Oped

Front 1

sinister

Back 1

threatening or portending evil, harm, or trouble; ominous

Front 2

nefarious

Back 2

extremely wicked or villainous; iniquitous

Front 3

onerous

Back 3

burdensome, oppressive, or troublesome; causing hardship

Front 4

retroactively

Back 4

operative with respect to past occurrences, as a statute; retrospective

Front 5

digress

Back 5

to deviate or wander away from the main topic or purpose in speaking or writing; depart from the principal line of argument, plot, study, etc

Front 6

malign (maligned)

Back 6

To make evil, harmful, and often untrue statements about; speak evil of.

Front 7

demagogues

Back 7

A leader who obtains power by means of impassioned appeals to the emotions and prejudices of the populace; a leader of the common people in ancient times.

Front 8

curmudgeon

Back 8

a bad tempered, difficult, cantankerous person.

Front 9

yarmulke

Back 9

a skullcap worn by Jewish men and boys

Front 10

purportedly

Back 10

assumed to be so; supposed

Front 11

prostration

Back 11

the state of being prostrate, of being put face down in reverence

Front 12

caliphate

Back 12

To be a caliph, the spirit head and temporal ruler of the Islamic state

Front 13

jihad

Back 13

a holy war under taken as a sacred duty by Muslims; any vigorous, emotional crusade for an idea; an individual striving for spiritual self perfection

Front 14

mufti

Back 14

Civilian clothes; a Muslim scholar who interprets the Sharia (code of law based on the Koran); a deputy of the Chief Muslim legal advisor to the Sultan

Front 15

meritocracy

Back 15

An elite group of people whose progress is based on ability and talent rather than privilege or wealth; leadership by able and talented persons

Front 16

crass

Back 16

Without refinement, delicacy, or sensitivity; dull boorish, oafish, indelicate; so crude and unrefined as to be lacking in discrimination and sensibility.

Front 17

doctrinal

Back 17

Of, pertaining to, or concerned with doctrine: a doctrinal dispute.

Front 18

sacrament

Back 18

The Eucharist or Lord’s Supper; The consecrated elements of the Eucharist, esp. the bread; a sign, token or symbol; an oath, solemn pledge.

Front 19

coiffed (well-coiffed)

Back 19

Aranged attractively

Front 20

Anglicized

Back 20

To make English in customs, manners, etc.

Front 21

incongruity

Back 21

Something out of place/inappropriate

Front 22

vilify (vilified)

Back 22

To defame or slander

Front 23

unwittingly

Back 23

Unknowingly, unaware

Front 24

complicit

Back 24

choosing to be involved in an illegal or questionable act, esp. with others; having complicity.

Front 25

mutability

Back 25

The quality of being capable to change

Front 26

deference

Back 26

Respectful yielding to the judgement, opinion, etc. of another

Front 27

subservience

Back 27

Serving subordinately

Front 28

corrosive

Back 28

Harmful or destructive

Front 29

fanfare

Back 29

a showy outward display

Front 30

futility

Back 30

the quality or state of serving no purpose

Front 31

pluralistic

Back 31

consisting of or containing more than one or more than one kind or class

Front 32

underscore

Back 32

To make evident; to give emphasis or extra force to something.

Front 33

dissent

Back 33

To disagree with a widely held or majority opinion.

Front 34

discretionary

Back 34

Giving somebody the freedom to make a decision according to individual circumstances.

Front 35

precedent

Back 35

Any act, decision, or case that serves as a guide or justification for subsequent situations.

Front 36

ponder

Back 36

To consider something deeply and carefully.

Front 37

soliloquize

Back 37

to utter a soliloquy; talk to oneself.

Front 38

resolute

Back 38

firmly resolved or determined; set in purpose or opinion.

Front 39

chronicle (chronicled)

Back 39

to record in or as in a chronicle.

Front 40

thuggery

Back 40

violent or brutal acts as of thugs

Front 41

credulous

Back 41

willing to believe or trust too readily, esp. without proper or adequate evidence; gullible.

Front 42

denouement

Back 42

the final resolution of the intricacies of a plot, as of a drama or novel.

Front 43

truculent

Back 43

fierce; cruel; savagely brutal.

Front 44

pundit

Back 44

a learned person, expert, or authority.

Front 45

recant (recanted)

Back 45

to withdraw or disavow (a statement, opinion, etc.), esp. formally; retract.

Front 46

mea culpa

Back 46

through my fault; my fault (used as an acknowledgment of one's responsibility).

Front 47

bludgeon

Back 47

to force into something; coerce; bully

Front 48

pro forma

Back 48

as a formality only; "a one-candidate pro forma election" 

Front 49

galling

Back 49

that galls; chafing; irritating; vexing; exasperating.

Front 50

disingenuous

Back 50

lacking in frankness, candor, or sincerity; falsely or hypocritically ingenuous; insincere: Her excuse was rather disingenuous.

Front 51

proselytized

Back 51

to convert or attempt to convert as a proselyte; recruit

Front 52

vociferously

Back 52

crying out noisily; clamorous

Front 53

quagmire

Back 53

a situation from which extrication is very difficult

Front 54

compendium

Back 54

a summary, epitome, or abridgment.

Front 55

tirade

Back 55

a prolonged outburst of bitter, outspoken denunciation

Front 56

grievously

Back 56

causing grief or great sorrow

Front 57

squalor

Back 57

the condition of being squalid; filth and misery.

Front 58

ridicule

Back 58

to make fun of

Front 59

assertion

Back 59

a positive statement or declaration, often with out support or reason; allegation

Front 60

denounce (denounced)

Back 60

to condemn or censure openly or publicly

Front 61

vindicate (vindicated)

Back 61

to clear, as from an accusation or suspicion; to uphold or justify by argument or evidence

Front 62

resurgent

Back 62

rising or tending to come back to life, activity, or prominence

Front 63

curb

Back 63

to restrain or control; check

Front 64

sectarian

Back 64

narrowly confined or limited in interest, purpose, etc.; a bigoted or narrow-minded person

Front 65

mullah

Back 65

a Muslim teacher of a sacred law