| accretion |
the process of gradual increase or growth, especially by additions from the outside. |
| constrict |
to pull or squeeze in; make smaller or more narrow; tighten. |
| disheveled |
not neat; messy. |
| élan |
enthusiasm or vigor. |
| epicure |
a person who has cultivated tastes, as in food or wine; connoisseur. |
| gadfly |
a persistent critic, especially of established institutions and policies. |
| idyllic |
charmingly simple and natural, as a scene or experience; suggestive of peaceful countryside. |
| inculcate |
to cause to accept an idea or value; imbue. |
| liminal |
of or at the threshold of a physiological or psychological response or change of state. |
| obviate |
to prevent or eliminate in advance; render unnecessary or irrelevant. |
| quiescence |
a state of inaction, rest, or stillness; dormancy. |
| raffish |
carelessly unconventional or disreputable, sometimes appealingly so. |
| regicide |
the murderer of a king. |
| salacious |
excited by lust; lecherous. |
| unadulterated |
unmixed with or undiluted by additives or extraneous elements; pure; complete. |