| accretion |
the process of gradual increase or growth, especially by additions from the outside. |
| appurtenance |
(plural) equipment or instruments used for a given purpose; gear. |
| augury |
the art or practice or an instance of predicting the future or obtaining hidden knowledge by interpreting omens. |
| banal |
lacking originality or liveliness; disappointingly ordinary; commonplace; trite. |
| colloquialism |
a word or phrase typically used in conversational, informal, or regional speech or writing, hence sometimes considered inappropriate in formal writing. |
| curmudgeon |
an irritable or ill-tempered person. |
| demarcate |
to set apart or separate, as if with boundaries. |
| despoil |
to forcefully take belongings or goods from; plunder. |
| dilatory |
used to cause a delay. |
| encomium |
a formal expression of praise. |
| extenuate |
to reduce the magnitude or seriousness of (a fault or offense) by offering partial excuses. |
| macerate |
to soften (food or the like) by soaking, as in digestion. |
| parturient |
giving birth or about to give birth; in labor. |
| pastiche |
a work of visual art, music, or literature that consists mostly of materials and techniques borrowed from other works, sometimes done as an exercise to learn the technique of others. |
| risible |
provoking laughter; laughable or funny. |