| adulteration |
the act or process of making worse or impure by adding unnecessary or inferior ingredients. |
| bereft |
deprived or stripped of something. |
| discomfit |
to upset or confuse. |
| effrontery |
shameless impudence; insolence. |
| feckless |
weak or incompetent; ineffective. |
| figurehead |
a person whose title sounds important but who has no real power. |
| inflection |
change that occurs in the form of words to show a grammatical characteristic such as the tense of a verb, the number of a noun, or the degree of an adjective or adverb. |
| mélange |
a mixture, usually of very dissimilar elements. |
| nonfeasance |
in law, failure to perform a required duty, as by a public official. |
| pneumatic |
of, using, or concerning air or other gases. |
| recidivism |
chronic return to bad habits, especially criminal relapse. |
| recondite |
involving profound concepts and complexities; not easily understood. |
| stipple |
a method of painting, drawing, or engraving by applying small points, dots, or dabs to a surface. |
| stochastic |
of, or arising from chance or probability. |
| truculent |
extremely hostile or belligerent; inclined to fight. |