| cantankerous |
irritable, stubborn, and quarrelsome. |
| cloture |
in U.S. parliamentary procedure, a method of ending debate and causing an immediate vote on the matter being discussed. |
| contretemps |
an embarrassing or unfortunate happening; mishap; mischance. |
| corollary |
a readily drawn conclusion; deduction or inference. |
| disallow |
to refuse to allow or admit; reject. |
| effete |
marked by excessive refinement or delicateness of taste. |
| incredulous |
not able to believe something. |
| macrocosm |
a large unit or entity that represents on a large scale one of its smaller components. |
| obtrusive |
aggressive and self-assertive, or inclined to be so. |
| panegyric |
a formal speech or piece of writing devoted to publicly praising a person or thing. |
| profligate |
totally given over to immoral and shameful pursuits; dissolute. |
| Saturnalia |
an occasion of unrestrained revelry. |
| saturnine |
gloomy, sullen, or cynical in temperament or appearance. |
| stickler |
one who must observe or conform to something (usually followed by "for"). |
| tort |
in law, any civil rather than criminal harm or injury that violates the implicit duty of each citizen not to harm others, and for which one may bring a civil suit and collect compensation. |