| austerity |
a tightened or stringent economy, as when there are high taxes, frozen wages, and shortages of consumer goods. |
| banal |
lacking originality or liveliness; disappointingly ordinary; commonplace; trite. |
| cavalier |
carefree and offhand; nonchalant. |
| coddle |
to simmer in water that is almost at the boiling point. |
| declivity |
a downward or descending slope. |
| doggerel |
trivial, crudely constructed verse. |
| equivocal |
having at least two plausible alternative meanings, often intentionally so in order to deceive or avoid commitment; ambiguous. |
| exegesis |
a critical explanation or interpretive analysis, especially of religious texts. |
| fealty |
faithfulness or loyalty. |
| inculcate |
to cause to accept an idea or value; imbue. |
| inveigle |
to entice or ensnare by clever talk or flattery. |
| lattice |
a flat framework made with strips of wood or other material. The strips cross each other and have open spaces in between. A lattice is often used as a screen on a porch or in a garden. |
| limn |
to paint or draw. |
| nonfeasance |
in law, failure to perform a required duty, as by a public official. |
| solipsism |
the self-centered habit of interpreting and judging all things exclusively according to one's own concepts of meaning and value. |