| assuage |
to make less severe or more bearable; alleviate. |
| centripetal |
forced or moving inward toward a center point or axis. |
| dearth |
a shortage or scarcity of something; lack. |
| equipoise |
a state of balance or equal weight, importance, or the like; equilibrium. |
| expound |
to discuss or explain in detail (usually followed by "on" or "upon"). |
| facsimile |
an exact copy or duplicate of something printed or of a picture. |
| guru |
in a cult or religious movement, a spiritual guide or leader, sometimes believed to be divine. |
| lorgnette |
eyeglasses, such as opera glasses, that have a short handle by which one holds them in position. |
| macrocosm |
a large unit or entity that represents on a large scale one of its smaller components. |
| nonplus |
to cause (someone) to be unable to think of what to say, do, or decide; perplex; bewilder. |
| parturient |
giving birth or about to give birth; in labor. |
| pedantic |
making or characterized by an excessive display of learnedness, or overly insistent on scholarly details and formalities. |
| relict |
a plant, animal, or geological feature that has survived in a considerably changed environment. |
| schadenfreude |
(often capitalized) pleasure derived from the misfortune of others. |
| syntax |
the word order or pattern of word order in a sentence. |