| academicism |
in the arts, rigid adherence to accepted and traditional forms. |
| boorish |
rude; ill-mannered; crude. |
| decedent |
in law, one who has died. |
| deign |
to consider some act to be appropriate or in keeping with one's dignity; condescend. |
| desideratum |
something that is needed or wanted. |
| elide |
to leave out or slur, as a syllable or letter, in pronunciation. |
| epigraph |
a pertinent quotation or motto, especially found at the beginning of a literary work or of a chapter. |
| impermeable |
not permitting passage or penetration. |
| lien |
a legal claim on a piece of property when the current owner is in default on a debt or obligation. |
| linguistics |
(used with a singular verb) the scientific and historical study of the form and structure of human language. |
| pandemic |
a widespread outbreak of disease that afflicts many people over different continents. |
| peroration |
the concluding part of a speech in which there is a summing up of the principal points. |
| sanguine |
having an optimistic temperament or outlook. |
| saturnine |
gloomy, sullen, or cynical in temperament or appearance. |
| unadulterated |
unmixed with or undiluted by additives or extraneous elements; pure; complete. |