| animus |
a feeling or attitude of enmity. |
| attune |
to adjust so as to be harmonious. |
| austerity |
a tightened or stringent economy, as when there are high taxes, frozen wages, and shortages of consumer goods. |
| deracinate |
to pull up by or as if by the roots; uproot; isolate; exile. |
| disinter |
to dig up or remove from a place of burial; exhume. |
| dissemble |
to disguise or hide behind a false semblance; conceal the true nature or state of. |
| flout |
to show scorn or contempt for, especially by openly or deliberately disobeying. |
| invidious |
tending to arouse feelings of resentment or animosity, especially because of a slight; offensive or discriminatory. |
| lien |
a legal claim on a piece of property when the current owner is in default on a debt or obligation. |
| 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. |
| nostrum |
a favorite but unproven scheme or theory, offered as a remedy for social or political problems; panacea. |
| preferment |
the act of promoting or being promoted to a higher position or office. |
| reconnaissance |
the act or process of examining an area, especially to gain militarily useful information. |
| stickler |
one who must observe or conform to something (usually followed by "for"). |
| surcingle |
a girth or belt that wraps around the body of a horse to secure a saddle, pack, or the like to its back. |