| centennial |
having to do with a one hundredth anniversary. |
| confound |
to perplex or bewilder; confuse. |
| detonate |
to explode or cause to explode. |
| faction |
a group or party within, and often at odds with, a larger organization. |
| girth |
the length around something. |
| habitable |
capable of being lived in. |
| judicious |
characterized by or using sound judgment; wise; prudent. |
| matriarch |
a woman who acts as head of a family, tribe, or other group of people. |
| offhand |
done without thinking or preparing ahead of time. |
| parable |
a very short story told to teach a moral or religious lesson. |
| ponderous |
heavily labored and dull. |
| prelude |
an introductory event or act; preface; preliminary. |
| regimen |
a regulated routine of therapy or exercise designed to promote health or fitness. |
| skeptic |
one who is inclined to question or doubt assertions that are made or accepted by others. |
| stanza |
a group of related lines in a poem that make up one section within the poem. Stanzas often have a regular meter and rhyme pattern. |