicant |
living on charity; begging. |
| meretricious |
appealing or attracting in a cheap, showy, or shallow way. |
| noisome |
offensive or disgusting, especially in smell; foul. |
| obtrusive |
aggressive and self-assertive, or inclined to be so. |
| shibboleth |
a slogan, phrase, or belief that characterizes or is held devotedly by a group. |
| woebegone |
displaying or full of distress. |