abscond \ab-SKOND\ (intransitive verb) - To depart secretly; to steal away and hide oneself -- used especially of persons who withdraw to avoid arrest or prosecution.

"They abscond with millions, yes? They abscond with ...Read More

exculpate \EK-skuhl-payt; ek-SKUHL-payt\ (transitive verb) - To clear from alleged fault or guilt; to prove to be guiltless; to relieve of blame; to acquit.

"Thus, she would have had to exculpate herself, and what I ...Read More

recalcitrant \rih-KAL-sih-truhnt\ (adjective) - Stubbornly resistant to and defiant of authority or restraint.

"The driver, recognizing Emerson, managed to stop the recalcitrant animal before it ran into my equally ...Read More

quondam \KWAHN-duhm; KWAHN-dam\ (adjective) - Having been formerly; former; sometime.

"O, you my lord! By Mars his gauntlet, thanks!
Mock not that I affect th'untraded oath;
Your quondam wife swear still by ...Read More

pellucid \puh-LOO-sid\ (adjective) - 1 : Transparent; clear; not opaque. 2 : Easily understandable.

"Maybe this person is apparently mysterious while being pellucid, or apparently pellucid while being mysterious." -- Sue ...Read More

desuetude \DES-wih-tood, -tyood\ (noun) - The cessation of use; discontinuance of practice or custom; disuse.

"Though access for such purposes had formerly been denied, the custom had fallen into desuetude; and in ...Read More