| amortize |
to deduct (expenditures) by fixed amounts over a period of time. |
| coddle |
to simmer in water that is almost at the boiling point. |
| commodious |
comfortably spacious; roomy. |
| deter |
to stop or discourage from some action by creating doubt or fear. |
| garble |
to mix up, distort, or confuse (a message, translation, or the like); cause to be disordered or unintelligible. |
| incumbent |
currently holding an office or position. |
| intelligentsia |
the elite class of highly learned people within a society, or those who consider themselves part of such a class. |
| mésalliance |
marriage with someone of lower social standing than oneself. |
| parlance |
manner of speaking or writing, especially word choice; vernacular. |
| requite |
to retaliate for; strike back on account of. |
| sequester |
to remove into protection and isolation; seclude. |
| solecism |
a gross violation of convention in grammar, etiquette, or the like; impropriety. |
| stridulate |
to produce a shrill grating, creaking, or chirping sound by rubbing certain parts of the body together, as some insects do. |
| trabeated |
using horizontal beams or lintels as supports instead of arches. |
| travesty |
something so grotesque or inferior as to seem a parody. |