| accretion |
the process of gradual increase or growth, especially by additions from the outside. |
| atonement |
the act of making reparation for a sin, crime, error, or the like. |
| credulous |
disposed to believe, especially on scanty evidence; gullible. |
| dearth |
a shortage or scarcity of something; lack. |
| debouch |
to advance out of a confined or narrow space such as a canyon into open country. |
| disabuse |
to free (a person) from misconception or deception; set straight. |
| doyen |
the senior or highest-ranking male member of a group. |
| equipoise |
a state of balance or equal weight, importance, or the like; equilibrium. |
| extort |
to extract or obtain (money or the like) by force, threats, or abuse of authority. |
| gnomic |
short and pithy, as an aphorism. |
| indurate |
to make hard in texture; harden. |
| laconic |
using very few words; succinct; terse. |
| lorgnette |
eyeglasses, such as opera glasses, that have a short handle by which one holds them in position. |
| reprobate |
an evil or lawless person, often beyond hope of redemption. |
| solipsism |
the self-centered habit of interpreting and judging all things exclusively according to one's own concepts of meaning and value. |