| centripetal |
forced or moving inward toward a center point or axis. |
| divergence |
the act of separating and moving or leading in different directions. |
| effrontery |
shameless impudence; insolence. |
| forswear |
to give up or renounce, often with an oath or pledge. |
| fulminate |
to vehemently denounce or criticize something. |
| glean |
to gather or discover (facts, information, or the like) a little at a time. |
| heterodox |
deviating from an officially approved belief or doctrine, especially in religion. |
| incursion |
a raid or sudden invasion. |
| intelligentsia |
the elite class of highly learned people within a society, or those who consider themselves part of such a class. |
| knurled |
having small ridges. |
| lugubrious |
sad or mournful, especially in an exaggerated way; gloomy. |
| mésalliance |
marriage with someone of lower social standing than oneself. |
| parvenu |
a person who has suddenly acquired wealth or status, without acquiring the tastes, manners, customs, or the like of his or her new station. |
| repine |
to express or feel unhappiness; complain; fret. |
| revetment |
a facing of stone, masonry, or the like to support or protect a wall, embankment, or mound of earth. |