| animus |
a feeling or attitude of enmity. |
| apposite |
fitting; pertinent; appropriate. |
| astringent |
a substance or drug that contracts body tissue and slows discharge or secretion. |
| Byzantine |
characterized by complexity and intrigue. |
| canard |
a deliberately false story or rumor, usually defamatory to someone. |
| conclave |
a secret, private, or confidential meeting or gathering. |
| doggerel |
trivial, crudely constructed verse. |
| garble |
to mix up, distort, or confuse (a message, translation, or the like); cause to be disordered or unintelligible. |
| hirsute |
covered with hair or stiff hairs; hairy or shaggy. |
| impute |
to ascribe or attribute to a source or cause. |
| linguistics |
(used with a singular verb) the scientific and historical study of the form and structure of human language. |
| naturalism |
in literature, a method of depicting life that reflects a philosophy of determinism. |
| reprise |
repetition of a musical phrase or theme in an identical or slightly altered way. |
| surcingle |
a girth or belt that wraps around the body of a horse to secure a saddle, pack, or the like to its back. |
| virago |
a shrewish, domineering woman; nag or scold. |