28th Set

Esker is has a gorgeous and evocative definition. It's one of my favorite words. I'm not sure which kind of list to do next. I can do Best Short, Ugliest, Funniest, Best Long, among a few others.

Vexation: the act of annoying, irritating, or vexing, quality or condition of being vexed

Xenodochial: friendly or especially kind to strangers or foreigners

Osmosis: diffusion of water through a selectively permeable membrane

Benthos: the bottom of a body of water, the living things at the bottom of a water body

Extinguish: to quench, snuff out, put an end to, kill, to put out a fire or flame, destroy

Hyphenate: to divide or connect (syllables, word elements, or names) with a hyphen

Sanctity: holiness of life or character, saintliness, condition of being considered sacred

Portcullis: gate of an iron or wooden grating used in the entry to a castle or fortified town

Dionysian: wild, irrational, and undisciplined, of an ecstatic, orgiastic, or irrational nature

Acedia: ennui, state of torpor of listlessness, spiritual apathy

Foehn: warm, dry wind descending or blowing down the side of a mountain

Esker: long, winding ridge of gravel and other sediment left by melted ice from a stream

Poltergeist: noisy and mischievous ghost, ghost capable of manipulating physical objects

Bricolage: something made or put together using any materials that happen are available

Olio: mixture, medley, hodgepodge, jumble, meat and vegetable stew

Monocoque: object or method that braces by using the exterior, instead of an inner frame

Gemutlich: warm and congenial, pleasant or friendly, amicable, convivial

Estuary: inlet or arm of the sea, an open river that connects to the sea

Icosahedron: a figure or solid geometric shape formed by 20 sides or plane faces

Rhizome: fleshy, creeping underground stem by which certain plants propagate

Agglutinate: to unite as if by adhesive, heap together, string together, clump together

Perspicuous: easily understood, lucid, well-stated, transparently clear, understandable 

Oligarchy: political system governed by a few people, compare democracy

Juxtapose: to place side by side, especially for comparison or contrast 

Semidiurnal: of, relating to, occurring, or performed during half a day or twice a day

Ambience: atmosphere, a particular environment or surrounding influence, aura

Cathode: negative-charged electrode being the source of electrons entering a device

Exodus: a going out, departure or emigration, usually of a large number of people 

Paramour: lover, especially one in an adulterous relationship, lover, illicit lover

Rapport: relation, connection, especially a agreeable or sympathetic one, mutual affinity

Eleemosynary: of, relating to, or dependent on charity, contributed as an act of charity

Sovereign: monarch or other supreme ruler, chief ruler with supreme power

Dendrite: short fiber that conducts toward the cell body of the neuron, branch, branching

Aperitif: alcoholic drink taken as an appetizer before a meal 

Inundate: deluge, to fill quickly beyond capacity, to cover with water, drench, overwhelm

Pulverize: to pound, crush, or grind to a powder or dust, to demolish, disintegrate

Cochlear: of or relating to the cochlea of the ear 

Rectrix: a large tail feather of a bird, important for controlling the direction of flight 

Tribulation: great affliction, trial, or distress, suffering, agony, a trying experience

Corpulent: of a bulky body, excessively heavy or fat, stout, portly

Resurrect: to raise from the dead, restore to life, revive, bring back from the cusp of death

Pernicious: ruinous, tending to cause serious injury, deadly, causing great harm, lethal

Viscid: having an adhesive quality, gluey, sticky, thick, like molasses

Muzjik: Russian peasant, peasant, gypsy, pauper

Arboretum: land on which many different trees or shrubs are grown for study or display