| apprehensive |
feeling fearful about future events. |
| deterge |
to cleanse, wash, or wipe off. |
| determinism |
the belief or teaching that every effect, including human thoughts and actions, is completely and predictably brought about by preceding causes and that, therefore, free will does not exist. |
| effrontery |
shameless impudence; insolence. |
| epigraph |
a pertinent quotation or motto, especially found at the beginning of a literary work or of a chapter. |
| gadfly |
a persistent critic, especially of established institutions and policies. |
| immiscible |
not able to be mixed or blended. |
| irrefragable |
impossible to refute or dispute; undeniable. |
| louche |
of questionable decency, morality, or taste; shady; disreputable. |
| parlance |
manner of speaking or writing, especially word choice; vernacular. |
| pedantic |
making or characterized by an excessive display of learnedness, or overly insistent on scholarly details and formalities. |
| pinchbeck |
false, sham, or counterfeit. |
| repine |
to express or feel unhappiness; complain; fret. |
| travesty |
something so grotesque or inferior as to seem a parody. |
| welter |
to roll about or wallow, as in mud or the open sea. |