fresco = painting on wet plaster (usually fresh)
masochist = person who enjoys his own pain; CF.
masochism
progenitor = ancestor
odoriferous = giving off an odor
asperity = sharpness; roughness; severity (of temper or
weather); Ex. asperities of a Russian winter
salient = prominent; projecting beyond a line; conspicuous;
Ex. salient features
brook = tolerate; endure; Ex. brook no interference; N:
small stream
ductile = malleable; pliable; (of metals) easily pulled into
shape; flexible; (of someone) easily influenced or controlled
subversive = tending to overthrow or ruin; V. subvert:
overthrow completely (an established system); destroy
completely; CF. undermine
monotony = sameness leading to boredom; monotonousness;
ADJ. monotonous; CF. monotone
inkling = hint; slight indication

horde = crowd; swarm
pandemonium = wild tumult(commotion); wild noisy
disorder; CF. Paradise Lost
impropriety = improperness; unsuitableness
ostracize = banish from a group; exclude from public favor;
ban; Ex. His friends ostracized him. N. ostracism
ravine = narrow valley with steep sides; gorge; CF. gully,
canyon
vigilant = watchful; on the alert; watchfully awake; alert
to spot danger; N. vigilance
sway = swing from side to side; influence (someone) to
change one.s opinion; N.
ascertain = find out for certain; make certain
eccentric = irregular; odd; unconventional; whimsical;
bizarre; not concentric
rasp = (of a sound) grate on (eg. nerves); make a harsh
noise; have an unpleasant effect; rub with something
rough; Ex. The cat.s tongue rasped my hand.
recast = reconstruct (a sentence, story, statue, etc.); fashion
again
effervescence = inner excitement or exuberance; showing
high spirits; emitting bubbles forming inside; bubbling
from fermentation or carbonation; ADJ. effervescent; V.
effervesce
succumb = yield (to something overwhelming); give in;
die; Ex. succumb to the illness
encipher = encode; convert a message into code; put into
cipher
complaisant = trying to please; obliging; willing to please
others
negligible = so small, trifling, or unimportant as to be
easily disregarded