| assuage |
to make less severe or more bearable; alleviate. |
| austerity |
a tightened or stringent economy, as when there are high taxes, frozen wages, and shortages of consumer goods. |
| desiccate |
to remove the moisture in (food) so as to preserve it. |
| disencumber |
to remove burdens or hindrances from. |
| duress |
intimidation or coercion. |
| extrinsic |
not inherent or essential; extraneous. |
| irrefragable |
impossible to refute or dispute; undeniable. |
| lambent |
glowing softly. |
| maverick |
a person who thinks and behaves independently, especially one who refuses to adhere to the orthodoxy of the group to which he or she belongs. |
| occlude |
to close or obstruct (a passage or opening, one's vision, or the like). |
| 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. |
| pungency |
sharpness or bite in taste or smell. |
| 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. |
| unadulterated |
unmixed with or undiluted by additives or extraneous elements; pure; complete. |