| asceticism |
self-discipline and self-denial as a means of spiritual improvement. |
| assuage |
to make less severe or more bearable; alleviate. |
| canny |
difficult to fool or take advantage of; shrewd; wary; clever. |
| cantankerous |
irritable, stubborn, and quarrelsome. |
| credulous |
disposed to believe, especially on scanty evidence; gullible. |
| derision |
mockery or ridicule. |
| dilatory |
used to cause a delay. |
| disinter |
to dig up or remove from a place of burial; exhume. |
| expostulate |
to argue earnestly with someone, usually against an intended action; remonstrate. |
| frangible |
easy to break; breakable; fragile. |
| glabrous |
having no hair or fuzz; bald; smooth. |
| precursory |
coming before and serving to indicate what will follow; premonitory. |
| scion |
an offspring or heir. |
| supine |
lying with the face upward. |
| virago |
a shrewish, domineering woman; nag or scold. |