| affluence |
material wealth. |
| ambivalent |
of feelings and emotions, conflicting; pulling in opposite directions. |
| complaisant |
eager or willing to please; amenable; obliging. |
| contagion |
the spreading of a disease by contact or close association. |
| emancipate |
to free from slavery or other control. |
| exuberance |
the condition or quality of being vigorously happy or high-spirited. |
| figurative |
not meant to be interpreted in a literal way; metaphorical. |
| frivolous |
unworthy of serious consideration or merit; trivial or silly. |
| modulate |
to vary the loudness, pitch, intensity, or tone of; especially soften or tone down. |
| noncommittal |
not revealing what one's preference, feeling, or opinion is. |
| proximity |
the condition, quality, or fact of being near or close; nearness. |
| scruple |
a belief about right and wrong that keeps a person from doing something that may be bad. |
| sophistry |
a subtle, deceptive method of reasoning or arguing, involving statements that sound plausible but are actually false or fallacious. |
| tensile |
of or relating to tension. |
| vanquish |
to subdue or defeat by or as if by greater force; conquer; overcome. |