| amortize |
to deduct (expenditures) by fixed amounts over a period of time. |
| asceticism |
self-discipline and self-denial as a means of spiritual improvement. |
| castellated |
constructed with turrets and battlements like a castle. |
| doggerel |
trivial, crudely constructed verse. |
| epicure |
a person who has cultivated tastes, as in food or wine; connoisseur. |
| extirpate |
to get rid of completely, as if by pulling up the roots; root out. |
| extort |
to extract or obtain (money or the like) by force, threats, or abuse of authority. |
| granulate |
to make into small particles or grains. |
| lacuna |
a gap or omitted part. |
| penury |
severe poverty; pennilessness. |
| phlegmatic |
not given to shows of emotion or interest; slow to excite. |
| pliant |
easily flexed; supple. |
| putrefaction |
the act or process of rotting or decomposing. |
| salvo |
the firing of guns or other firearms simultaneously or in succession, especially as a salute. |
| 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. |