| blandishment |
(often plural) flattering or coaxing remarks or stratagems intended to persuade. |
| conclave |
a secret, private, or confidential meeting or gathering. |
| daunt |
to lessen the determination of; intimidate; discourage. |
| disencumber |
to remove burdens or hindrances from. |
| epigraph |
a pertinent quotation or motto, especially found at the beginning of a literary work or of a chapter. |
| gullible |
believing almost anything; easily tricked. |
| indolence |
the tendency to avoid exertion or effort; laziness. |
| invidious |
tending to arouse feelings of resentment or animosity, especially because of a slight; offensive or discriminatory. |
| macerate |
to soften (food or the like) by soaking, as in digestion. |
| malfeasance |
an illegal act or wrongdoing, especially by a public official. |
| parvenu |
a person who has suddenly acquired wealth or status, without acquiring the tastes, manners, customs, or the like of his or her new station. |
| pneumatic |
of, using, or concerning air or other gases. |
| rapacious |
capable of capturing and eating live prey; predacious. |
| supine |
lying with the face upward. |
| travesty |
something so grotesque or inferior as to seem a parody. |