| abeyance |
temporary suspension or cessation. |
| credulous |
disposed to believe, especially on scanty evidence; gullible. |
| etiolate |
to weaken, especially through deprivation of normal development. |
| fixation |
an obsession, especially one that interferes with normal functioning. |
| highbrow |
one who has or pretends to have highly sophisticated intellectual and cultural interests and tastes (often used disparagingly). |
| incredulous |
not able to believe something. |
| laconic |
using very few words; succinct; terse. |
| lenitive |
mitigating pain, discomfort, or distress; soothing. |
| lugubrious |
sad or mournful, especially in an exaggerated way; gloomy. |
| penumbra |
an indefinite, borderline area. |
| recidivism |
chronic return to bad habits, especially criminal relapse. |
| relict |
a plant, animal, or geological feature that has survived in a considerably changed environment. |
| somatic |
of or pertaining to the body itself; corporeal. |
| tort |
in law, any civil rather than criminal harm or injury that violates the implicit duty of each citizen not to harm others, and for which one may bring a civil suit and collect compensation. |
| trabeated |
using horizontal beams or lintels as supports instead of arches. |