rectitude = moral correctness; moral uprightness; moral
virtue; correctness of judgment
vainglorious = boastful; excessively conceited; N. vainglory:
great vanity
filing = particle removed by a file
inveigh = denounce; utter censure or invective; Ex. inveigh
against the evils of drink
pathetic = causing sadness, compassion, pity; touching
agnostic = one who is skeptical of the existence or knowability of a god or any ultimate reality
supererogatory = superfluous; more than needed or demanded
engross = occupy fully; absorb
orgy = wild drunken revelry; unrestrained indulgence in
an activity; Ex. orgy of shopping
feral = (of an animal) not domestic; wild
hilarity = boisterous mirth(merriment; laughter); ADJ. hilarious:
full of laughter
incandescent = strikingly bright; shining with intense
heat; emitting visible light when heated; Ex. incandescent
light bulb; CF. candle
forebears(forbears) = ancestors
disenfranchise = disfranchise; deprive of a civil right; OP.
enfranchise
slink = move furtively; ADJ. slinky: stealthy; furtive;
sneaky (as in ambush)
besmirch = soil; defile; make dirty
brood = sit on in order to hatch; think deeply or worry
anxiously; N: the young of certain animals; group of
young birds hatched at one time
beholden = obligated; indebted; owing thanks; obliged or
indebted from gratitude

goad = urge on; drive with a goad; cause (someone) to do
something by continued annoyance; Ex. They goaded
him into doing it by saying he was a coward; N: sharppointed
stick for driving cattle; stimulus; CF. annoy continually
sow = plant or scatter seed
requite = make return for; repay; reciprocate; revenge; N.
requittal
flicker = burn unsteadily or fitfully; move waveringly; N:
flickering movement or light; brief sensation; Ex. flicker
of excitement
reciprocal = mutual; given and received in return; exchangeable;
interacting; Ex. reciprocal trade agreement
laud = praise; N. ADJ. laudable: praiseworthy; ADJ.
laudatory: expressing praise
expunge = cancel; remove a word or name (from a book
or list); erase
notch = V-shaped cut in a surface; V.
translucent = partly transparent
repellent = driving away; disgusting; offensive; repulsive;
unattractive; N.
institution = instituting; (building for the) organization;
established custom, practice, or relationship in a society;
mental hospital; Ex. institution of marriage
obstinate = stubborn; hard to control or treat; Ex. obstinate
cough; N. obstinacy
riveting = holding one.s attention; absorbing; engrossing
formality = ceremonious quality; ceremonious adherence
to rules; something done just for form.s sake; Ex. mere
formality