1. fanatical adj : marked by excessive enthusiasm for and intense devotion to a cause or idea; "rabid isolationist" [syn: {fanatic}, {overzealous}, {rabid}] 2. tentatively adv : in a tentative manner; "we agreed tentatively on a dinner date" 3. rudiments n : a statement of fundamental facts or principles [syn: {basics}] 4. articulate adj 1: expressing yourself easily or characterized by clear expressive language; "articulate speech"; "an articulate orator"; "articulate beings" [ant: {inarticulate}] 2: consisting of segments held together by joints [syn: {articulated}] [ant: {unarticulated}] v 1: provide with a joint; "the carpenter jointed two pieces of wood" [syn: {joint}] 2: put into words or an expression; "He formulated his concerns to the board of trustees" [syn: {give voice}, {formulate}, {word}, {phrase}] 3: speak, pronounce, or utter in a certain way; "She pronounces French words in a funny way"; "I cannot say `zip wire'"; "Can the child sound out this complicated word?" [syn: {pronounce}, {enounce}, {sound out}, {enunciate}, {say}] 4: express or state clearly [syn: {enunciate}, {vocalize}, {vocalise}] 5. melancholy adj : characterized by or causing or expressing sadness; "growing more melancholy every hour"; "her melancholic smile"; "we acquainted him with the melancholy truth" [syn: {melancholic}] n 1: a feeling of thoughtful sadness 2: a constitutional tendency to be gloomy and depressed 3: a humor that was once believed to be secreted by the kidneys or spleen and to cause sadness and melancholy [syn: {black bile}] 6. palliation n 1: easing the severity of a pain or a disease without removing the cause 2: to act in such a way as to cause an offense to seem less serious [syn: {extenuation}, {mitigation}] 7. rectitude n : uprightness as a consequence of being honorable and honest [syn: {uprightness}] 8. succinct adj : briefly giving the gist of something; "a short and compendious book"; "a compact style is brief and pithy"; "succinct comparisons"; "a summary formulation of a wide-ranging subject" [syn: {compendious}, {compact}, {summary}] 9. tranquil adj 1: characterized by absence of emotional agitation; "calm acceptance of the inevitable"; "remained serene in the midst of turbulence"; "a serene expression on her face"; "she became more tranquil"; "tranquil life in the country" [syn: {calm}, {serene}] 2: free from disturbance; "a ribbon of sand between the angry sea and the placid bay"; "the quiet waters of a lagoon"; "a lake of tranquil blue water reflecting a tranquil blue sky"; "a smooth channel crossing"; "scarcely a ripple on the still water"; "unruffled water" [syn: {placid}, {quiet}, {still}, {unruffled}] 10. Protrude \Pro*trude"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Protruded}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Protruding}.] [L. protrudere, protrusum; pro forward + trudere to thrust. See {Threat}.] [1913 Webster] 1. To thrust forward; to drive or force along. --Locke. [1913 Webster] 2. To thrust out, as through a narrow orifice or from confinement; to cause to come forth. [1913 Webster] When . . . Spring protrudes the bursting gems. --Thomson. [1913 Webster] 11. Propensity \Pro*pen"si*ty\, n.; pl. {Propensities}. The quality or state of being propense; natural inclination; disposition to do good or evil; bias; bent; tendency. "A propensity to utter blasphemy." --Macaulay. [1913 Webster] Syn: Disposition; bias; inclination; proclivity; proneness; bent; tendency. [1913 Webster] 12. frivolous adj : not serious in content or attitude or behavior; "a frivolous novel"; "a frivolous remark"; "a frivolous young woman" [ant: {serious}] 13. propelled propel v 1: cause to move forward with force; "Steam propels this ship" [syn: impel] 2: give an incentive for action; "This moved me to sacrifice my career" [syn: motivate, actuate, move, prompt, incite] [also: propelling, propelled] 14. formidable adj 1: extremely impressive in strength or excellence; "a formidable opponent"; "the challenge was formidable"; "had a formidable array of compositions to his credit"; "the formidable army of brains at the Prime Minister's disposal" 2: inspiring fear; "the formidable prospect of major surgery"; "a tougher and more redoubtable adversary than the heel-clicking, jackbooted fanatic"- G.H.Johnston; "something unnerving and prisonlike about high gray wall" [syn: {redoubtable}, {unnerving}] 15. obliquely adv 1: to, toward or at one side; "darting eyes looking sidelong out of a wizened face" [syn: {sidelong}, {sideways}] 2: at an oblique angle; "the sun shone aslant into his face" [syn: {aslant}, {athwart}] 16. edification n : uplifting enlightenment [syn: {sophistication}] 17. reverent adj 1: feeling or showing profound respect or veneration; "maintained a reverent silence" [ant: {irreverent}] 2: showing great reverence for god; "a godly man"; "leading a godly life" [syn: {godly}, {worshipful}] 18. infallible adj : incapable of failure or error; "an infallible antidote"; "an infallible memmory"; "the Catholic Church considers the Pope infallible"; "no doctor is infallible" [ant: {fallible}] 19. placid adj 1: free from disturbance; "a ribbon of sand between the angry sea and the placid bay"; "the quiet waters of a lagoon"; "a lake of tranquil blue water reflecting a tranquil blue sky"; "a smooth channel crossing"; "scarcely a ripple on the still water"; "unruffled water" [syn: {quiet}, {still}, {tranquil}, {unruffled}] 2: not easily irritated; "an equable temper"; "not everyone shared his placid temperament"; "remained placid despite the repeated delays" [syn: {equable}, {even-tempered}, {good-tempered}] 3: without untoward incident or disruption; "a placid existence"; "quiet times" [syn: {quiet}] 4: taking life easy; "an easygoing man rarely stirred to anger"; "an air of placid sufficiency" [syn: {easygoing}] 20. begrudge v 1: be envious of; set one's heart on [syn: {envy}] 2: wish ill or allow unwillingly [syn: {resent}] [ant: {wish}] 21. ominous adj 1: threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments; "a baleful look"; "forbidding thunderclouds"; "his tone became menacing"; "ominous rumblings of discontent"; "sinister storm clouds"; "a sinister smile"; "his threatening behavior"; "ugly black clouds"; "the situation became ugly" [syn: {baleful}, {forbidding}, {menacing}, {minacious}, {minatory}, {sinister}, {threatening}, {ugly}] 2: presaging ill-fortune; "ill omens"; "ill predictions"; "my words with inauspicious thunderings shook heaven"- P.B.Shelley; "a dead and ominous silence prevailed"; "a by-election at a time highly unpropitious for the Government" [syn: {ill}, {inauspicious}] 22. vivid adj 1: evoking lifelike images within the mind; "pictorial poetry and prose"; "graphic accounts of battle"; "a lifelike portrait"; "a vivid description" [syn: {graphic}, {lifelike}, {pictorial}] 2: having the clarity and freshness of immediate experience; "a vivid recollection" 3: having striking color; "bright greens"; "brilliant tapestries"; "a bird with vivid plumage" [syn: {bright}, {brilliant}] 4: (of color) having the highest saturation; "vivid green"; "intense blue" [syn: {intense}] 23. oblivious adj 1: (followed by `to' or `of') lacking conscious awareness of; "oblivious of the mounting pressures for political reform"; "oblivious to the risks she ran"; "not unmindful of the heavy responsibility" [syn: {oblivious(p)}, {unmindful(p)}] 2: failing to keep in mind; "forgetful of her responsibilities"; "oblivious old age" [syn: {forgetful}]