| adulteration |
the act or process of making worse or impure by adding unnecessary or inferior ingredients. |
| agog |
highly excited and full of anticipation. |
| cloture |
in U.S. parliamentary procedure, a method of ending debate and causing an immediate vote on the matter being discussed. |
| devolve |
of a duty or the like, to be passed on to someone else. |
| espouse |
to take up, hold, or commit oneself to (a cause, idea, or belief); embrace. |
| heinous |
extremely wicked or despicable; atrocious. |
| highbrow |
one who has or pretends to have highly sophisticated intellectual and cultural interests and tastes (often used disparagingly). |
| hypocrisy |
the practice or an instance of stating or pretending to hold beliefs or principles that one does not actually live by; insincerity. |
| indulgent |
gratifying, or being inclined to gratify or yield to others' wishes, especially rather than enforcing discipline or strictness. |
| oblivious |
not conscious or paying attention; unknowing or unaware (usually followed by "to" or "of"). |
| pastiche |
a work of visual art, music, or literature that consists mostly of materials and techniques borrowed from other works, sometimes done as an exercise to learn the technique of others. |
| penury |
severe poverty; pennilessness. |
| proselytize |
to convert or try actively to convert (others) to one's own beliefs or religion. |
| requite |
to retaliate for; strike back on account of. |
| shibboleth |
a slogan, phrase, or belief that characterizes or is held devotedly by a group. |