| adulteration |
the act or process of making worse or impure by adding unnecessary or inferior ingredients. |
| appellation |
a name, title, or other designation. |
| astute |
keen in understanding and judgment; shrewd. |
| attenuate |
to cause to be thin, rarefied, or fine. |
| austerity |
a tightened or stringent economy, as when there are high taxes, frozen wages, and shortages of consumer goods. |
| deter |
to stop or discourage from some action by creating doubt or fear. |
| disinter |
to dig up or remove from a place of burial; exhume. |
| hackneyed |
made trite or commonplace by overuse, as an expression or phrase. |
| lattice |
a flat framework made with strips of wood or other material. The strips cross each other and have open spaces in between. A lattice is often used as a screen on a porch or in a garden. |
| malapropism |
the humorous or ridiculous misuse of a word, especially by using a word that sounds similar to the correct word, but whose meaning is inappropriate. |
| parlance |
manner of speaking or writing, especially word choice; vernacular. |
| proselytize |
to convert or try actively to convert (others) to one's own beliefs or religion. |
| scion |
an offspring or heir. |
| shunt |
to turn or move aside or out of the way; divert. |
| splenetic |
ill-tempered or spiteful. |