| assuage |
to make less severe or more bearable; alleviate. |
| austerity |
a tightened or stringent economy, as when there are high taxes, frozen wages, and shortages of consumer goods. |
| berate |
to reproach or scold severely. |
| canard |
a deliberately false story or rumor, usually defamatory to someone. |
| demulcent |
an oily or sticky substance used especially to soothe irritation in mucous membranes. |
| dilatory |
used to cause a delay. |
| distraught |
mentally or emotionally unbalanced; crazed. |
| fulminate |
to vehemently denounce or criticize something. |
| gamut |
the whole extent or range of anything. |
| imprimatur |
any official permission or sanction. |
| intelligentsia |
the elite class of highly learned people within a society, or those who consider themselves part of such a class. |
| mélange |
a mixture, usually of very dissimilar elements. |
| quondam |
having been in the past; former. |
| tamp |
to compress and pack tightly by repeated light taps. |
| untoward |
unexpected and unfortunate. |