| aberration |
a deviation from what is considered normal or right; irregularity. |
| asperity |
harshness or roughness, especially of tone or manner. |
| asterisk |
a sign (*). It is used to show that there is other information on the page that explains the information where the sign is placed. |
| avow |
to assert or affirm. |
| collateral |
property or other security put forward to guarantee repayment of a loan. |
| colloquialism |
a word or phrase typically used in conversational, informal, or regional speech or writing, hence sometimes considered inappropriate in formal writing. |
| dawdle |
to waste time; be slow. |
| entreat |
to beg for something, or to do something. |
| fixation |
an obsession, especially one that interferes with normal functioning. |
| gnomic |
short and pithy, as an aphorism. |
| jeremiad |
a long complaint about life or one's situation; lamentation. |
| maverick |
a person who thinks and behaves independently, especially one who refuses to adhere to the orthodoxy of the group to which he or she belongs. |
| neophyte |
a beginner or novice at any activity. |
| opiate |
something that induces relaxation, calm, or stupor. |
| surcingle |
a girth or belt that wraps around the body of a horse to secure a saddle, pack, or the like to its back. |