| accretion |
the process of gradual increase or growth, especially by additions from the outside. |
| adulteration |
the act or process of making worse or impure by adding unnecessary or inferior ingredients. |
| condone |
to pardon, disregard, or overlook voluntarily or without condemning. |
| diurnal |
occurring or active during, or belonging to, the daytime rather than nighttime. |
| expound |
to discuss or explain in detail (usually followed by "on" or "upon"). |
| louche |
of questionable decency, morality, or taste; shady; disreputable. |
| malingerer |
one who pretends to be ill or injured, especially in order to avoid work or duty. |
| maverick |
a person who thinks and behaves independently, especially one who refuses to adhere to the orthodoxy of the group to which he or she belongs. |
| mirabile dictu |
(Latin) wonderful to say or relate. |
| oligarchy |
a government or state in which only a relatively few people or members of a family have real power. |
| parlance |
manner of speaking or writing, especially word choice; vernacular. |
| 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. |
| recrudesce |
to become active again or break out anew, as a disease or harmful condition. |
| topography |
the shape of the earth's surface across an area or region. The topography of an area includes the size and location of hills and dips in the land. |
| transpose |
to exchange the position or order of (two things). |