greatly exceeding bounds of reason or moderation; "exorbitant rent"; "extortionate prices"; "spends an outrageous amount on entertainment"; "usurious interest rate"; "unconscionable spending"

narrowly restricted in outlook or scope; "little sympathy with parochial mentality"; "insular attitudes toward foreigners" † suggestive of the isolated life of an island; "an exceedingl...

a descendent or heir; "a scion of royal stock"

the choice of taking what is offered or nothing at all

state categorically

one who professes great sensitivity to the beauty of art and nature

of or relating to a tailor or to tailoring

a formal exposition

lacking intent or capacity to injure; "an innocent prank" † not injurious to physical or mental health † not causing disapproval; "it was an innocuous remark"; "confined himself ...

a pillow that is often put across a bed underneath the regular pillows † support and strengthen; "bolster morale" † add padding to; "pad the seat of the chair" † prop up w...

existing outside of or not in accordance with nature; "find transcendental motives for sublunary action"-Aldous Huxley † surpassing the ordinary or normal; "Beyond his preternatural aff...

wildly disordered; "a maniacal frenzy"

a system of words used to name things in a particular discipline; "legal terminology"; "biological nomenclature"; "the language of sociology"

teaching someone to accept doctrines uncritically

a (usually long) dramatic speech intended to give the illusion of unspoken reflections † speech you make to yourself

without respect; in a disdainful manner; "she spoke of him contemptuously"

failing in what duty requires; "derelict (or delinquent) in his duty"; "neglectful of his duties"; "remiss of you not to pay your bills"

stimulate (muscles) by administering a shock † cover with zinc; "galvanize steel" † to stimulate to action ; "..startled him awake"; "galvanized into action"

mutual exchange of commercial or other privileges † a relation of mutual dependence or action or influence

being or relating to or bearing the name of an eponym

refuse to acknowledge, ratify, or recognize as valid; "The woman repudiated the divorce settlement" † cast off; "She renounced her husband"; "The parents repudiated their son" † ...

including markedly dissimilar elements; "a disparate aggregate of creeds and songs and prayers" † fundamentally different or distinct in quality or kind; "such disparate attractions as ...

light teasing

the appearance conveyed by a person's face; "a pleasant countenance"; "a stern visage" † the human face (`kisser' and `smiler' and `mug' are informal terms for `face' and `phiz' is Brit...

a secret agent who incites suspected persons to commit illegal acts

a loud bombastic declamation expressed with strong emotion † deliver a harangue to; address forcefully

suggestive of an elf in strangeness and otherworldliness; "thunderbolts quivered with elfin flares of heat lightning"; "the fey quality was there, the ability to see the moon at midday"- John ...

a system of clandestine printing and distribution of dissident or banned literature

intended to attract notice and impress others; "an ostentatious sable coat" † (of a display) tawdry or vulgar

an accurately levelled strip of material placed on a wall or floor as guide for the even application of plaster or concrete † a long piece of writing † a long monotonous harangue

an indication of radiant light drawn around the head of a saint † a dark grey cloud bearing rain

a tiny fully formed individual that (according to the discredited theory of preformation) is supposed to be present in the sperm cell † a person who is very small but who is not otherwi...

the ratio of reflected to incident light

appearing or developing early; "precocious flowers appear before the leaves as in some species of magnolias" † characterized by or characteristic of exceptionally early development or m...

a ruler who is unconstrained by law

(philosophy) the philosophical theory that the self is all that you know to exist

a ruler who is unconstrained by law

existing in name only; "the nominal (or titular) head of his party" † named; bearing the name of a specific person; "nominative shares of stock" † insignificantly small; a matter...

affectedly genteel

brief and to the point; effectively cut short; "a crisp retort"; "a response so curt as to be almost rude"; "the laconic reply; `yes'"; "short and terse and easy to understand"

a chain of connected ideas or passages or objects so arranged that each member is closely related to the preceding and following members (especially a series of patristic comments elucidating ...

reverent petition to a deity

the dominance or leadership of one social group or nation over others; "the hegemony of a single member state is not incompatible with a genuine confederation"; "to say they have priority is n...

(biology) a single-celled microorganism (especially a flagellate protozoan) † a singular metaphysical entity from which material properties are said to derive † (chemistry) an at...

(biology) the process of an individual organism growing organically; a purely biological unfolding of events involved in an organism changing gradually from a simple to a more complex level; "...

someone who has been admitted to membership in a scholarly field

(of divisions of time) determined by daily motion of the stars; "sidereal time" † of or relating to the stars or constellations; "sidereal bodies"; "the sidereal system"

derived from experiment and observation rather than theory; "an empirical basis for an ethical theory"; "empirical laws"; "empirical data"; "an empirical treatment of a disease about which lit...

unhealthy vapors rising from the ground or other sources; "the miasma of the marshes"; "a miasma of cigar smoke" † an unwholesome atmosphere; "the novel spun a miasma of death and decay"

vigorous and animated; "a vibrant group that challenged the system"; "a charming and vivacious hostess"; "a vivacious folk dance"