| blandishment |
(often plural) flattering or coaxing remarks or stratagems intended to persuade. |
| burgeon |
to start to grow; send forth shoots, leaves, buds, or the like (often followed by "out" or "forth"). |
| collateral |
property or other security put forward to guarantee repayment of a loan. |
| discomfit |
to upset or confuse. |
| equivocal |
having at least two plausible alternative meanings, often intentionally so in order to deceive or avoid commitment; ambiguous. |
| etiolate |
to weaken, especially through deprivation of normal development. |
| exegesis |
a critical explanation or interpretive analysis, especially of religious texts. |
| facetious |
not serious; humorous or frivolous. |
| obfuscate |
to make (something) seem or be difficult to understand; obscure or darken. |
| parturient |
giving birth or about to give birth; in labor. |
| penury |
severe poverty; pennilessness. |
| recant |
to withdraw from commitment to (a former position or statement), especially publicly; retract. |
| recondite |
involving profound concepts and complexities; not easily understood. |
| recurve |
to bend or curve back or backward, as the ends of certain shooting bows. |
| revetment |
a facing of stone, masonry, or the like to support or protect a wall, embankment, or mound of earth. |