| abstruse |
difficult to comprehend or understand; esoteric; arcane. |
| demotic |
of or relating to the common people; popular. |
| engender |
to create or give rise to. |
| equivocal |
having at least two plausible alternative meanings, often intentionally so in order to deceive or avoid commitment; ambiguous. |
| fealty |
faithfulness or loyalty. |
| gamut |
the whole extent or range of anything. |
| imbroglio |
a difficult, confused, or complicated situation, often involving a misunderstanding, disagreement, or quarrel. |
| incursion |
a raid or sudden invasion. |
| inquest |
a legal investigation, usually involving a jury, especially a coroner's investigation of a suspicious death. |
| lanugo |
fine, soft hair, especially that with which a human fetus or newborn is covered. |
| precursory |
coming before and serving to indicate what will follow; premonitory. |
| pusillanimous |
shamefully timid; cowardly. |
| rapacious |
capable of capturing and eating live prey; predacious. |
| sotto voce |
in a low voice or undertone, so as not to be overheard; softly (often used as a musical direction). |
| triage |
a system of determining priority of medical treatment, on the basis of need, chances of survival, and the like, to victims on a battlefield or in a hospital emergency ward. |