| abstruse |
difficult to comprehend or understand; esoteric; arcane. |
| consternation |
surprise and alarm, leading to panic, deep disappointment, or total confusion. |
| contumacious |
stubbornly disobedient; insubordinate; rebellious. |
| deadeye |
an expert shooter. |
| derision |
mockery or ridicule. |
| élan |
enthusiasm or vigor. |
| erudite |
having or showing a high level of scholarly knowledge; learned. |
| hagiography |
an admiring and uncritical biography of anyone. |
| insularity |
the condition of being closed to new ideas or outside influences; narrow-mindedness. |
| panegyric |
a formal speech or piece of writing devoted to publicly praising a person or thing. |
| pliant |
easily flexed; supple. |
| raffish |
carelessly unconventional or disreputable, sometimes appealingly so. |
| revetment |
a facing of stone, masonry, or the like to support or protect a wall, embankment, or mound of earth. |
| savor |
to give an impression; hint (usually followed by "of"). |
| solipsism |
the self-centered habit of interpreting and judging all things exclusively according to one's own concepts of meaning and value. |