| apropos |
appropriate; relevant; opportune. |
| ascertain |
to learn without question; determine. |
| comity |
mutual courtesy and respectful treatment among people or nations. |
| debauch |
to lead or seduce into immorality or intemperance; corrupt. |
| figurehead |
a person whose title sounds important but who has no real power. |
| forswear |
to give up or renounce, often with an oath or pledge. |
| glut |
a greater supply or amount than is needed. |
| intelligentsia |
the elite class of highly learned people within a society, or those who consider themselves part of such a class. |
| mahatma |
(sometimes capitalized) in Buddhism and theosophy, any of a class of persons revered for their wisdom and love of humanity. |
| mésalliance |
marriage with someone of lower social standing than oneself. |
| panegyric |
a formal speech or piece of writing devoted to publicly praising a person or thing. |
| penumbra |
an indefinite, borderline area. |
| scabrous |
characterized by a rough or scaly surface, as the leaf of a plant. |
| sepsis |
infection, especially by pus-forming bacteria in the blood or tissues. |
| syntax |
the word order or pattern of word order in a sentence. |