| assuage |
to make less severe or more bearable; alleviate. |
| cession |
the act of formally giving up or signing over, as a territory; ceding. |
| consummate |
of the highest order or degree. |
| elide |
to leave out or slur, as a syllable or letter, in pronunciation. |
| guru |
in a cult or religious movement, a spiritual guide or leader, sometimes believed to be divine. |
| highbrow |
one who has or pretends to have highly sophisticated intellectual and cultural interests and tastes (often used disparagingly). |
| ingenuous |
having or showing simplicity and lack of sophistication; artless. |
| insipid |
having a bland or uninteresting flavor; tasteless. |
| obfuscate |
to make (something) seem or be difficult to understand; obscure or darken. |
| opiate |
something that induces relaxation, calm, or stupor. |
| plaudit |
(often plural) an enthusiastic show of approval, such as a round of applause or a very favorable review. |
| quotidian |
happening every day or once a day. |
| rapacious |
capable of capturing and eating live prey; predacious. |
| repine |
to express or feel unhappiness; complain; fret. |
| reprisal |
injury inflicted in retaliation for injury received, as in war; revenge. |