| abrogate |
to abolish, repeal, or nullify by authority. |
| abstruse |
difficult to comprehend or understand; esoteric; arcane. |
| assail |
to attack with vigor or violence; assault. |
| debauch |
to lead or seduce into immorality or intemperance; corrupt. |
| debouch |
to advance out of a confined or narrow space such as a canyon into open country. |
| doyen |
the senior or highest-ranking male member of a group. |
| espouse |
to take up, hold, or commit oneself to (a cause, idea, or belief); embrace. |
| frangible |
easy to break; breakable; fragile. |
| gossamer |
delicately fine, gauzelike, or filmy. |
| inadvertent |
not planned or intended; unintentional. |
| intelligentsia |
the elite class of highly learned people within a society, or those who consider themselves part of such a class. |
| lenitive |
mitigating pain, discomfort, or distress; soothing. |
| lorgnette |
eyeglasses, such as opera glasses, that have a short handle by which one holds them in position. |
| mahatma |
(sometimes capitalized) in Buddhism and theosophy, any of a class of persons revered for their wisdom and love of humanity. |
| scabrous |
characterized by a rough or scaly surface, as the leaf of a plant. |