10 weighty words

SATIRE
A literary work in which human vice or folly is attacked through irony, derision, or wit.

ALLEGORY
The representation of abstract ideas or principles by characters, figures, or events in narrative, dramatic, or pictorial form.

THEODICY
A vindication of God's goodness in the face of the world's evil.

IRONY
a) An expression or utterance marked by a deliberate contrast between apparent and intended meaning.
b) Incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs.

CATHARSIS
A release of emotional tension, as after an overwhelming experience, that restores or refreshes the spirit.

AGNOSTIC
The belief that only material phenomena are objects of exact knowledge. Usually refers to a person's belief in a superior being. From the Greek 'a' meaning 'without' and 'gnoss' meaning 'knowledge'

FASCISM
A system of government marked by centralization of authority under a dictator, stringent socioeconomic controls, suppression of the opposition through terror and censorship, and typically a policy of belligerent nationalism and racism.

TOTALITARIANISM
A form of government in which the political authority exercises absolute and centralized control over all aspects of life, the individual is subordinated to the state, and opposing political and cultural expression is suppressed: “A totalitarian regime crushes all autonomous institutions in its drive to seize the human soul.”

THEOCRACY
A government ruled by or subject to religious authority.

SCHADENFREUDE
Pleasure derived from the misfortunes of others.