| aleatory |
pertaining to or depending on luck, chance, or contingency. |
| animus |
a feeling or attitude of enmity. |
| antebellum |
in or of the period prior to a war, especially the American Civil War. |
| apprise |
to inform (often followed by "of"). |
| castellated |
constructed with turrets and battlements like a castle. |
| cloture |
in U.S. parliamentary procedure, a method of ending debate and causing an immediate vote on the matter being discussed. |
| forswear |
to give up or renounce, often with an oath or pledge. |
| inchoate |
partially or imperfectly developed. |
| jeremiad |
a long complaint about life or one's situation; lamentation. |
| modus operandi |
a method of accomplishing something; way of working. |
| nonplus |
to cause (someone) to be unable to think of what to say, do, or decide; perplex; bewilder. |
| panegyric |
a formal speech or piece of writing devoted to publicly praising a person or thing. |
| salacious |
excited by lust; lecherous. |
| Saturnalia |
an occasion of unrestrained revelry. |
| scabrous |
characterized by a rough or scaly surface, as the leaf of a plant. |