| academicism |
in the arts, rigid adherence to accepted and traditional forms. |
| antediluvian |
hopelessly old-fashioned; primitive; outdated. |
| diatribe |
a bitter, abusive attack in speech or writing. |
| disallow |
to refuse to allow or admit; reject. |
| expound |
to discuss or explain in detail (usually followed by "on" or "upon"). |
| humanism |
a doctrine or mode of thought that gives highest importance to human dignity, values, potentials, and achievements. |
| indurate |
to make hard in texture; harden. |
| intransigence |
refusal to alter one's ideas or position in response to the wishes of others. |
| parturient |
giving birth or about to give birth; in labor. |
| recidivism |
chronic return to bad habits, especially criminal relapse. |
| rodomontade |
puffed-up boasting or bravado. |
| sanguine |
having an optimistic temperament or outlook. |
| sartorial |
of or pertaining to tailors or tailored clothing, especially men's clothing. |
| sylph |
a slender, graceful woman or girl. |
| symbiosis |
a close association, usually a mutually beneficial relationship, between two dissimilar organisms. |