| assail |
to attack with vigor or violence; assault. |
| atavism |
the recurrence or reappearance of a particular trait, style, attitude, or behavior that seemed to have disappeared, or that which has recurred or reappeared after such an absence. |
| cognizant |
aware; informed (usually followed by "of"). |
| constrict |
to pull or squeeze in; make smaller or more narrow; tighten. |
| cynosure |
a thing or person that is the center of attention and admiration. |
| deify |
to raise to the rank of a god; consider to be a god. |
| descant |
a secondary, usually higher, melody that is played or sung at the same time as the chief melody. |
| desiccate |
to remove the moisture in (food) so as to preserve it. |
| exceptionable |
likely to be objected to; objectionable. |
| fracas |
a noisy disturbance or quarrel. |
| heinous |
extremely wicked or despicable; atrocious. |
| inflection |
change that occurs in the form of words to show a grammatical characteristic such as the tense of a verb, the number of a noun, or the degree of an adjective or adverb. |
| stanch1 |
to cause (a liquid, especially blood) to stop flowing. |
| untoward |
unexpected and unfortunate. |
| vouchsafe |
to grant or give with condescension or as a special favor. |