| bereft |
deprived or stripped of something. |
| bibulous |
addicted to alcohol; alcoholic. |
| blandishment |
(often plural) flattering or coaxing remarks or stratagems intended to persuade. |
| deposition |
a sworn statement, usually in writing, for use as testimony by an absent witness in a court of law. |
| flange |
a collar or rim that projects from a pipe, housing, or the like to provide strength, stability, or a place for attaching other parts. |
| frangible |
easy to break; breakable; fragile. |
| froward |
unwilling to agree or obey; stubborn; perverse. |
| incumbent |
currently holding an office or position. |
| lapidary |
an expert on or dealer in gemstones. |
| oblique |
not direct or straightforward in intent, means, or achievement; indirect or devious. |
| preferment |
the act of promoting or being promoted to a higher position or office. |
| rapacious |
capable of capturing and eating live prey; predacious. |
| recant |
to withdraw from commitment to (a former position or statement), especially publicly; retract. |
| solipsism |
the self-centered habit of interpreting and judging all things exclusively according to one's own concepts of meaning and value. |
| stochastic |
of, or arising from chance or probability. |