| asperity |
harshness or roughness, especially of tone or manner. |
| belie |
to give a false impression of. |
| dilatory |
used to cause a delay. |
| doggerel |
trivial, crudely constructed verse. |
| ensconce |
to position (oneself) firmly or comfortably. |
| foible |
a minor flaw or weakness in personality, character, or behavior. |
| idiosyncrasy |
a characteristic of temperament, habit, or physical structure particular to a given individual or group; peculiarity. |
| lambent |
glowing softly. |
| oligarchy |
a government or state in which only a relatively few people or members of a family have real power. |
| oppugn |
to oppose, contradict, criticize, or call into question. |
| pleonasm |
a redundant word, phrase, or expression. |
| remonstrate |
to say in opposition, protest, or objection. |
| reprise |
repetition of a musical phrase or theme in an identical or slightly altered way. |
| stative |
in grammar, of or designating a category of verbs that express state or condition. |
| tort |
in law, any civil rather than criminal harm or injury that violates the implicit duty of each citizen not to harm others, and for which one may bring a civil suit and collect compensation. |