| baneful |
causing or leading to death, destruction, or ruin; harmful or deadly. |
| blatant |
completely obvious or undisguised, sometimes offensively so. |
| centripetal |
forced or moving inward toward a center point or axis. |
| conduction |
the transmission or transfer, as of heat, electrical charges, or nervous impulses, through a medium. |
| credulous |
disposed to believe, especially on scanty evidence; gullible. |
| élan |
enthusiasm or vigor. |
| expound |
to discuss or explain in detail (usually followed by "on" or "upon"). |
| gadfly |
a persistent critic, especially of established institutions and policies. |
| gossamer |
delicately fine, gauzelike, or filmy. |
| impermeable |
not permitting passage or penetration. |
| imprimatur |
any official permission or sanction. |
| mélange |
a mixture, usually of very dissimilar elements. |
| neologism |
a new word, phrase, or usage. |
| recurve |
to bend or curve back or backward, as the ends of certain shooting bows. |
| sepsis |
infection, especially by pus-forming bacteria in the blood or tissues. |