| abash |
to cause to feel embarrassed, uneasy, or ashamed. |
| abstruse |
difficult to comprehend or understand; esoteric; arcane. |
| cloture |
in U.S. parliamentary procedure, a method of ending debate and causing an immediate vote on the matter being discussed. |
| dearth |
a shortage or scarcity of something; lack. |
| deracinate |
to pull up by or as if by the roots; uproot; isolate; exile. |
| harbinger |
someone or something that signals or foreshadows a later arrival or occurrence; herald; forerunner. |
| incredulous |
not able to believe something. |
| kismet |
destiny, fortune, or fate. |
| lenitive |
mitigating pain, discomfort, or distress; soothing. |
| nonfeasance |
in law, failure to perform a required duty, as by a public official. |
| opprobrious |
expressing condemnation or scorn; accusing of shameful behavior. |
| oppugn |
to oppose, contradict, criticize, or call into question. |
| precursory |
coming before and serving to indicate what will follow; premonitory. |
| prerogative |
an exclusive right or privilege derived from one's office, position, age, citizenship, birth, or the like. |
| shibboleth |
a slogan, phrase, or belief that characterizes or is held devotedly by a group. |