| acclivity |
a rising slope. |
| demarcate |
to set apart or separate, as if with boundaries. |
| disencumber |
to remove burdens or hindrances from. |
| exponent |
one that expounds or interprets. |
| gadfly |
a persistent critic, especially of established institutions and policies. |
| garble |
to mix up, distort, or confuse (a message, translation, or the like); cause to be disordered or unintelligible. |
| inchoate |
partially or imperfectly developed. |
| indistinct |
not clearly perceived or perceiving. |
| inflection |
change that occurs in the form of words to show a grammatical characteristic such as the tense of a verb, the number of a noun, or the degree of an adjective or adverb. |
| lapidary |
an expert on or dealer in gemstones. |
| limn |
to paint or draw. |
| lupine2 |
fierce; greedy. |
| maverick |
a person who thinks and behaves independently, especially one who refuses to adhere to the orthodoxy of the group to which he or she belongs. |
| pneumatic |
of, using, or concerning air or other gases. |
| truculent |
extremely hostile or belligerent; inclined to fight. |