quasar (noun) – a massive and extremely remote celestial object, emitting exceptionally large amounts of energy, and typically having a starlike image in a telescope. It has been suggested that quasars contain massive black holes and may represent a stage in the evolution of some galaxies.

vortex (noun) – a mass of whirling fluid or air, esp. a whirlpool or whirlwind

Synonyms: cyclone, eddy, gyre, maelstrom, spiral, swirl, whirlpool, whirlwind

subjugate (verb) – bring under domination or control, esp. by conquest

Synonyms: coerce, compel, conquer, crush, defeat, enslave, enthrall, force, overcome, overthrow, quash, quell, reduce, rule, subdue, suppress, tame, triumph, vanquish

Antonym: detach, discharge, emancipate, free, liberate, manumit, release, rescue, save, unbind, unchain, unhook, unshackle

notarize (verb) – have (a document) legalized by a notary

Synonyms: attest, authenticate, document, endorse, register, sign, swear, validate, verify, witness

impeach (verb) – call into question the integrity or validity of (a practice)

Synonyms: accuse, arraign, blame, challenge, charge, criminate, criticize, discredit, disparage, hold at fault, impugn, incriminate, inculpate, indict, prosecute, query, question, reprehend, reprimand, reprobate, tax, try

lugubrious (adj.) – looking or sounding sad and dismal

Synonyms: bleak, cheerless, depressive, dismal, dispiriting, distressing, doleful, dour, dreary, foreboding, forlorn, funereal, gloomy, glum, joyless, lugubrious, melancholy, miserable, morose, mournful, ominous, oppressive, serious, sinister, solemn, sombre, sorrowful, unhappy, woebegone, woeful

Antonyms: animated, assured, blithe, bright, bubbly, buoyant, calm, cheerful, confident, content, eager, ebullient, elated, emboldened, enthusiastic, exuberant, faithful, genial, glad, happy, jolly, joyful, joyous, lighthearted, merry, reassured, sanguine, satisfied, serene, sunny, trusting, unflagging, upbeat

notarize (verb) – have (a document) legalized by a notary

Synonyms: attest, authenticate, document, endorse, register, sign and seal, swear, validate, verify, witness

plagiarize (verb) – take (the work or an idea of someone else) and pass it off as one’s own

Synonyms: acquire, adopt, assume, clone, copy, counterfeit, fake, filch, forge, imitate, mirror, pilfer, pirate, portray, reduplicate, reflect, repeat, replicate, represent, reproduce, rewrite, simulate, steal, take, trace, transcribe, use, usurp

gerrymander (verb) – manipulate the boundaries of (an electoral constituency) so as to favor one party or class

Synonyms: doctor, engineer, fake, falsify, fiddle with, fix, juggle, manipulate, tamper with, trump up

unctuous (adj.) – a person who is excessively flattering; oily

Synonyms: cringing, effusive, fawning, glib, greasy, groveling, gushing, humble, hypocritical, ingratiating, insincere, obsequious, oily, servile, slick, slimy, slippery, smarmy, smooth, subservient, sycophantic

antebellum (adj.) – occurring or existing before a particular war, esp. the American Civil War

Synonyms: pre-Civil War, prewar, prior to the war

chromosome (noun) – a threadlike structure of nucleic acids and protein found in the nucleus of most living cells, carrying genetic information in the form of genes

oxidize (verb) – combine or become combined chemically with oxygen

Synonyms: burn, corrode, heat, rust