| abut |
to adjoin or press against; be next to; border on. |
| attenuate |
to cause to be thin, rarefied, or fine. |
| disinter |
to dig up or remove from a place of burial; exhume. |
| espouse |
to take up, hold, or commit oneself to (a cause, idea, or belief); embrace. |
| fledge |
to grow flight feathers. |
| immaculate |
not dirty; completely clean. |
| incredulous |
not able to believe something. |
| indulgent |
gratifying, or being inclined to gratify or yield to others' wishes, especially rather than enforcing discipline or strictness. |
| 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. |
| nostrum |
a favorite but unproven scheme or theory, offered as a remedy for social or political problems; panacea. |
| sententious |
using or marked by pompous, high-flown moralizing. |
| sotto voce |
in a low voice or undertone, so as not to be overheard; softly (often used as a musical direction). |
| stridulate |
to produce a shrill grating, creaking, or chirping sound by rubbing certain parts of the body together, as some insects do. |
| sylph |
a slender, graceful woman or girl. |
| topography |
the shape of the earth's surface across an area or region. The topography of an area includes the size and location of hills and dips in the land. |