| appellative |
a descriptive name or title, as "Terrible" in "Ivan the Terrible". |
| banal |
lacking originality or liveliness; disappointingly ordinary; commonplace; trite. |
| belie |
to give a false impression of. |
| canard |
a deliberately false story or rumor, usually defamatory to someone. |
| chary |
not dispensing freely. |
| dawdle |
to waste time; be slow. |
| debouch |
to advance out of a confined or narrow space such as a canyon into open country. |
| encomium |
a formal expression of praise. |
| epigraph |
a pertinent quotation or motto, especially found at the beginning of a literary work or of a chapter. |
| equivocal |
having at least two plausible alternative meanings, often intentionally so in order to deceive or avoid commitment; ambiguous. |
| froward |
unwilling to agree or obey; stubborn; perverse. |
| ontogeny |
the process of biological growth and development of a particular living organism. |
| periphrasis |
an indirect or roundabout way of phrasing something; circumlocution. |
| raffish |
carelessly unconventional or disreputable, sometimes appealingly so. |
| scion |
an offspring or heir. |