| adulteration |
the act or process of making worse or impure by adding unnecessary or inferior ingredients. |
| ascertain |
to learn without question; determine. |
| asperity |
harshness or roughness, especially of tone or manner. |
| bathos |
a sudden descent from an exalted style or esteemed state to the commonplace. |
| bilge |
the rounded part of a ship's hull between the bottom and the sides. |
| corporeal |
having to do with a physical body; bodily. |
| disallow |
to refuse to allow or admit; reject. |
| discomfit |
to upset or confuse. |
| extralegal |
not regulated or permitted by law; outside of legal authority. |
| incessant |
never stopping; constant. |
| inquest |
a legal investigation, usually involving a jury, especially a coroner's investigation of a suspicious death. |
| intelligentsia |
the elite class of highly learned people within a society, or those who consider themselves part of such a class. |
| revetment |
a facing of stone, masonry, or the like to support or protect a wall, embankment, or mound of earth. |
| stickler |
one who must observe or conform to something (usually followed by "for"). |
| tummler |
an entertainer or social director who encourages participation by guests or audience. |