| brash |
rudely self-assertive; bold; impudent. |
| collateral |
property or other security put forward to guarantee repayment of a loan. |
| cyst |
a small pouch within body tissue that is filled with fluid or air. Some cysts are connected with serious disease, but most are not harmful at all. |
| epigraph |
a pertinent quotation or motto, especially found at the beginning of a literary work or of a chapter. |
| equipoise |
a state of balance or equal weight, importance, or the like; equilibrium. |
| festoon |
a decorative chain or strip of ribbons, flowers, leaves, or the like, suspended at the ends and hung in a curve. |
| indurate |
to make hard in texture; harden. |
| naturalism |
in literature, a method of depicting life that reflects a philosophy of determinism. |
| ostentation |
a showy display to impress others. |
| reconnoiter |
to go through or over (an area) so as to gain information about it, as for military or engineering purposes. |
| requite |
to retaliate for; strike back on account of. |
| risible |
provoking laughter; laughable or funny. |
| surcingle |
a girth or belt that wraps around the body of a horse to secure a saddle, pack, or the like to its back. |
| transpose |
to exchange the position or order of (two things). |
| woebegone |
displaying or full of distress. |