1. fanatical
adj : marked by excessive enthusiasm for and intense devotion to a
cause or idea; "rabid isolationist" [syn: {fanatic}, {overzealous},
{rabid}]
2. tentatively
adv : in a tentative manner; "we agreed tentatively on a dinner
date"
3. rudiments
n : a statement of fundamental facts or principles [syn: {basics}]
4. articulate
adj 1: expressing yourself easily or characterized by clear
expressive language; "articulate speech"; "an
articulate orator"; "articulate beings" [ant: {inarticulate}]
2: consisting of segments held together by joints [syn: {articulated}]
[ant: {unarticulated}]
v 1: provide with a joint; "the carpenter jointed two pieces of
wood" [syn: {joint}]
2: put into words or an expression; "He formulated his concerns
to the board of trustees" [syn: {give voice}, {formulate},
{word}, {phrase}]
3: speak, pronounce, or utter in a certain way; "She pronounces
French words in a funny way"; "I cannot say `zip wire'";
"Can the child sound out this complicated word?" [syn: {pronounce},
{enounce}, {sound out}, {enunciate}, {say}]
4: express or state clearly [syn: {enunciate}, {vocalize}, {vocalise}]
5. melancholy
adj : characterized by or causing or expressing sadness; "growing
more melancholy every hour"; "her melancholic smile";
"we acquainted him with the melancholy truth" [syn: {melancholic}]
n 1: a feeling of thoughtful sadness
2: a constitutional tendency to be gloomy and depressed
3: a humor that was once believed to be secreted by the kidneys
or spleen and to cause sadness and melancholy [syn: {black
bile}]
6. palliation
n 1: easing the severity of a pain or a disease without removing
the cause
2: to act in such a way as to cause an offense to seem less
serious [syn: {extenuation}, {mitigation}]
7. rectitude
n : uprightness as a consequence of being honorable and honest
[syn: {uprightness}]
8. succinct
adj : briefly giving the gist of something; "a short and
compendious book"; "a compact style is brief and
pithy"; "succinct comparisons"; "a summary formulation
of a wide-ranging subject" [syn: {compendious}, {compact},
{summary}]
9. tranquil
adj 1: characterized by absence of emotional agitation; "calm
acceptance of the inevitable"; "remained serene in the
midst of turbulence"; "a serene expression on her
face"; "she became more tranquil"; "tranquil life in
the country" [syn: {calm}, {serene}]
2: free from disturbance; "a ribbon of sand between the angry
sea and the placid bay"; "the quiet waters of a lagoon";
"a lake of tranquil blue water reflecting a tranquil blue
sky"; "a smooth channel crossing"; "scarcely a ripple on
the still water"; "unruffled water" [syn: {placid}, {quiet},
{still}, {unruffled}]
10. Protrude \Pro*trude"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Protruded}; p. pr. &
vb. n. {Protruding}.] [L. protrudere, protrusum; pro forward
+ trudere to thrust. See {Threat}.]
[1913 Webster]
1. To thrust forward; to drive or force along. --Locke.
[1913 Webster]
2. To thrust out, as through a narrow orifice or from
confinement; to cause to come forth.
[1913 Webster]
When . . . Spring protrudes the bursting gems.
--Thomson.
[1913 Webster]
11. Propensity \Pro*pen"si*ty\, n.; pl. {Propensities}.
The quality or state of being propense; natural inclination;
disposition to do good or evil; bias; bent; tendency. "A
propensity to utter blasphemy." --Macaulay.
[1913 Webster]
Syn: Disposition; bias; inclination; proclivity; proneness;
bent; tendency.
[1913 Webster]
12. frivolous
adj : not serious in content or attitude or behavior; "a frivolous
novel"; "a frivolous remark"; "a frivolous young woman"
[ant: {serious}]
13. propelled
propel
v 1: cause to move forward with force; "Steam propels this ship"
[syn: impel]
2: give an incentive for action; "This moved me to sacrifice my
career" [syn: motivate, actuate, move, prompt, incite]
[also: propelling, propelled]
14. formidable
adj 1: extremely impressive in strength or excellence; "a
formidable opponent"; "the challenge was formidable";
"had a formidable array of compositions to his
credit"; "the formidable army of brains at the Prime
Minister's disposal"
2: inspiring fear; "the formidable prospect of major surgery";
"a tougher and more redoubtable adversary than the
heel-clicking, jackbooted fanatic"- G.H.Johnston;
"something unnerving and prisonlike about high gray wall"
[syn: {redoubtable}, {unnerving}]
15. obliquely
adv 1: to, toward or at one side; "darting eyes looking sidelong
out of a wizened face" [syn: {sidelong}, {sideways}]
2: at an oblique angle; "the sun shone aslant into his face"
[syn: {aslant}, {athwart}]
16. edification
n : uplifting enlightenment [syn: {sophistication}]
17. reverent
adj 1: feeling or showing profound respect or veneration;
"maintained a reverent silence" [ant: {irreverent}]
2: showing great reverence for god; "a godly man"; "leading a
godly life" [syn: {godly}, {worshipful}]
18. infallible
adj : incapable of failure or error; "an infallible antidote"; "an
infallible memmory"; "the Catholic Church considers the
Pope infallible"; "no doctor is infallible" [ant: {fallible}]
19. placid
adj 1: free from disturbance; "a ribbon of sand between the angry
sea and the placid bay"; "the quiet waters of a
lagoon"; "a lake of tranquil blue water reflecting a
tranquil blue sky"; "a smooth channel crossing";
"scarcely a ripple on the still water"; "unruffled
water" [syn: {quiet}, {still}, {tranquil}, {unruffled}]
2: not easily irritated; "an equable temper"; "not everyone
shared his placid temperament"; "remained placid despite
the repeated delays" [syn: {equable}, {even-tempered}, {good-tempered}]
3: without untoward incident or disruption; "a placid
existence"; "quiet times" [syn: {quiet}]
4: taking life easy; "an easygoing man rarely stirred to
anger"; "an air of placid sufficiency" [syn: {easygoing}]
20. begrudge
v 1: be envious of; set one's heart on [syn: {envy}]
2: wish ill or allow unwillingly [syn: {resent}] [ant: {wish}]
21. ominous
adj 1: threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments; "a
baleful look"; "forbidding thunderclouds"; "his tone
became menacing"; "ominous rumblings of discontent";
"sinister storm clouds"; "a sinister smile"; "his
threatening behavior"; "ugly black clouds"; "the
situation became ugly" [syn: {baleful}, {forbidding},
{menacing}, {minacious}, {minatory}, {sinister}, {threatening},
{ugly}]
2: presaging ill-fortune; "ill omens"; "ill predictions"; "my
words with inauspicious thunderings shook heaven"-
P.B.Shelley; "a dead and ominous silence prevailed"; "a
by-election at a time highly unpropitious for the
Government" [syn: {ill}, {inauspicious}]
22. vivid
adj 1: evoking lifelike images within the mind; "pictorial poetry
and prose"; "graphic accounts of battle"; "a lifelike
portrait"; "a vivid description" [syn: {graphic}, {lifelike},
{pictorial}]
2: having the clarity and freshness of immediate experience; "a
vivid recollection"
3: having striking color; "bright greens"; "brilliant
tapestries"; "a bird with vivid plumage" [syn: {bright}, {brilliant}]
4: (of color) having the highest saturation; "vivid green";
"intense blue" [syn: {intense}]
23. oblivious
adj 1: (followed by `to' or `of') lacking conscious awareness of;
"oblivious of the mounting pressures for political
reform"; "oblivious to the risks she ran"; "not
unmindful of the heavy responsibility" [syn: {oblivious(p)},
{unmindful(p)}]
2: failing to keep in mind; "forgetful of her
responsibilities"; "oblivious old age" [syn: {forgetful}]