Dotage \DOH-tij\, noun:
Feebleness of mind due to old age; senility.


canard \kuh-NAHRD\, noun:
1. An unfounded, false, or fabricated report or story.
This is just a canard that is assumed to be true because it has been repeated so often.


malaise
\muh-LAYZ; -LEZ\, noun:
1. A vague feeling of discomfort in the body, as at the onset
of illness.
2. A general feeling of depression or unease.

The Prince found himself in a state of malaise and dissatisfaction with life.

evince
\ih-VIN(T)S\, transitive verb:
To show in a clear manner; to manifest; to make evident.
The study showed that girls were better prepared for class, had better attendance records, and evinced more positive academic behavior overall.


hortatory \HOR-tuh-tor-ee\, adjective:
Marked by strong urging; serving to encourage or incite; as,
"a hortatory speech."
He later gave up the ministry in the conviction that he
could reach thousands with his beguiling pen and onlyhundreds with his hortatory voice.
Hortatory is from Latin hortatorius, from hortari, "to exhort,to incite, to encourage."

predicate
(prd-kt)
v. pred·i·cat·ed, pred·i·cat·ing, pred·i·cates
v. tr.
To base or establish (a statement or action, for example): I predicated my argument on the facts.
To state or affirm as an attribute or quality of something: The sermon predicated the perfectibility of humankind.
To carry the connotation of; imply.
Logic. To make (a term or expression) the predicate of a proposition.
To proclaim or assert; declare.

v. intr.
To make a statement or assertion.

n. (-kt)
Grammar. One of the two main constituents of a sentence or clause, modifying the subject and including the verb, objects, or phrases governed by the verb, as opened the door in Jane opened the door or is very sleepy in The child is very sleepy.
Logic. That part of a proposition that is affirmed or denied about the subject. For example, in the proposition We are mortal, mortal is the predicate.

Restrospect
A review, survey, or contemplation of things in the past.

Idiom:
in retrospect
Looking backward or reviewing the past.


Exuberant
Full of unrestrained enthusiasm or joy.
Lavish; extravagant.
Extreme in degree, size, or extent.
Growing, producing, or produced abundantly; plentiful: “Threads of her exuberant hair showed up at the bottom of the sink” (Anne Tyler). See Synonyms at profuse.


Concentric
Having a common center

Apathy
Lack of interest or concern, especially regarding matters of general importance or appeal; indifference.
Lack of emotion or feeling; impassiveness.

Succumb
To submit to an overpowering force or yield to an overwhelming desire; give up or give in. See Synonyms at yield.
To die.

defenestrate \dee-FEN-uh-strayt\, transitive verb:
To throw out of a window.

Penitence
The condition or quality of being penitent; regret for wrongdoing.

metier
also métier \met-YAY; MET-yay\, noun:
1. An occupation; a profession.
2. An area in which one excels; an occupation for which one is
especially well suited.

The pairing of Maynard and Salinger -- the writer whose
metier is autobiography and the writer who's so private he
won't even publish -- was an unlikely one.
--Larissa MacFarquhar, "The Cult of Joyce Maynard," [1]New
York Times Magazine, September 6, 1998

succor
\SUH-kuhr\, noun:
1. Aid; help; assistance; especially, assistance that relieves
and delivers from difficulty, want, or distress.
2. The person or thing that brings relief.

transitive verb:
To help or relieve when in difficulty, want, or distress; to
assist and deliver from suffering; to relieve.

In Asakusa, a crowd sought succor around an old and lovely
Buddhist temple, dedicated to Kannon, goddess of mercy.

inveigh \in-VAY\, intransitive verb:
To rail (against some person or thing); to protest strongly or
attack with harsh and bitter language -- usually with
"against"; as, "to inveigh against character, conduct,
manners, customs, morals, a law, an abuse."
Reuther never hesitated to inveigh against "poverty,
hunger, and disease."

gainsay \gayn-SAY; GAYN-say\, transitive verb:
1. To deny or dispute; to declare false or invalid.
2. To oppose; to contradict.

In our present, imperfectly postmodern world, where most
information still takes the potentially embarrassing form
of printed matter lurking in archives, liars still must
position themselves so that the historical record may not
easily gainsay them.
--Thomas M. Disch, [1]The Dreams Our Stuff Is Made Of

supercilious \soo-puhr-SIL-ee-uhs\, adjective:
Disdainfully arrogant; haughty.

The girl has a supercilious expression, and seems to be
looking down her nose at the camera.
--Annie Dillard, [1]For the Time Being

dour \DOO-uhr; DOW-uhr\, adjective:
1. Harsh; stern.
2. Unyielding; inflexible; obstinate.
3. Marked by ill humor; gloomy; sullen.

John James Ruskin's dinner table was far too lively for the
dour John La Touche.
--Tim Hilton, [1]John Ruskin: The Later Years

requisite \REK-wuh-zit\, adjective:
Required by the nature of things or by circumstances;
indispensable.

noun:
That which is required or necessary; something indispensable.

Those with the requisite talents made drawings and
watercolors of the birds, the flowers, the untouched
landscapes that unfolded before them.

hyperbole \hy-PUHR-buh-lee\, noun:
Extravagant exaggeration.

stolid \STOL-id\, adjective:
Having or revealing little emotion or sensibility; not easily
excited.

Normally stolid, she occasionally joined in the frequent
applause and smiled along with the laughter at the
high-spirited session.

irrefragable \ih-REF-ruh-guh-buhl\, adjective:
Impossible to refute; incontestable; undeniable; as, an
irrefragable argument; irrefragable evidence.

cozen \KUZ-un\, transitive verb:
1. To cheat; to defraud; to deceive, usually by petty tricks.
2. To obtain by deceit.

intransitive verb:
To act deceitfully.

You would naturally not think so flat a rogue could cozen
you. But have a care! These half idiots have a sort of
cunning, as the skunk has its stench.