| accretion |
the process of gradual increase or growth, especially by additions from the outside. |
| coddle |
to simmer in water that is almost at the boiling point. |
| condone |
to pardon, disregard, or overlook voluntarily or without condemning. |
| demarcate |
to set apart or separate, as if with boundaries. |
| desideratum |
something that is needed or wanted. |
| elide |
to leave out or slur, as a syllable or letter, in pronunciation. |
| inflection |
change that occurs in the form of words to show a grammatical characteristic such as the tense of a verb, the number of a noun, or the degree of an adjective or adverb. |
| inquest |
a legal investigation, usually involving a jury, especially a coroner's investigation of a suspicious death. |
| inveigle |
to entice or ensnare by clever talk or flattery. |
| laudatory |
expressing praise. |
| nonplus |
to cause (someone) to be unable to think of what to say, do, or decide; perplex; bewilder. |
| otiose |
having no purpose or use; unnecessary or futile. |
| quondam |
having been in the past; former. |
| regicide |
the murderer of a king. |
| 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. |