| aberration |
a deviation from what is considered normal or right; irregularity. |
| baneful |
causing or leading to death, destruction, or ruin; harmful or deadly. |
| canard |
a deliberately false story or rumor, usually defamatory to someone. |
| cantankerous |
irritable, stubborn, and quarrelsome. |
| cognomen |
a last name; surname. |
| exegesis |
a critical explanation or interpretive analysis, especially of religious texts. |
| idiosyncrasy |
a characteristic of temperament, habit, or physical structure particular to a given individual or group; peculiarity. |
| inanition |
a state of exhaustion caused by a lack of nourishment. |
| incursion |
a raid or sudden invasion. |
| maverick |
a person who thinks and behaves independently, especially one who refuses to adhere to the orthodoxy of the group to which he or she belongs. |
| obfuscate |
to make (something) seem or be difficult to understand; obscure or darken. |
| opiate |
something that induces relaxation, calm, or stupor. |
| precursory |
coming before and serving to indicate what will follow; premonitory. |
| solecism |
a gross violation of convention in grammar, etiquette, or the like; impropriety. |
| transpose |
to exchange the position or order of (two things). |