| abeyance |
temporary suspension or cessation. |
| cantankerous |
irritable, stubborn, and quarrelsome. |
| epicene |
sharing the traits of both sexes. |
| exegesis |
a critical explanation or interpretive analysis, especially of religious texts. |
| gossamer |
delicately fine, gauzelike, or filmy. |
| inquest |
a legal investigation, usually involving a jury, especially a coroner's investigation of a suspicious death. |
| macerate |
to soften (food or the like) by soaking, as in digestion. |
| malapropism |
the humorous or ridiculous misuse of a word, especially by using a word that sounds similar to the correct word, but whose meaning is inappropriate. |
| misanthrope |
someone who hates or distrusts humanity. |
| obscurantism |
a deliberate lack of clarity or directness of expression, as in certain styles of art or literature. |
| paroxysm |
a sudden strong outburst of feelings or actions. |
| pneumatic |
of, using, or concerning air or other gases. |
| repose2 |
to put or place (confidence, hope, or the like) in someone or something. |
| sepsis |
infection, especially by pus-forming bacteria in the blood or tissues. |
| stentorian |
extremely loud and powerful. |