| arrant |
complete; unmitigated; downright. |
| astringent |
a substance or drug that contracts body tissue and slows discharge or secretion. |
| cession |
the act of formally giving up or signing over, as a territory; ceding. |
| cynosure |
a thing or person that is the center of attention and admiration. |
| flak |
(informal) irritating opposition, criticism, or dissent. |
| guttural |
articulated in the back of the mouth; velar. |
| harbinger |
someone or something that signals or foreshadows a later arrival or occurrence; herald; forerunner. |
| limn |
to paint or draw. |
| linguistics |
(used with a singular verb) the scientific and historical study of the form and structure of human language. |
| lorgnette |
eyeglasses, such as opera glasses, that have a short handle by which one holds them in position. |
| maladroit |
not skillful; clumsy; tactless. |
| nonfeasance |
in law, failure to perform a required duty, as by a public official. |
| pinchbeck |
false, sham, or counterfeit. |
| shunt |
to turn or move aside or out of the way; divert. |
| shyster |
a person, usually a lawyer, who uses underhanded, unethical methods. |