| comparative |
measured or estimated by comparison; relative. |
| fledgling |
a young bird that has just grown flight feathers or learned to fly. |
| flippant |
disrespectful or indifferent to someone or something worthy of respect; shallowly humorous. |
| gist |
the essential part or idea, as of an argument or written work. |
| grandiloquence |
speech that is pretentious, pompous, or excessively mannered. |
| nullify |
to cause to have no value or consequence. |
| preemptive |
of or relating to a strike or attack such as a bid in bridge or a military attack, made in anticipation of or to prevent an opposing strike. |
| proclivity |
a natural tendency or inclination; propensity or predisposition. |
| provincial |
limited in outlook; narrow-minded. |
| putrid |
of, concerning, or exhibiting rot or decomposition. |
| reciprocity |
a mutual interchange of privileges or favors between two nations, groups, or institutions. |
| refract |
to bend (rays or waves of light, heat, sound, or the like) in passing (them) obliquely from one medium into another which transmits them at a different speed. |
| scintillate |
to send out sparks. |
| soporific |
causing sleep or sleepiness. |
| torrid |
parched or scorched by the sun, as a geographic area. |