| adulteration |
the act or process of making worse or impure by adding unnecessary or inferior ingredients. |
| ersatz |
serving as a substitute, especially when of inferior quality. |
| facsimile |
an exact copy or duplicate of something printed or of a picture. |
| figurehead |
a person whose title sounds important but who has no real power. |
| impinge |
to encroach. |
| jejune |
lacking interest or liveliness; dull. |
| modus operandi |
a method of accomplishing something; way of working. |
| ontogeny |
the process of biological growth and development of a particular living organism. |
| pathos |
a quality in life or art that evokes pity, sadness, or compassion. |
| sequester |
to remove into protection and isolation; seclude. |
| solecism |
a gross violation of convention in grammar, etiquette, or the like; impropriety. |
| spurn |
to reject, refuse, or treat with scorn; disdain; despise. |
| symbiosis |
a close association, usually a mutually beneficial relationship, between two dissimilar organisms. |
| triage |
a system of determining priority of medical treatment, on the basis of need, chances of survival, and the like, to victims on a battlefield or in a hospital emergency ward. |
| vitiate |
to harm the quality of; mar; spoil. |