| asperity |
harshness or roughness, especially of tone or manner. |
| austere |
having only what is needed; very simple or plain. |
| convoluted |
complex; intricate. |
| declivity |
a downward or descending slope. |
| distraught |
mentally or emotionally unbalanced; crazed. |
| epistemology |
the branch of philosophy dealing with the origin, nature, and limits of human knowledge. |
| expiation |
the act or the means of making amends, as for a sin or crime. |
| fungible |
interchangeable. |
| lugubrious |
sad or mournful, especially in an exaggerated way; gloomy. |
| 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. |
| pandemic |
a widespread outbreak of disease that afflicts many people over different continents. |
| penury |
severe poverty; pennilessness. |
| rebarbative |
tending to irritate or repel; forbidding or unattractive. |
| sylph |
a slender, graceful woman or girl. |
| welter |
to roll about or wallow, as in mud or the open sea. |