| animus |
a feeling or attitude of enmity. |
| astringent |
a substance or drug that contracts body tissue and slows discharge or secretion. |
| benign |
causing little or no harm. |
| consternation |
surprise and alarm, leading to panic, deep disappointment, or total confusion. |
| corollary |
a readily drawn conclusion; deduction or inference. |
| demotic |
of or relating to the common people; popular. |
| devolve |
of a duty or the like, to be passed on to someone else. |
| effluvium |
an outflow of usually invisible, foul-smelling vapor or gas. |
| equivocal |
having at least two plausible alternative meanings, often intentionally so in order to deceive or avoid commitment; ambiguous. |
| flummox |
(informal) to confuse or puzzle. |
| idiosyncrasy |
a characteristic of temperament, habit, or physical structure particular to a given individual or group; peculiarity. |
| indemnity |
insurance against damage, loss, or liability. |
| intersperse |
to place or scatter among other things. |
| liminal |
of or at the threshold of a physiological or psychological response or change of state. |
| oligarchy |
a government or state in which only a relatively few people or members of a family have real power. |