| accretion |
the process of gradual increase or growth, especially by additions from the outside. |
| apprehensive |
feeling fearful about future events. |
| bellicose |
easily incited to quarrel or fight; belligerent. |
| dissimulate |
to hide one's true feelings, intentions, or the like by pretense or hypocrisy. |
| entreat |
to beg for something, or to do something. |
| exegesis |
a critical explanation or interpretive analysis, especially of religious texts. |
| gadfly |
a persistent critic, especially of established institutions and policies. |
| incumbent |
currently holding an office or position. |
| inveigle |
to entice or ensnare by clever talk or flattery. |
| perquisite |
a payment or benefit in addition to the wages or salary associated with a position. |
| pneumatic |
of, using, or concerning air or other gases. |
| recidivism |
chronic return to bad habits, especially criminal relapse. |
| recurve |
to bend or curve back or backward, as the ends of certain shooting bows. |
| revetment |
a facing of stone, masonry, or the like to support or protect a wall, embankment, or mound of earth. |
| vitiate |
to harm the quality of; mar; spoil. |