| aberration |
a deviation from what is considered normal or right; irregularity. |
| appellation |
a name, title, or other designation. |
| ascertain |
to learn without question; determine. |
| austere |
having only what is needed; very simple or plain. |
| derelict |
failing to fulfill one's responsibilities or obligations; remiss. |
| derision |
mockery or ridicule. |
| discomfit |
to upset or confuse. |
| encomium |
a formal expression of praise. |
| goad |
something that spurs a person to action; stimulus. |
| hackneyed |
made trite or commonplace by overuse, as an expression or phrase. |
| inquest |
a legal investigation, usually involving a jury, especially a coroner's investigation of a suspicious death. |
| libertine |
acting without restraint; dissolute; amoral. |
| parturient |
giving birth or about to give birth; in labor. |
| risible |
provoking laughter; laughable or funny. |
| stridulate |
to produce a shrill grating, creaking, or chirping sound by rubbing certain parts of the body together, as some insects do. |