| austerity |
a tightened or stringent economy, as when there are high taxes, frozen wages, and shortages of consumer goods. |
| boudoir |
a woman's private sitting room or bedroom. |
| feckless |
weak or incompetent; ineffective. |
| flummox |
(informal) to confuse or puzzle. |
| forswear |
to give up or renounce, often with an oath or pledge. |
| germane |
having relevance to a given matter; pertinent; significant. |
| indurate |
to make hard in texture; harden. |
| ineptitude |
incompetence; lack of skill. |
| insipid |
having a bland or uninteresting flavor; tasteless. |
| loll |
to hang down loosely; dangle. |
| obviate |
to prevent or eliminate in advance; render unnecessary or irrelevant. |
| reprise |
repetition of a musical phrase or theme in an identical or slightly altered way. |
| saturnine |
gloomy, sullen, or cynical in temperament or appearance. |
| travesty |
something so grotesque or inferior as to seem a parody. |
| vouchsafe |
to grant or give with condescension or as a special favor. |