| academicism |
in the arts, rigid adherence to accepted and traditional forms. |
| assuage |
to make less severe or more bearable; alleviate. |
| baneful |
causing or leading to death, destruction, or ruin; harmful or deadly. |
| effete |
marked by excessive refinement or delicateness of taste. |
| epistolary |
established or continued through letters. |
| extirpate |
to get rid of completely, as if by pulling up the roots; root out. |
| feckless |
weak or incompetent; ineffective. |
| innocuous |
not capable of causing damage; harmless. |
| internecine |
of or pertaining to conflict, discord, or struggle within a group. |
| intersperse |
to place or scatter among other things. |
| inveigle |
to entice or ensnare by clever talk or flattery. |
| parlous |
full of dangers or risks; perilous. |
| pretentious |
assuming or marked by an air of importance or superiority that is unwarranted. |
| proselytize |
to convert or try actively to convert (others) to one's own beliefs or religion. |
| welter |
to roll about or wallow, as in mud or the open sea. |