| abut |
to adjoin or press against; be next to; border on. |
| antebellum |
in or of the period prior to a war, especially the American Civil War. |
| commodious |
comfortably spacious; roomy. |
| duress |
intimidation or coercion. |
| ensconce |
to position (oneself) firmly or comfortably. |
| exceptionable |
likely to be objected to; objectionable. |
| guttural |
articulated in the back of the mouth; velar. |
| jeremiad |
a long complaint about life or one's situation; lamentation. |
| mélange |
a mixture, usually of very dissimilar elements. |
| obscurantism |
a deliberate lack of clarity or directness of expression, as in certain styles of art or literature. |
| oppugn |
to oppose, contradict, criticize, or call into question. |
| precursory |
coming before and serving to indicate what will follow; premonitory. |
| quotidian |
happening every day or once a day. |
| transpose |
to exchange the position or order of (two things). |
| vitiate |
to harm the quality of; mar; spoil. |