| abstruse |
difficult to comprehend or understand; esoteric; arcane. |
| assail |
to attack with vigor or violence; assault. |
| coeval |
coinciding in time of origin or existence; contemporary. |
| contretemps |
an embarrassing or unfortunate happening; mishap; mischance. |
| dearth |
a shortage or scarcity of something; lack. |
| epistolary |
established or continued through letters. |
| expostulate |
to argue earnestly with someone, usually against an intended action; remonstrate. |
| foible |
a minor flaw or weakness in personality, character, or behavior. |
| harbinger |
someone or something that signals or foreshadows a later arrival or occurrence; herald; forerunner. |
| indurate |
to make hard in texture; harden. |
| intelligentsia |
the elite class of highly learned people within a society, or those who consider themselves part of such a class. |
| perilous |
causing or involving great danger; risky; hazardous. |
| recurve |
to bend or curve back or backward, as the ends of certain shooting bows. |
| solecism |
a gross violation of convention in grammar, etiquette, or the like; impropriety. |
| sotto voce |
in a low voice or undertone, so as not to be overheard; softly (often used as a musical direction). |