| abeyance |
temporary suspension or cessation. |
| bereft |
deprived or stripped of something. |
| caste |
the status conferred by the class to which one belongs. |
| daunt |
to lessen the determination of; intimidate; discourage. |
| devolve |
of a duty or the like, to be passed on to someone else. |
| emulous |
filled with the desire to equal or surpass. |
| garble |
to mix up, distort, or confuse (a message, translation, or the like); cause to be disordered or unintelligible. |
| gloaming |
late evening; dusk; twilight. |
| inadvertent |
not planned or intended; unintentional. |
| limn |
to paint or draw. |
| malapropism |
the humorous or ridiculous misuse of a word, especially by using a word that sounds similar to the correct word, but whose meaning is inappropriate. |
| mendicant |
living on charity; begging. |
| oppugn |
to oppose, contradict, criticize, or call into question. |
| parvenu |
a person who has suddenly acquired wealth or status, without acquiring the tastes, manners, customs, or the like of his or her new station. |
| pungency |
sharpness or bite in taste or smell. |