| aplomb |
great self-confidence, composure, or poise. |
| arrant |
complete; unmitigated; downright. |
| atavism |
the recurrence or reappearance of a particular trait, style, attitude, or behavior that seemed to have disappeared, or that which has recurred or reappeared after such an absence. |
| blithe |
indifferent or casual; unconcerned. |
| constrict |
to pull or squeeze in; make smaller or more narrow; tighten. |
| descant |
a secondary, usually higher, melody that is played or sung at the same time as the chief melody. |
| feckless |
weak or incompetent; ineffective. |
| festoon |
a decorative chain or strip of ribbons, flowers, leaves, or the like, suspended at the ends and hung in a curve. |
| froward |
unwilling to agree or obey; stubborn; perverse. |
| indurate |
to make hard in texture; harden. |
| liminal |
of or at the threshold of a physiological or psychological response or change of state. |
| 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. |
| nostrum |
a favorite but unproven scheme or theory, offered as a remedy for social or political problems; panacea. |
| rapacious |
capable of capturing and eating live prey; predacious. |
| solipsism |
the self-centered habit of interpreting and judging all things exclusively according to one's own concepts of meaning and value. |