| abstruse |
difficult to comprehend or understand; esoteric; arcane. |
| blithe |
indifferent or casual; unconcerned. |
| cavalier |
carefree and offhand; nonchalant. |
| chary |
not dispensing freely. |
| deter |
to stop or discourage from some action by creating doubt or fear. |
| erratic |
not expected or predicted; not regular. |
| harbinger |
someone or something that signals or foreshadows a later arrival or occurrence; herald; forerunner. |
| invidious |
tending to arouse feelings of resentment or animosity, especially because of a slight; offensive or discriminatory. |
| laureate |
one honored for achievement in a particular field or by a particular award, especially in the arts or sciences. |
| linguistics |
(used with a singular verb) the scientific and historical study of the form and structure of human language. |
| loll |
to hang down loosely; dangle. |
| louche |
of questionable decency, morality, or taste; shady; disreputable. |
| lugubrious |
sad or mournful, especially in an exaggerated way; gloomy. |
| mélange |
a mixture, usually of very dissimilar elements. |
| shibboleth |
a slogan, phrase, or belief that characterizes or is held devotedly by a group. |