abate to make less in amount or degree.
abet to incite, sanction, or help, especially in wrongdoing.
abject of the lowest degree; miserable; wretched.
abstruse hard to understand.
affiches (French) posters, placards.
âme damnée (French) stooge; a foil or underling.
anachronism anything out of its proper time in history, especially earlier than its time.
animus a feeling of hostility or hatred.
antinomy a contradiction or inconsistency between two laws, principles, and so on.
aperture an opening, hole, or gap.
assent agree; concur.
atrophy a wasting away, especially of body tissue, due to disuse or lack of nutrition.
audaciously boldly, fearlessly.
audacity bold courage, daring.
avatar incarnation of a god or of some quality in a person.
aver to declare to be true.
bêtise (French) blunder.
blackguard scoundrel, villain.
bouffée (French) puff, gust, bombast.
bourgeoisie (French) the middle class, often regarded as having conventional beliefs, attitudes, and so on.
brevet a military promotion to higher honorary rank but without higher pay.
bric-à-brac small, rare, or artistic objects placed about a room for decoration.
Cain Old Testament son of Adam & Eve; he killed his brother Abel (Genesis 4).
cant special words or phrases used by those in a particular occupation.
captious fond of catching others in mistakes; quick to find fault.
Cassini Count Arthur P. Cassini, Russian ambassador to the United States in 1903.
casuistry the application of general principles of ethics to specific issues.
Chose sublime! un Dieu qui croit en Dieu! What a sublime thing! a God who believes in God!
Civitas Dei, Civitas Romae (Latin) City of God, City of Rome; the former refers to Saint Augustine's (354–430) De civitate Dei; the later is a secular reference.
coercion an act of restraining or constraining by force of any kind.
collusion a secret agreement for fraudulent or illegal purpose; a conspiracy.
conclave a private or secret meeting.
conundrum a puzzling question or problem.
coquetry flirting.
crank informal word for an eccentric person.
Cromwellian revolutionary; after Oliver Cromwell (1599–1658), English political leader.
croupiers a person in charge of a gambling table.
culbute (French) somersault; downfall.
curates clergymen.
