| alluvium |
sand, soil, gravel, or the like deposited by moving water, as along a river bed. |
| apocryphal |
of dubious authorship or authority. |
| blandishment |
(often plural) flattering or coaxing remarks or stratagems intended to persuade. |
| Draconian |
(often lower case) harshly cruel or rigorous. |
| effrontery |
shameless impudence; insolence. |
| feckless |
weak or incompetent; ineffective. |
| gambit |
a tactic or maneuver designed to gain an advantage, especially one that involves some sacrifice on one's part. |
| goad |
something that spurs a person to action; stimulus. |
| intelligentsia |
the elite class of highly learned people within a society, or those who consider themselves part of such a class. |
| misfeasance |
a normally lawful act performed in an unlawful way. |
| oblivious |
not conscious or paying attention; unknowing or unaware (usually followed by "to" or "of"). |
| opprobrious |
expressing condemnation or scorn; accusing of shameful behavior. |
| pandemic |
a widespread outbreak of disease that afflicts many people over different continents. |
| pastiche |
a work of visual art, music, or literature that consists mostly of materials and techniques borrowed from other works, sometimes done as an exercise to learn the technique of others. |
| stative |
in grammar, of or designating a category of verbs that express state or condition. |