confrontation
(noun) a hostile or argumentative meeting or situation between opposing parties
disinfected
(verb) cleaned (something), especially with a chemical, in order to destroy bacteria
cloud
(verb) make or become less clear or transparent
defiant
(adjective) showing defiance or refusal
millenium
(noun) a period of a thousand years, especially when calculated from the traditional date of the birth of Christ or alternatively the modern era
plague
(noun) a contagious bacterial disease characterized by fever and delirium
*often used to generally refer to sickness generally, or as a biblical allusion
cranium
(noun) the skull, especially the part enclosing the brain
gulping
(verb) swallowing (drink or food) quickly or in large mouthfuls, often audibly
crane
1. (noun) a large, tall machine used for moving heavy objects by suspending them from a projecting arm or beam
2. (noun) a species of bird with a long neck and legs
motorway
(noun) an expressway: a wide road for fast-moving traffic
*this term is typically used in the UK, Ireland, and some other countries
conjunction
(noun) the action or an instance of two or more events or things occurring at the same point in time or space
hinterland
1. (noun) the often uncharted areas beyond a coastal district or a river's banks
2. (noun) an area lying beyond what is visible or known
isobars
1. (noun) in meteorology: a line on a map connecting points having the same atmospheric pressure at a given time or on average over a given period
2. (noun) in chemistry: each of two or more isotopes of different elements, with the same atomic weight
fjords
(noun) a long, narrow, deep inlet of the sea between high cliffs, as in Norway and Iceland, typically formed by submergence of a glaciated valley.
caesium
(noun) the chemical element of atomic number 55, a soft, silvery, extremely reactive metal belonging to the alkali metal group and occurring as a trace element in some rocks and minerals
*after the Chernobyl nuclear incident, the highly volatile Caesium-137 (a radioactive isotope of caesium) posed enormous health risks as a source of radiation
glasnost
1. (noun) a Russian word meaning "openness"
2. (noun) (in the former Soviet Union) the policy or practice of more open consultative government and wider dissemination of information, initiated by leader Mikhail Gorbachev from 1985
immaculate
1. (adjective) perfectly clean, neat, or tidy
2. (adjective) free from imperfection
sonata
(noun) a composition for an instrumental soloist, often with a piano accompaniment, typically in several movements with one or more in sonata form
detritus
1. (noun) waste or debris of any kind
2. (noun) organic matter produced by the decomposition of organisms
pianissimo
1. (adjective) performed very softly
2. (noun) a passage marked to be performed very softly
3. (adverb) (especially as a direction) very softly
