| apprehensive |
feeling fearful about future events. |
| austerity |
a tightened or stringent economy, as when there are high taxes, frozen wages, and shortages of consumer goods. |
| bellicose |
easily incited to quarrel or fight; belligerent. |
| burgeon |
to start to grow; send forth shoots, leaves, buds, or the like (often followed by "out" or "forth"). |
| colloquialism |
a word or phrase typically used in conversational, informal, or regional speech or writing, hence sometimes considered inappropriate in formal writing. |
| desideratum |
something that is needed or wanted. |
| forswear |
to give up or renounce, often with an oath or pledge. |
| impromptu |
without advance plan or preparation; spontaneously. |
| laudatory |
expressing praise. |
| mélange |
a mixture, usually of very dissimilar elements. |
| neologism |
a new word, phrase, or usage. |
| pandemic |
a widespread outbreak of disease that afflicts many people over different continents. |
| pastiche |
a work of visual art, music, or literature that consists mostly of materials and techniques borrowed from other works, sometimes done as an exercise to learn the technique of others. |
| recidivism |
chronic return to bad habits, especially criminal relapse. |
| solecism |
a gross violation of convention in grammar, etiquette, or the like; impropriety. |