| austere |
having only what is needed; very simple or plain. |
| bathos |
a sudden descent from an exalted style or esteemed state to the commonplace. |
| cession |
the act of formally giving up or signing over, as a territory; ceding. |
| cognomen |
a last name; surname. |
| facetious |
not serious; humorous or frivolous. |
| flagitious |
viciously or shamefully wicked; infamous. |
| froward |
unwilling to agree or obey; stubborn; perverse. |
| gadfly |
a persistent critic, especially of established institutions and policies. |
| impediment |
an obstacle or hindrance. |
| inadvertent |
not planned or intended; unintentional. |
| internecine |
of or pertaining to conflict, discord, or struggle within a group. |
| liminal |
of or at the threshold of a physiological or psychological response or change of state. |
| mendicant |
living on charity; begging. |
| picayune |
having little value or significance; small; paltry. |
| travesty |
something so grotesque or inferior as to seem a parody. |