2.  One who believes It is impossible to know whether or not God exists  Formed from Greek a (not) and gnosis (knowledge), “agnostic means a person who believes that we do not have the knowledge to know if there is or is not a God.  Syn= unbeliever, doubter, questioner, skeptic

3.  Favoritism to relatives in giving jobs and offices  Because they could not lawfully recognize these offspring as their sons, the priest called them “nephews.” From the Latin word for “nephew”– nepos—comes our word nepotism, referring to favoritism toward relatives, especially in business and politics.  Syn= favoritism, patronage

4.  Puzzling, mysterious, perplexing  From the Greek anigmia (riddle) derives our word “enigma.”  Syn= mystifying, baffling, bewildering, obscure, cryptic

5.  Completely obvious, often offensively so, shameless  Spenser probably coined “blatant” based on Latin blaterare (babble)  Syn= clear, outstanding, prominent, conspicuous  Related words= flagrant, egregious

6.  Unclear, hazy, indistinct  Since nebulous derives from Latin nebula (“cloud”), anything nebulous cannot be seen, understood, or penetrated clearly, as if it were wrapped in a cloudy mist.  Syn= fuzzy, murky, imprecise, confused, vague  Related words= obscure

7.  Forcing rigid conformity  Procrustes had a unique surprise for his victims. He would force them on an iron bed. If they were too long, he cut off part of their bodies; if they were too short, he stretched them to fit the bed. One size fatally fit all. Nowadays “procrustean” applies to unyielding conformity.  Syn= unyielding, inflexible, unbending, rigid, stringent

8.  Defame speak ill of attack the reputation of  Denigrate derives from Latin de (“of”) and “niger” (black).  Syn= belittle, discredit, slander, disparage  Related words= traduce

9.  Commonplace, dull, uninspired  Prosaic looks like “prose” and well it should, since prosaic derives from Latin prosa (prose).  Syn= humdrum, uninteresting, ordinary, monotonous, mundane  Related words= banal

10.  Easily managed, controlled, or taught; gentle; submissive  Derived from Latin docere (“teach”), “doctor” originally referred to a teacher or any learned person.  Syn= obedient, manageable, amenable  Related words= compliant

11.  Refuse to deal with as means of protest and persuasion  Not only did Boycott deny their request, but he raised their rents. Boycott’s name quickly became synonymous for an act of protest in which the protestors refuse the goods and services of their opponent.  Syn= reject, ban, exclude, ostracize  Related words= spurn, shun

12.  Great slaughter, massacre

13.  Pertaining to desires of the flesh; sensual, sexual, lustful, worldly

14.  Flesh-eating

15.  Having bodily form, especially human form; personified

16.  Rebirth into another body