| academicism |
in the arts, rigid adherence to accepted and traditional forms. |
| benign |
causing little or no harm. |
| conjoin |
to combine for a common purpose. |
| deign |
to consider some act to be appropriate or in keeping with one's dignity; condescend. |
| ersatz |
serving as a substitute, especially when of inferior quality. |
| germane |
having relevance to a given matter; pertinent; significant. |
| ingenuous |
having or showing simplicity and lack of sophistication; artless. |
| innocuous |
not capable of causing damage; harmless. |
| laconic |
using very few words; succinct; terse. |
| linguistics |
(used with a singular verb) the scientific and historical study of the form and structure of human language. |
| loll |
to hang down loosely; dangle. |
| macerate |
to soften (food or the like) by soaking, as in digestion. |
| proselytize |
to convert or try actively to convert (others) to one's own beliefs or religion. |
| recant |
to withdraw from commitment to (a former position or statement), especially publicly; retract. |
| tort |
in law, any civil rather than criminal harm or injury that violates the implicit duty of each citizen not to harm others, and for which one may bring a civil suit and collect compensation. |