| abstruse |
difficult to comprehend or understand; esoteric; arcane. |
| alluvium |
sand, soil, gravel, or the like deposited by moving water, as along a river bed. |
| apprehensive |
feeling fearful about future events. |
| cachet |
prestige. |
| curmudgeon |
an irritable or ill-tempered person. |
| deify |
to raise to the rank of a god; consider to be a god. |
| élan |
enthusiasm or vigor. |
| encomium |
a formal expression of praise. |
| eulogy |
a spoken or written tribute, especially to honor a dead person; high praise; formal commendation. |
| fealty |
faithfulness or loyalty. |
| fixation |
an obsession, especially one that interferes with normal functioning. |
| impromptu |
without advance plan or preparation; spontaneously. |
| intersperse |
to place or scatter among other things. |
| picayune |
having little value or significance; small; paltry. |
| stridulate |
to produce a shrill grating, creaking, or chirping sound by rubbing certain parts of the body together, as some insects do. |