| abstruse |
difficult to comprehend or understand; esoteric; arcane. |
| avow |
to assert or affirm. |
| castellated |
constructed with turrets and battlements like a castle. |
| desideratum |
something that is needed or wanted. |
| distraught |
mentally or emotionally unbalanced; crazed. |
| electuary |
a drug mixed with honey, syrup, or the like to form a paste to be smeared on the teeth or gums of a sick animal. |
| engender |
to create or give rise to. |
| gadfly |
a persistent critic, especially of established institutions and policies. |
| pinchbeck |
false, sham, or counterfeit. |
| requite |
to retaliate for; strike back on account of. |
| shibboleth |
a slogan, phrase, or belief that characterizes or is held devotedly by a group. |
| sylph |
a slender, graceful woman or girl. |
| tyro |
one who is beginning to learn a business, trade, sport, or the like; novice; neophyte. |
| vitiate |
to harm the quality of; mar; spoil. |
| voluble |
characterized by a steady flow of words; fluent; talkative. |