| apprehensive |
feeling fearful about future events. |
| disencumber |
to remove burdens or hindrances from. |
| doggerel |
trivial, crudely constructed verse. |
| facsimile |
an exact copy or duplicate of something printed or of a picture. |
| flummox |
(informal) to confuse or puzzle. |
| heinous |
extremely wicked or despicable; atrocious. |
| imbricate |
overlapping in an even sequence, as roof tiles or fish scales. |
| linguistics |
(used with a singular verb) the scientific and historical study of the form and structure of human language. |
| malinger |
to pretend illness or injury, especially in order to be excused from duty or work. |
| opiate |
something that induces relaxation, calm, or stupor. |
| parvenu |
a person who has suddenly acquired wealth or status, without acquiring the tastes, manners, customs, or the like of his or her new station. |
| reprise |
repetition of a musical phrase or theme in an identical or slightly altered way. |
| solecism |
a gross violation of convention in grammar, etiquette, or the like; impropriety. |
| travesty |
something so grotesque or inferior as to seem a parody. |
| triage |
a system of determining priority of medical treatment, on the basis of need, chances of survival, and the like, to victims on a battlefield or in a hospital emergency ward. |