| adulteration |
the act or process of making worse or impure by adding unnecessary or inferior ingredients. |
| cachet |
prestige. |
| deposition |
a sworn statement, usually in writing, for use as testimony by an absent witness in a court of law. |
| effrontery |
shameless impudence; insolence. |
| euphoria |
a strong feeling of well-being or elation, sometimes unrealistic or unwarranted, and able to be induced by certain drugs. |
| figurehead |
a person whose title sounds important but who has no real power. |
| gloaming |
late evening; dusk; twilight. |
| goad |
something that spurs a person to action; stimulus. |
| gossamer |
delicately fine, gauzelike, or filmy. |
| macerate |
to soften (food or the like) by soaking, as in digestion. |
| maladroit |
not skillful; clumsy; tactless. |
| prerogative |
an exclusive right or privilege derived from one's office, position, age, citizenship, birth, or the like. |
| repine |
to express or feel unhappiness; complain; fret. |
| rodomontade |
puffed-up boasting or bravado. |
| stentorian |
extremely loud and powerful. |