| aleatory |
pertaining to or depending on luck, chance, or contingency. |
| asceticism |
self-discipline and self-denial as a means of spiritual improvement. |
| avow |
to assert or affirm. |
| banal |
lacking originality or liveliness; disappointingly ordinary; commonplace; trite. |
| baneful |
causing or leading to death, destruction, or ruin; harmful or deadly. |
| condign |
well-deserved or fitting, especially of punishment or reprimand. |
| contumely |
contemptuous insolence; rudeness. |
| crass |
lacking in sensitivity or refinement; crude. |
| extenuate |
to reduce the magnitude or seriousness of (a fault or offense) by offering partial excuses. |
| gamut |
the whole extent or range of anything. |
| maverick |
a person who thinks and behaves independently, especially one who refuses to adhere to the orthodoxy of the group to which he or she belongs. |
| mirabile dictu |
(Latin) wonderful to say or relate. |
| panegyric |
a formal speech or piece of writing devoted to publicly praising a person or thing. |
| pliant |
easily flexed; supple. |
| shibboleth |
a slogan, phrase, or belief that characterizes or is held devotedly by a group. |