| adulteration |
the act or process of making worse or impure by adding unnecessary or inferior ingredients. |
| banal |
lacking originality or liveliness; disappointingly ordinary; commonplace; trite. |
| collateral |
property or other security put forward to guarantee repayment of a loan. |
| denigrate |
to deny the worth of; sneer at; belittle. |
| dilatory |
used to cause a delay. |
| disheveled |
not neat; messy. |
| dissemble |
to disguise or hide behind a false semblance; conceal the true nature or state of. |
| epigraph |
a pertinent quotation or motto, especially found at the beginning of a literary work or of a chapter. |
| facsimile |
an exact copy or duplicate of something printed or of a picture. |
| fulminate |
to vehemently denounce or criticize something. |
| indistinct |
not clearly perceived or perceiving. |
| naturalism |
in literature, a method of depicting life that reflects a philosophy of determinism. |
| parlous |
full of dangers or risks; perilous. |
| recidivism |
chronic return to bad habits, especially criminal relapse. |
| veneration |
a feeling of great respect; awe; reverence. |