| beneficiary |
one who receives or is formally designated to receive money or property, as from a will or insurance policy. |
| caustic |
bitingly critical. |
| embellishment |
a beautifying decoration or addition. |
| expulsion |
an act or instance of forcing out, or the state of being forced out. |
| havoc |
ruin or devastation. |
| metabolism |
the processes in plants and animals by which food is changed into energy or used to make cells and tissues. |
| nadir |
the lowest or most depressing point or stage. |
| notation |
a system of signs used to stand for numbers, words, or musical notes. |
| pariah |
a despised or socially outcast person. |
| preempt |
to seize or appropriate ahead of others. |
| pundit |
an authoritative, or purportedly authoritative, commentator or critic. |
| repugnance |
strong dislike, distaste, or aversion. |
| solicit |
to try to obtain (business, recruits, donations, help, or the like) by persuasion, formal request, or pleading. |
| succumb |
to give in or give way to a fatal illness, superior force, overwhelming desire, or the like; yield. |
| titular |
having a title but none of the power or responsibility related to it; nominal. |