| baleful |
threatening harm; full of malice; ominous. |
| constrict |
to pull or squeeze in; make smaller or more narrow; tighten. |
| conversant |
familiar; acquainted; practiced (usually followed by "with" or "in"). |
| dawdle |
to waste time; be slow. |
| disquisition |
a formal, often lengthy, oral or written discussion of a subject. |
| doyen |
the senior or highest-ranking male member of a group. |
| expostulate |
to argue earnestly with someone, usually against an intended action; remonstrate. |
| flagitious |
viciously or shamefully wicked; infamous. |
| imbricate |
overlapping in an even sequence, as roof tiles or fish scales. |
| lorgnette |
eyeglasses, such as opera glasses, that have a short handle by which one holds them in position. |
| malingerer |
one who pretends to be ill or injured, especially in order to avoid work or duty. |
| munificent |
having or showing great generosity. |
| naturalism |
in literature, a method of depicting life that reflects a philosophy of determinism. |
| peroration |
the concluding part of a speech in which there is a summing up of the principal points. |
| travesty |
something so grotesque or inferior as to seem a parody. |