| antebellum |
in or of the period prior to a war, especially the American Civil War. |
| cantankerous |
irritable, stubborn, and quarrelsome. |
| constrict |
to pull or squeeze in; make smaller or more narrow; tighten. |
| credulous |
disposed to believe, especially on scanty evidence; gullible. |
| demotic |
of or relating to the common people; popular. |
| derision |
mockery or ridicule. |
| effete |
marked by excessive refinement or delicateness of taste. |
| figurehead |
a person whose title sounds important but who has no real power. |
| gullible |
believing almost anything; easily tricked. |
| indistinct |
not clearly perceived or perceiving. |
| internecine |
of or pertaining to conflict, discord, or struggle within a group. |
| limn |
to paint or draw. |
| sequester |
to remove into protection and isolation; seclude. |
| shunt |
to turn or move aside or out of the way; divert. |
| symbiosis |
a close association, usually a mutually beneficial relationship, between two dissimilar organisms. |