| cantankerous |
irritable, stubborn, and quarrelsome. |
| cognoscente |
someone who has exceptional knowledge in a given area, especially of fashion, literature, or the fine arts; connoisseur. |
| declivity |
a downward or descending slope. |
| desiccate |
to remove the moisture in (food) so as to preserve it. |
| hirsute |
covered with hair or stiff hairs; hairy or shaggy. |
| lugubrious |
sad or mournful, especially in an exaggerated way; gloomy. |
| neophyte |
a beginner or novice at any activity. |
| panegyric |
a formal speech or piece of writing devoted to publicly praising a person or thing. |
| parturient |
giving birth or about to give birth; in labor. |
| parvenu |
a person who has suddenly acquired wealth or status, without acquiring the tastes, manners, customs, or the like of his or her new station. |
| peroration |
the concluding part of a speech in which there is a summing up of the principal points. |
| perquisite |
a payment or benefit in addition to the wages or salary associated with a position. |
| stative |
in grammar, of or designating a category of verbs that express state or condition. |
| uxorial |
of, pertaining to, or befitting a wife. |
| vitiate |
to harm the quality of; mar; spoil. |