| cachet |
prestige. |
| collateral |
property or other security put forward to guarantee repayment of a loan. |
| constrict |
to pull or squeeze in; make smaller or more narrow; tighten. |
| deign |
to consider some act to be appropriate or in keeping with one's dignity; condescend. |
| demulcent |
an oily or sticky substance used especially to soothe irritation in mucous membranes. |
| facetious |
not serious; humorous or frivolous. |
| harrow |
to go over or break up with a harrow. |
| impugn |
to call into question; challenge or try to discredit. |
| insouciant |
having no cares or anxieties; light-hearted; carefree. |
| oligarchy |
a government or state in which only a relatively few people or members of a family have real power. |
| parlance |
manner of speaking or writing, especially word choice; vernacular. |
| peripatetic |
walking or traveling around; going from place to place; itinerant. |
| reprisal |
injury inflicted in retaliation for injury received, as in war; revenge. |
| rodomontade |
puffed-up boasting or bravado. |
| syntax |
the word order or pattern of word order in a sentence. |