| abstruse |
difficult to comprehend or understand; esoteric; arcane. |
| askance |
with distrust or suspicion. |
| attenuate |
to cause to be thin, rarefied, or fine. |
| benign |
causing little or no harm. |
| coddle |
to simmer in water that is almost at the boiling point. |
| collateral |
property or other security put forward to guarantee repayment of a loan. |
| dawdle |
to waste time; be slow. |
| Draconian |
(often lower case) harshly cruel or rigorous. |
| ersatz |
serving as a substitute, especially when of inferior quality. |
| etiolate |
to weaken, especially through deprivation of normal development. |
| hypocrisy |
the practice or an instance of stating or pretending to hold beliefs or principles that one does not actually live by; insincerity. |
| pneumatic |
of, using, or concerning air or other gases. |
| salvo |
the firing of guns or other firearms simultaneously or in succession, especially as a salute. |
| savor |
to give an impression; hint (usually followed by "of"). |
| vitiate |
to harm the quality of; mar; spoil. |