| assuage |
to make less severe or more bearable; alleviate. |
| astringent |
a substance or drug that contracts body tissue and slows discharge or secretion. |
| conclave |
a secret, private, or confidential meeting or gathering. |
| debouch |
to advance out of a confined or narrow space such as a canyon into open country. |
| élan |
enthusiasm or vigor. |
| epigraph |
a pertinent quotation or motto, especially found at the beginning of a literary work or of a chapter. |
| insipid |
having a bland or uninteresting flavor; tasteless. |
| intersperse |
to place or scatter among other things. |
| lacuna |
a gap or omitted part. |
| lupine2 |
fierce; greedy. |
| oblivious |
not conscious or paying attention; unknowing or unaware (usually followed by "to" or "of"). |
| pandemic |
a widespread outbreak of disease that afflicts many people over different continents. |
| penumbra |
an indefinite, borderline area. |
| reprisal |
injury inflicted in retaliation for injury received, as in war; revenge. |
| symbiosis |
a close association, usually a mutually beneficial relationship, between two dissimilar organisms. |