| antebellum |
in or of the period prior to a war, especially the American Civil War. |
| baleful |
threatening harm; full of malice; ominous. |
| conclave |
a secret, private, or confidential meeting or gathering. |
| dawdle |
to waste time; be slow. |
| disabuse |
to free (a person) from misconception or deception; set straight. |
| disaffection |
an absence or loss of good will, faith, or loyalty, especially toward a government, principle, or the like. |
| fealty |
faithfulness or loyalty. |
| flagitious |
viciously or shamefully wicked; infamous. |
| inanition |
a state of exhaustion caused by a lack of nourishment. |
| 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. |
| jeremiad |
a long complaint about life or one's situation; lamentation. |
| minatory |
presenting a threat; menacing. |
| pliant |
easily flexed; supple. |
| sepsis |
infection, especially by pus-forming bacteria in the blood or tissues. |