| abut |
to adjoin or press against; be next to; border on. |
| assail |
to attack with vigor or violence; assault. |
| berate |
to reproach or scold severely. |
| caste |
the status conferred by the class to which one belongs. |
| coddle |
to simmer in water that is almost at the boiling point. |
| contumely |
contemptuous insolence; rudeness. |
| determinism |
the belief or teaching that every effect, including human thoughts and actions, is completely and predictably brought about by preceding causes and that, therefore, free will does not exist. |
| discountenance |
to embarrass or disconcert. |
| exceptionable |
likely to be objected to; objectionable. |
| gnomic |
short and pithy, as an aphorism. |
| malapropism |
the humorous or ridiculous misuse of a word, especially by using a word that sounds similar to the correct word, but whose meaning is inappropriate. |
| nostrum |
a favorite but unproven scheme or theory, offered as a remedy for social or political problems; panacea. |
| putrefaction |
the act or process of rotting or decomposing. |
| sequester |
to remove into protection and isolation; seclude. |
| triage |
a system of determining priority of medical treatment, on the basis of need, chances of survival, and the like, to victims on a battlefield or in a hospital emergency ward. |