| affidavit |
a written statement that is sworn in the presence of an authorized official to be true, used as legal evidence. |
| apprehensive |
feeling fearful about future events. |
| attenuate |
to cause to be thin, rarefied, or fine. |
| cession |
the act of formally giving up or signing over, as a territory; ceding. |
| expiation |
the act or the means of making amends, as for a sin or crime. |
| frangible |
easy to break; breakable; fragile. |
| guttural |
articulated in the back of the mouth; velar. |
| indolence |
the tendency to avoid exertion or effort; laziness. |
| oligarchy |
a government or state in which only a relatively few people or members of a family have real power. |
| opiate |
something that induces relaxation, calm, or stupor. |
| otiose |
having no purpose or use; unnecessary or futile. |
| parturient |
giving birth or about to give birth; in labor. |
| periphrasis |
an indirect or roundabout way of phrasing something; circumlocution. |
| pliant |
easily flexed; supple. |
| requite |
to retaliate for; strike back on account of. |