| assuage |
to make less severe or more bearable; alleviate. |
| cloture |
in U.S. parliamentary procedure, a method of ending debate and causing an immediate vote on the matter being discussed. |
| coddle |
to simmer in water that is almost at the boiling point. |
| consternation |
surprise and alarm, leading to panic, deep disappointment, or total confusion. |
| deposition |
a sworn statement, usually in writing, for use as testimony by an absent witness in a court of law. |
| derelict |
failing to fulfill one's responsibilities or obligations; remiss. |
| emulous |
filled with the desire to equal or surpass. |
| highbrow |
one who has or pretends to have highly sophisticated intellectual and cultural interests and tastes (often used disparagingly). |
| ineptitude |
incompetence; lack of skill. |
| lacuna |
a gap or omitted part. |
| pastiche |
a work of visual art, music, or literature that consists mostly of materials and techniques borrowed from other works, sometimes done as an exercise to learn the technique of others. |
| proselytize |
to convert or try actively to convert (others) to one's own beliefs or religion. |
| recessional |
a piece of music that accompanies the exit of participants in a program or religious ceremony. |
| tamp |
to compress and pack tightly by repeated light taps. |
| vouchsafe |
to grant or give with condescension or as a special favor. |