| A | B |
|---|
| metaphor | n. 1 : a figure of speech in which a word or phrase literally denoting one kind of object or idea is used in place of another to suggest a likeness or analogy between them (as in drowning in money); broadly : figurative language compare SIMILE 2 : an object, activity, or idea treated as a metaphor : SYMBOL |
| flourish | v. 1 : to grow luxuriantly : THRIVE 2 a : to achieve success : PROSPER <a flourishing business> b : to be in a state of activity or production <flourished around 1850> c : to reach a height of development or influence 3 : to make bold and sweeping gestures transitive verb : to wield with dramatic gestures |
| bedraggled | adj. 1 : left wet and limp by or as if by rain 2 : soiled and stained by or as if by trailing in mud 3 : DILAPIDATED <bedraggled buildings> |
| ameliorate | v. transitive verb : to make better or more tolerable intransitive verb : to grow better synonyms see IMPROVE |
| nonchalant | adj. : having an air of easy unconcern or indifference synonyms see COOL |
| minatory | adj. having a menacing quality : THREATENING |
| insidious | adj. 1 a : awaiting a chance to entrap : TREACHEROUS b : harmful but enticing : SEDUCTIVE <insidious drugs> 2 a : having a gradual and cumulative effect : SUBTLE <the insidious pressures of modern life> b of a disease : developing so gradually as to be well established before becoming apparent |
| austere | adj. 1 a : stern and cold in appearance or manner b : SOMBER, GRAVE <an austere critic> 2 : morally strict : ASCETIC 3 : markedly simple or unadorned <an austere office> <an austere style of writing> 4 : giving little or no scope for pleasure <austere diets> |
| travesty | n. 1 : a burlesque translation or literary or artistic imitation usually grotesquely incongruous in style, treatment, or subject matter 2 : a debased, distorted, or grossly inferior imitation <a travesty of justice> |
| asinine | adj. 1 : extremely or utterly foolish <an asinine excuse> |
