| acclivity |
a rising slope. |
| affidavit |
a written statement that is sworn in the presence of an authorized official to be true, used as legal evidence. |
| apocryphal |
of dubious authorship or authority. |
| calumny |
a harmful statement, known by the maker to be false. |
| colloquialism |
a word or phrase typically used in conversational, informal, or regional speech or writing, hence sometimes considered inappropriate in formal writing. |
| distraught |
mentally or emotionally unbalanced; crazed. |
| germane |
having relevance to a given matter; pertinent; significant. |
| homily |
any discourse offering moral advice or admonitions. |
| jeremiad |
a long complaint about life or one's situation; lamentation. |
| naturalism |
in literature, a method of depicting life that reflects a philosophy of determinism. |
| plaudit |
(often plural) an enthusiastic show of approval, such as a round of applause or a very favorable review. |
| precursory |
coming before and serving to indicate what will follow; premonitory. |
| sotto voce |
in a low voice or undertone, so as not to be overheard; softly (often used as a musical direction). |
| stickler |
one who must observe or conform to something (usually followed by "for"). |
| 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. |