| appellation |
a name, title, or other designation. |
| curmudgeon |
an irritable or ill-tempered person. |
| discountenance |
to embarrass or disconcert. |
| etiolate |
to weaken, especially through deprivation of normal development. |
| fulminate |
to vehemently denounce or criticize something. |
| inanition |
a state of exhaustion caused by a lack of nourishment. |
| insinuate |
to suggest (something derogatory) subtly and indirectly. |
| naturalism |
in literature, a method of depicting life that reflects a philosophy of determinism. |
| opprobrious |
expressing condemnation or scorn; accusing of shameful behavior. |
| 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. |
| penury |
severe poverty; pennilessness. |
| pleonasm |
a redundant word, phrase, or expression. |
| profligate |
totally given over to immoral and shameful pursuits; dissolute. |
| seminal |
of critical importance; essential. |
| shyster |
a person, usually a lawyer, who uses underhanded, unethical methods. |