| astringent |
a substance or drug that contracts body tissue and slows discharge or secretion. |
| austere |
having only what is needed; very simple or plain. |
| austerity |
a tightened or stringent economy, as when there are high taxes, frozen wages, and shortages of consumer goods. |
| banal |
lacking originality or liveliness; disappointingly ordinary; commonplace; trite. |
| bereft |
deprived or stripped of something. |
| bibulous |
addicted to alcohol; alcoholic. |
| cantankerous |
irritable, stubborn, and quarrelsome. |
| deign |
to consider some act to be appropriate or in keeping with one's dignity; condescend. |
| emulous |
filled with the desire to equal or surpass. |
| fixation |
an obsession, especially one that interferes with normal functioning. |
| indolence |
the tendency to avoid exertion or effort; laziness. |
| maladroit |
not skillful; clumsy; tactless. |
| precursory |
coming before and serving to indicate what will follow; premonitory. |
| pusillanimous |
shamefully timid; cowardly. |
| uxorial |
of, pertaining to, or befitting a wife. |