| antebellum |
in or of the period prior to a war, especially the American Civil War. |
| blithe |
indifferent or casual; unconcerned. |
| dawdle |
to waste time; be slow. |
| facetious |
not serious; humorous or frivolous. |
| garrulous |
given to talking excessively. |
| heterodox |
deviating from an officially approved belief or doctrine, especially in religion. |
| impugn |
to call into question; challenge or try to discredit. |
| mahatma |
(sometimes capitalized) in Buddhism and theosophy, any of a class of persons revered for their wisdom and love of humanity. |
| oppugn |
to oppose, contradict, criticize, or call into question. |
| pleonasm |
a redundant word, phrase, or expression. |
| raffish |
carelessly unconventional or disreputable, sometimes appealingly so. |
| shunt |
to turn or move aside or out of the way; divert. |
| stickler |
one who must observe or conform to something (usually followed by "for"). |
| symbiosis |
a close association, usually a mutually beneficial relationship, between two dissimilar organisms. |
| unabashed |
not feeling or showing embarrassment, uneasiness, or shame. |