| accretion |
the process of gradual increase or growth, especially by additions from the outside. |
| benign |
causing little or no harm. |
| cachet |
prestige. |
| coddle |
to simmer in water that is almost at the boiling point. |
| deify |
to raise to the rank of a god; consider to be a god. |
| epicure |
a person who has cultivated tastes, as in food or wine; connoisseur. |
| flout |
to show scorn or contempt for, especially by openly or deliberately disobeying. |
| froward |
unwilling to agree or obey; stubborn; perverse. |
| jeremiad |
a long complaint about life or one's situation; lamentation. |
| mendicant |
living on charity; begging. |
| parlous |
full of dangers or risks; perilous. |
| penumbra |
an indefinite, borderline area. |
| refulgent |
shining brilliantly; radiant. |
| saturnine |
gloomy, sullen, or cynical in temperament or appearance. |
| scabrous |
characterized by a rough or scaly surface, as the leaf of a plant. |