| austerity |
a tightened or stringent economy, as when there are high taxes, frozen wages, and shortages of consumer goods. |
| cavalier |
carefree and offhand; nonchalant. |
| derision |
mockery or ridicule. |
| discountenance |
to embarrass or disconcert. |
| electuary |
a drug mixed with honey, syrup, or the like to form a paste to be smeared on the teeth or gums of a sick animal. |
| feckless |
weak or incompetent; ineffective. |
| intelligentsia |
the elite class of highly learned people within a society, or those who consider themselves part of such a class. |
| jeremiad |
a long complaint about life or one's situation; lamentation. |
| obfuscate |
to make (something) seem or be difficult to understand; obscure or darken. |
| parlous |
full of dangers or risks; perilous. |
| putrefaction |
the act or process of rotting or decomposing. |
| reconnoiter |
to go through or over (an area) so as to gain information about it, as for military or engineering purposes. |
| sartorial |
of or pertaining to tailors or tailored clothing, especially men's clothing. |
| shunt |
to turn or move aside or out of the way; divert. |
| vitiate |
to harm the quality of; mar; spoil. |