| banal |
lacking originality or liveliness; disappointingly ordinary; commonplace; trite. |
| bilge |
the rounded part of a ship's hull between the bottom and the sides. |
| calumny |
a harmful statement, known by the maker to be false. |
| cognoscente |
someone who has exceptional knowledge in a given area, especially of fashion, literature, or the fine arts; connoisseur. |
| expatiate |
to discuss something at great length; describe in great detail. |
| harbinger |
someone or something that signals or foreshadows a later arrival or occurrence; herald; forerunner. |
| idyllic |
charmingly simple and natural, as a scene or experience; suggestive of peaceful countryside. |
| immiscible |
not able to be mixed or blended. |
| inquest |
a legal investigation, usually involving a jury, especially a coroner's investigation of a suspicious death. |
| lenitive |
mitigating pain, discomfort, or distress; soothing. |
| 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. |
| pastiche |
a work of visual art, music, or literature that consists mostly of materials and techniques borrowed from other works, sometimes done as an exercise to learn the technique of others. |
| peremptory |
not permitting refusal or disobedience. |
| salvo |
the firing of guns or other firearms simultaneously or in succession, especially as a salute. |
| syntax |
the word order or pattern of word order in a sentence. |