| abeyance |
temporary suspension or cessation. |
| abstruse |
difficult to comprehend or understand; esoteric; arcane. |
| ascertain |
to learn without question; determine. |
| coddle |
to simmer in water that is almost at the boiling point. |
| condign |
well-deserved or fitting, especially of punishment or reprimand. |
| cyst |
a small pouch within body tissue that is filled with fluid or air. Some cysts are connected with serious disease, but most are not harmful at all. |
| disinter |
to dig up or remove from a place of burial; exhume. |
| extort |
to extract or obtain (money or the like) by force, threats, or abuse of authority. |
| malaise |
a state or condition of feeling generally unwell, mentally depressed, sluggish, or uneasy. |
| nonfeasance |
in law, failure to perform a required duty, as by a public official. |
| periphrasis |
an indirect or roundabout way of phrasing something; circumlocution. |
| pretentious |
assuming or marked by an air of importance or superiority that is unwarranted. |
| quotidian |
happening every day or once a day. |
| reprisal |
injury inflicted in retaliation for injury received, as in war; revenge. |
| seminal |
of critical importance; essential. |