| abeyance |
temporary suspension or cessation. |
| bathos |
a sudden descent from an exalted style or esteemed state to the commonplace. |
| cachet |
prestige. |
| cynosure |
a thing or person that is the center of attention and admiration. |
| daunt |
to lessen the determination of; intimidate; discourage. |
| diurnal |
occurring or active during, or belonging to, the daytime rather than nighttime. |
| gullible |
believing almost anything; easily tricked. |
| highbrow |
one who has or pretends to have highly sophisticated intellectual and cultural interests and tastes (often used disparagingly). |
| limn |
to paint or draw. |
| nonfeasance |
in law, failure to perform a required duty, as by a public official. |
| pronate |
to turn or rotate (the hand or forearm) so that the palm of the hand faces down or backwards. |
| risible |
provoking laughter; laughable or funny. |
| sotto voce |
in a low voice or undertone, so as not to be overheard; softly (often used as a musical direction). |
| supine |
lying with the face upward. |
| travesty |
something so grotesque or inferior as to seem a parody. |