| aberration |
a deviation from what is considered normal or right; irregularity. |
| adulteration |
the act or process of making worse or impure by adding unnecessary or inferior ingredients. |
| assuage |
to make less severe or more bearable; alleviate. |
| contretemps |
an embarrassing or unfortunate happening; mishap; mischance. |
| declivity |
a downward or descending slope. |
| forbear |
to keep or abstain from (an action or utterance). |
| hackneyed |
made trite or commonplace by overuse, as an expression or phrase. |
| insipid |
having a bland or uninteresting flavor; tasteless. |
| malapropism |
the humorous or ridiculous misuse of a word, especially by using a word that sounds similar to the correct word, but whose meaning is inappropriate. |
| oligarchy |
a government or state in which only a relatively few people or members of a family have real power. |
| penumbra |
an indefinite, borderline area. |
| picayune |
having little value or significance; small; paltry. |
| reprisal |
injury inflicted in retaliation for injury received, as in war; revenge. |
| saturnine |
gloomy, sullen, or cynical in temperament or appearance. |
| seminal |
of critical importance; essential. |