| blandishment |
(often plural) flattering or coaxing remarks or stratagems intended to persuade. |
| 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. |
| debauch |
to lead or seduce into immorality or intemperance; corrupt. |
| equivocal |
having at least two plausible alternative meanings, often intentionally so in order to deceive or avoid commitment; ambiguous. |
| hagiography |
an admiring and uncritical biography of anyone. |
| impinge |
to encroach. |
| 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. |
| pedagogy |
the act, process, or profession of teaching. |
| preferment |
the act of promoting or being promoted to a higher position or office. |
| recurve |
to bend or curve back or backward, as the ends of certain shooting bows. |
| salvo |
the firing of guns or other firearms simultaneously or in succession, especially as a salute. |
| sanctimony |
a pretense of righteousness or piety; feigned devotion or holiness. |
| Saturnalia |
an occasion of unrestrained revelry. |
| shunt |
to turn or move aside or out of the way; divert. |
| vouchsafe |
to grant or give with condescension or as a special favor. |