| aberration |
a deviation from what is considered normal or right; irregularity. |
| assuage |
to make less severe or more bearable; alleviate. |
| baneful |
causing or leading to death, destruction, or ruin; harmful or deadly. |
| beatify |
to admire or exalt as superior. |
| canny |
difficult to fool or take advantage of; shrewd; wary; clever. |
| cyst |
a small pouch within body tissue that is filled with fluid or air. Some cysts are connected with serious disease, but most are not harmful at all. |
| dawdle |
to waste time; be slow. |
| encomium |
a formal expression of praise. |
| exceptionable |
likely to be objected to; objectionable. |
| impinge |
to encroach. |
| impugn |
to call into question; challenge or try to discredit. |
| obfuscate |
to make (something) seem or be difficult to understand; obscure or darken. |
| obscurantism |
a deliberate lack of clarity or directness of expression, as in certain styles of art or literature. |
| occlude |
to close or obstruct (a passage or opening, one's vision, or the like). |
| travesty |
something so grotesque or inferior as to seem a parody. |