| conflagration |
a large, damaging fire. |
| divest |
to take rights or property away from; dispossess, especially by legal means. |
| douse1 |
to place or plunge in water or another liquid; immerse. |
| experimentation |
the act, process, or practice of running tests or trials. |
| forestall |
to prevent or hinder by taking action beforehand. |
| franchise |
a right or privilege conferred by a government, especially the right to vote or the rights and powers of incorporation. |
| iconoclast |
one who attacks and seeks to break down traditional beliefs and institutions or popular ideas and values. |
| imprecise |
not exact, accurate, or well-defined; vague. |
| junta |
a small group, often of military officers, acting as the rulers of a nation, especially provisionally after the overthrow of a previous government. |
| lieu |
the place formerly occupied by something or someone. |
| presentiment |
an intuition or sense of something about to happen; foreboding. |
| recluse |
a person who lives in voluntary isolation from others. |
| redress |
compensation or reparation; amends. |
| stint |
to refrain from spending; to be sparing or frugal. |
| stupor |
a state of unconsciousness, insensibility, or torpor. |