| attenuate |
to cause to be thin, rarefied, or fine. |
| berate |
to reproach or scold severely. |
| cantankerous |
irritable, stubborn, and quarrelsome. |
| contumacious |
stubbornly disobedient; insubordinate; rebellious. |
| disquisition |
a formal, often lengthy, oral or written discussion of a subject. |
| elide |
to leave out or slur, as a syllable or letter, in pronunciation. |
| epigraph |
a pertinent quotation or motto, especially found at the beginning of a literary work or of a chapter. |
| glut |
a greater supply or amount than is needed. |
| insipid |
having a bland or uninteresting flavor; tasteless. |
| maunder |
to speak in an aimless or foolish way; babble. |
| oblique |
not direct or straightforward in intent, means, or achievement; indirect or devious. |
| recant |
to withdraw from commitment to (a former position or statement), especially publicly; retract. |
| rodomontade |
puffed-up boasting or bravado. |
| solecism |
a gross violation of convention in grammar, etiquette, or the like; impropriety. |
| supine |
lying with the face upward. |