| accost |
to confront and speak first to, often aggressively. |
| agnostic |
one who believes it is impossible to know anything about the existence or nonexistence of God or about the essential nature of things beyond the material universe. |
| alimony |
money that a court orders one member of a divorced couple to pay to the other. |
| beneficiary |
one who receives or is formally designated to receive money or property, as from a will or insurance policy. |
| contortion |
a straining or twisting by the intellect; mental gymnastics. |
| dispensary |
a room in an institution, such as a hospital, in which medical supplies are kept and given out. |
| dogmatist |
one who asserts opinions or beliefs as though they were facts. |
| gnarl |
to knot or twist. |
| invertebrate |
without a backbone |
| nascent |
coming into being or starting to develop. |
| posterity |
all generations to come. |
| predecessor |
a person who holds a position or job before another person. |
| severance |
the act, process, or result of breaking off or separating. |
| solicitous |
anxiously or tenderly concerned or attentive (usually followed by about, of, or for.) |
| sophomoric |
displaying intellectual pretentiousness or proud confidence about one's knowledge when actually poorly informed or immature. |