| amortize |
to deduct (expenditures) by fixed amounts over a period of time. |
| bereft |
deprived or stripped of something. |
| collateral |
property or other security put forward to guarantee repayment of a loan. |
| credulous |
disposed to believe, especially on scanty evidence; gullible. |
| euphoria |
a strong feeling of well-being or elation, sometimes unrealistic or unwarranted, and able to be induced by certain drugs. |
| exponent |
one that expounds or interprets. |
| hagiography |
an admiring and uncritical biography of anyone. |
| humanism |
a doctrine or mode of thought that gives highest importance to human dignity, values, potentials, and achievements. |
| impediment |
an obstacle or hindrance. |
| kibbutz |
an Israeli farming settlement whose ownership is shared by those who live and work there. |
| lorgnette |
eyeglasses, such as opera glasses, that have a short handle by which one holds them in position. |
| neophyte |
a beginner or novice at any activity. |
| peroration |
the concluding part of a speech in which there is a summing up of the principal points. |
| pinchbeck |
false, sham, or counterfeit. |
| woebegone |
displaying or full of distress. |