1. chalazion — swollen bump on eyelid caused by clogged oil gland
While a chalazion is frequently mistaken for a stye, the latter is usually found at the edge of the eyelid and is quite painful, whereas the former can appear anywhere within the eyelid and does not usually cause pain.
2. dissolute — debauched, licentious, morally lax
Ironically, though she had warned her sister about the dissolute old roué, she found herself caught in one of his manipulative schemes.
3. condoler — one who expresses sympathy or grief with or for another
Strangely enough, the taxi driver proved to be my best condoler, though I did not realize it as I hastened to the airport for the funeral.
4. sequela — morbid consequence of previous disease; any consequence
His weakening mental acuity, the sores which never healed, and his fatigue and general malaise, all were judged to be the normal sequelae of venereal disease during that era, before the discovery of antibiotic drugs.
5. fettle — to make ready, to prepare
The housekeeper pretended to fettle the room, cleaning the already spotless candelabras in hope of overhearing some of the latest news from the town.
6. curiologic — of hieroglyphic writing in which pictures directly represent objects; of pictorial representation as in a rebus
Early attempts to decipher ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics were foiled by the assumption that the mysterious writing was primarily curiologic in nature.
7. facetiae — witticisms, humorous remarks or writings, pleasantries
With the decline of formal public speaking, and the replacement of humor by memes, the collections of facetiae which often made up a large portion of the after-dinner speaker’s library have gone the way of most books, vanished like other creatures that outlived their times.
8. whence — from what place?; from what source or cause?
Whence comes this urge to waste your life in useless battle against a much stronger foe?
9. obtrude — to thrust forward unduly; to push (something) upon a person, esp. without invitation
We felt sorry for her at Lady Roxana’s cocktail parties, where she would obtrude the most callow and weak ideas upon some of the deepest and most insightful thinkers of our time.
10. chrism — consecrated oil mixed with balm, used as unguent for certain sacraments; sacramental anointing
Both of the dead drug dealers had an oily residue upon their foreheads, the tell-tale chrism showing that a priest had been upon the scene before the police.