| adulteration |
the act or process of making worse or impure by adding unnecessary or inferior ingredients. |
| ascertain |
to learn without question; determine. |
| atavism |
the recurrence or reappearance of a particular trait, style, attitude, or behavior that seemed to have disappeared, or that which has recurred or reappeared after such an absence. |
| bathos |
a sudden descent from an exalted style or esteemed state to the commonplace. |
| cantankerous |
irritable, stubborn, and quarrelsome. |
| desideratum |
something that is needed or wanted. |
| ensconce |
to position (oneself) firmly or comfortably. |
| imbroglio |
a difficult, confused, or complicated situation, often involving a misunderstanding, disagreement, or quarrel. |
| nonfeasance |
in law, failure to perform a required duty, as by a public official. |
| rapacious |
capable of capturing and eating live prey; predacious. |
| recessional |
a piece of music that accompanies the exit of participants in a program or religious ceremony. |
| risible |
provoking laughter; laughable or funny. |
| stridulate |
to produce a shrill grating, creaking, or chirping sound by rubbing certain parts of the body together, as some insects do. |
| 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. |