| apprehensive |
feeling fearful about future events. |
| bellicose |
easily incited to quarrel or fight; belligerent. |
| colloquialism |
a word or phrase typically used in conversational, informal, or regional speech or writing, hence sometimes considered inappropriate in formal writing. |
| compunction |
uneasiness about the propriety or suitability of an action; qualm. |
| curmudgeon |
an irritable or ill-tempered person. |
| debouch |
to advance out of a confined or narrow space such as a canyon into open country. |
| deposition |
a sworn statement, usually in writing, for use as testimony by an absent witness in a court of law. |
| diatribe |
a bitter, abusive attack in speech or writing. |
| disaffection |
an absence or loss of good will, faith, or loyalty, especially toward a government, principle, or the like. |
| expiation |
the act or the means of making amends, as for a sin or crime. |
| mésalliance |
marriage with someone of lower social standing than oneself. |
| modular |
designed with standardized units that may be arranged or connected in a variety of ways. |
| nostrum |
a favorite but unproven scheme or theory, offered as a remedy for social or political problems; panacea. |
| parsimonious |
excessively frugal; stingy. |
| peremptory |
not permitting refusal or disobedience. |