| austerity |
a tightened or stringent economy, as when there are high taxes, frozen wages, and shortages of consumer goods. |
| boudoir |
a woman's private sitting room or bedroom. |
| extenuate |
to reduce the magnitude or seriousness of (a fault or offense) by offering partial excuses. |
| garble |
to mix up, distort, or confuse (a message, translation, or the like); cause to be disordered or unintelligible. |
| garrulous |
given to talking excessively. |
| iatrogenic |
caused by a physician or medical treatment, especially from drugs or surgery. |
| indolence |
the tendency to avoid exertion or effort; laziness. |
| inflection |
change that occurs in the form of words to show a grammatical characteristic such as the tense of a verb, the number of a noun, or the degree of an adjective or adverb. |
| lacuna |
a gap or omitted part. |
| mahatma |
(sometimes capitalized) in Buddhism and theosophy, any of a class of persons revered for their wisdom and love of humanity. |
| parvenu |
a person who has suddenly acquired wealth or status, without acquiring the tastes, manners, customs, or the like of his or her new station. |
| penury |
severe poverty; pennilessness. |
| proselytize |
to convert or try actively to convert (others) to one's own beliefs or religion. |
| stately |
dignified. |
| stochastic |
of, or arising from chance or probability. |