| apprehensive |
feeling fearful about future events. |
| apprise |
to inform (often followed by "of"). |
| boudoir |
a woman's private sitting room or bedroom. |
| coalesce |
to grow together or unite to form a single body or organization; unify; fuse. |
| colloquialism |
a word or phrase typically used in conversational, informal, or regional speech or writing, hence sometimes considered inappropriate in formal writing. |
| doggerel |
trivial, crudely constructed verse. |
| extirpate |
to get rid of completely, as if by pulling up the roots; root out. |
| gadfly |
a persistent critic, especially of established institutions and policies. |
| granulate |
to make into small particles or grains. |
| highbrow |
one who has or pretends to have highly sophisticated intellectual and cultural interests and tastes (often used disparagingly). |
| jeremiad |
a long complaint about life or one's situation; lamentation. |
| lachrymose |
weeping, tending to weep readily, or being on the point of tears; tearful. |
| pliant |
easily flexed; supple. |
| reprisal |
injury inflicted in retaliation for injury received, as in war; revenge. |
| seminal |
of critical importance; essential. |