| acclivity |
a rising slope. |
| cession |
the act of formally giving up or signing over, as a territory; ceding. |
| foible |
a minor flaw or weakness in personality, character, or behavior. |
| granulate |
to make into small particles or grains. |
| guru |
in a cult or religious movement, a spiritual guide or leader, sometimes believed to be divine. |
| hagiography |
an admiring and uncritical biography of anyone. |
| jejune |
lacking interest or liveliness; dull. |
| lugubrious |
sad or mournful, especially in an exaggerated way; gloomy. |
| malfeasance |
an illegal act or wrongdoing, especially by a public official. |
| nonfeasance |
in law, failure to perform a required duty, as by a public official. |
| obscurantism |
a deliberate lack of clarity or directness of expression, as in certain styles of art or literature. |
| recondite |
involving profound concepts and complexities; not easily understood. |
| reconnoiter |
to go through or over (an area) so as to gain information about it, as for military or engineering purposes. |
| solecism |
a gross violation of convention in grammar, etiquette, or the like; impropriety. |
| unscathed |
not hurt or harmed; completely uninjured. |