| adulteration |
the act or process of making worse or impure by adding unnecessary or inferior ingredients. |
| constrict |
to pull or squeeze in; make smaller or more narrow; tighten. |
| epicene |
sharing the traits of both sexes. |
| epicure |
a person who has cultivated tastes, as in food or wine; connoisseur. |
| flak |
(informal) irritating opposition, criticism, or dissent. |
| glean |
to gather or discover (facts, information, or the like) a little at a time. |
| humanism |
a doctrine or mode of thought that gives highest importance to human dignity, values, potentials, and achievements. |
| impinge |
to encroach. |
| imprecation |
a curse, uttered or thought of. |
| meretricious |
appealing or attracting in a cheap, showy, or shallow way. |
| oppugn |
to oppose, contradict, criticize, or call into question. |
| repose2 |
to put or place (confidence, hope, or the like) in someone or something. |
| sagacious |
possessing or characterized by good judgment and common sense; wise. |
| splenetic |
ill-tempered or spiteful. |
| voluble |
characterized by a steady flow of words; fluent; talkative. |