| affectation |
falseness or superficiality of appearance or behavior; pretense. |
| awry |
in an unplanned and undesired direction. |
| belligerence |
a very aggressive or hostile attitude; warlike nature. |
| dais |
a raised platform for speakers or the seating of special guests. |
| defeatist |
characterized by an acceptance or expectation of failure. |
| expurgate |
to remove from a book or the like material considered to be offensive or erroneous prior to publication. |
| fervor |
strength, heatedness, or intensity of feeling; impassioned enthusiasm. |
| incantation |
the words or sounds that are uttered or chanted as part of a magical ritual or spell, or the act of uttering such words or sounds. |
| indigenous |
being the people or animals that originally lived and may continue to live in a particular country or region. |
| levity |
a lack of seriousness; light, humorous, or foolish behavior or attitude. |
| marauder |
one who raids or invades in order to plunder. |
| opinionated |
having definite and unchangeable views of things, often seemingly on all subjects. |
| scintillate |
to send out sparks. |
| scourge |
someone or something that inflicts punishment or causes suffering or destruction. |
| witticism |
a clever, often perceptive joke, insult, or saying. |