| asceticism |
self-discipline and self-denial as a means of spiritual improvement. |
| bellicose |
easily incited to quarrel or fight; belligerent. |
| cavalier |
carefree and offhand; nonchalant. |
| colloquialism |
a word or phrase typically used in conversational, informal, or regional speech or writing, hence sometimes considered inappropriate in formal writing. |
| condone |
to pardon, disregard, or overlook voluntarily or without condemning. |
| deterge |
to cleanse, wash, or wipe off. |
| disinter |
to dig up or remove from a place of burial; exhume. |
| extralegal |
not regulated or permitted by law; outside of legal authority. |
| imbricate |
overlapping in an even sequence, as roof tiles or fish scales. |
| jeremiad |
a long complaint about life or one's situation; lamentation. |
| lupine2 |
fierce; greedy. |
| pretentious |
assuming or marked by an air of importance or superiority that is unwarranted. |
| stickler |
one who must observe or conform to something (usually followed by "for"). |
| symbiosis |
a close association, usually a mutually beneficial relationship, between two dissimilar organisms. |
| welter |
to roll about or wallow, as in mud or the open sea. |