| askance |
with distrust or suspicion. |
| élan |
enthusiasm or vigor. |
| espouse |
to take up, hold, or commit oneself to (a cause, idea, or belief); embrace. |
| imprimatur |
any official permission or sanction. |
| insipid |
having a bland or uninteresting flavor; tasteless. |
| intelligentsia |
the elite class of highly learned people within a society, or those who consider themselves part of such a class. |
| 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. |
| obscurantism |
a deliberate lack of clarity or directness of expression, as in certain styles of art or literature. |
| opiate |
something that induces relaxation, calm, or stupor. |
| peremptory |
not permitting refusal or disobedience. |
| sagacious |
possessing or characterized by good judgment and common sense; wise. |
| saturnine |
gloomy, sullen, or cynical in temperament or appearance. |
| sylph |
a slender, graceful woman or girl. |
| 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. |
| untoward |
unexpected and unfortunate. |