| academicism |
in the arts, rigid adherence to accepted and traditional forms. |
| attenuate |
to cause to be thin, rarefied, or fine. |
| blatant |
completely obvious or undisguised, sometimes offensively so. |
| compunction |
uneasiness about the propriety or suitability of an action; qualm. |
| epigraph |
a pertinent quotation or motto, especially found at the beginning of a literary work or of a chapter. |
| flange |
a collar or rim that projects from a pipe, housing, or the like to provide strength, stability, or a place for attaching other parts. |
| fracas |
a noisy disturbance or quarrel. |
| goad |
something that spurs a person to action; stimulus. |
| guttural |
articulated in the back of the mouth; velar. |
| malapropism |
the humorous or ridiculous misuse of a word, especially by using a word that sounds similar to the correct word, but whose meaning is inappropriate. |
| opprobrious |
expressing condemnation or scorn; accusing of shameful behavior. |
| preferment |
the act of promoting or being promoted to a higher position or office. |
| recrudesce |
to become active again or break out anew, as a disease or harmful condition. |
| stickler |
one who must observe or conform to something (usually followed by "for"). |
| topography |
the shape of the earth's surface across an area or region. The topography of an area includes the size and location of hills and dips in the land. |