| astute |
keen in understanding and judgment; shrewd. |
| disallow |
to refuse to allow or admit; reject. |
| engender |
to create or give rise to. |
| extrinsic |
not inherent or essential; extraneous. |
| gambit |
a tactic or maneuver designed to gain an advantage, especially one that involves some sacrifice on one's part. |
| heinous |
extremely wicked or despicable; atrocious. |
| humanism |
a doctrine or mode of thought that gives highest importance to human dignity, values, potentials, and achievements. |
| opprobrious |
expressing condemnation or scorn; accusing of shameful behavior. |
| penumbra |
an indefinite, borderline area. |
| precursory |
coming before and serving to indicate what will follow; premonitory. |
| profligate |
totally given over to immoral and shameful pursuits; dissolute. |
| reprisal |
injury inflicted in retaliation for injury received, as in war; revenge. |
| sententious |
using or marked by pompous, high-flown moralizing. |
| topography |
the shape of the earth's surface across an area or region. The topography of an area includes the size and location of hills and dips in the land. |
| uxorial |
of, pertaining to, or befitting a wife. |