| abash |
to cause to feel embarrassed, uneasy, or ashamed. |
| affidavit |
a written statement that is sworn in the presence of an authorized official to be true, used as legal evidence. |
| ascertain |
to learn without question; determine. |
| bilge |
the rounded part of a ship's hull between the bottom and the sides. |
| cravat |
a scarf or band of cloth tied loosely about the neck. |
| disallow |
to refuse to allow or admit; reject. |
| doyen |
the senior or highest-ranking male member of a group. |
| encomium |
a formal expression of praise. |
| humanism |
a doctrine or mode of thought that gives highest importance to human dignity, values, potentials, and achievements. |
| intelligentsia |
the elite class of highly learned people within a society, or those who consider themselves part of such a class. |
| intransigence |
refusal to alter one's ideas or position in response to the wishes of others. |
| lanugo |
fine, soft hair, especially that with which a human fetus or newborn is covered. |
| nostrum |
a favorite but unproven scheme or theory, offered as a remedy for social or political problems; panacea. |
| solecism |
a gross violation of convention in grammar, etiquette, or the like; impropriety. |
| solipsism |
the self-centered habit of interpreting and judging all things exclusively according to one's own concepts of meaning and value. |