| arduous |
entailing great difficulty, exertion, or endurance; laborious. |
| callous |
not having kindness; not sensitive; having a hard heart. |
| charlatan |
one who deceitfully claims to possess a particular skill or expertise; fraud; quack. |
| confound |
to perplex or bewilder; confuse. |
| cordon |
a chain of guards or military stations forming a defense or containment line around an area. |
| cosmopolitan |
of, drawn from, or common to all the world or all the peoples of the world. |
| deviate |
to turn away from a direct course or one that has already been set. |
| escalation |
increase in amount, scope, or intensity. |
| finesse |
refined and delicate skill or tact in executing a task or coping with a situation. |
| glib |
speaking or prone to speak easily and fluently, especially in a careless or thoughtless manner, with little concern for the truth. |
| inherent |
existing in or belonging to something as an essential or inborn part of its nature; innate; intrinsic. |
| overture |
an opening move to begin something. |
| polemic |
an emphatic statement of a controversial viewpoint, usually criticizing or refuting an existing position. |
| reclaim |
to recover the use of (land areas) by draining, hydrating, or otherwise reconditioning so that the land can be used for agriculture or other purposes. |
| risqué |
very close to indecency or indelicacy; sexually suggestive; racy. |