| appellation |
a name, title, or other designation. |
| banal |
lacking originality or liveliness; disappointingly ordinary; commonplace; trite. |
| boudoir |
a woman's private sitting room or bedroom. |
| constrict |
to pull or squeeze in; make smaller or more narrow; tighten. |
| deposition |
a sworn statement, usually in writing, for use as testimony by an absent witness in a court of law. |
| descant |
a secondary, usually higher, melody that is played or sung at the same time as the chief melody. |
| eulogy |
a spoken or written tribute, especially to honor a dead person; high praise; formal commendation. |
| flummox |
(informal) to confuse or puzzle. |
| inchoate |
partially or imperfectly developed. |
| incredulous |
not able to believe something. |
| lorgnette |
eyeglasses, such as opera glasses, that have a short handle by which one holds them in position. |
| maunder |
to speak in an aimless or foolish way; babble. |
| obviate |
to prevent or eliminate in advance; render unnecessary or irrelevant. |
| quondam |
having been in the past; former. |
| sanctimony |
a pretense of righteousness or piety; feigned devotion or holiness. |