| aggregate |
a sum, combination, or composite of separable elements. |
| agog |
highly excited and full of anticipation. |
| appose |
to place next to or side by side; juxtapose. |
| compunction |
uneasiness about the propriety or suitability of an action; qualm. |
| effete |
marked by excessive refinement or delicateness of taste. |
| exegesis |
a critical explanation or interpretive analysis, especially of religious texts. |
| hagiography |
an admiring and uncritical biography of anyone. |
| inculcate |
to cause to accept an idea or value; imbue. |
| maverick |
a person who thinks and behaves independently, especially one who refuses to adhere to the orthodoxy of the group to which he or she belongs. |
| nonfeasance |
in law, failure to perform a required duty, as by a public official. |
| obfuscate |
to make (something) seem or be difficult to understand; obscure or darken. |
| periphrasis |
an indirect or roundabout way of phrasing something; circumlocution. |
| reprobate |
an evil or lawless person, often beyond hope of redemption. |
| saturnine |
gloomy, sullen, or cynical in temperament or appearance. |
| topography |
the shape of the earth's surface across an area or region. The topography of an area includes the size and location of hills and dips in the land. |