| accretion |
the process of gradual increase or growth, especially by additions from the outside. |
| assuage |
to make less severe or more bearable; alleviate. |
| disabuse |
to free (a person) from misconception or deception; set straight. |
| disheveled |
not neat; messy. |
| ensconce |
to position (oneself) firmly or comfortably. |
| eruct |
to belch forth. |
| espouse |
to take up, hold, or commit oneself to (a cause, idea, or belief); embrace. |
| hirsute |
covered with hair or stiff hairs; hairy or shaggy. |
| lanugo |
fine, soft hair, especially that with which a human fetus or newborn is covered. |
| malinger |
to pretend illness or injury, especially in order to be excused from duty or work. |
| scabrous |
characterized by a rough or scaly surface, as the leaf of a plant. |
| shunt |
to turn or move aside or out of the way; divert. |
| solipsism |
the self-centered habit of interpreting and judging all things exclusively according to one's own concepts of meaning and value. |
| sotto voce |
in a low voice or undertone, so as not to be overheard; softly (often used as a musical direction). |
| spurn |
to reject, refuse, or treat with scorn; disdain; despise. |