Mitigate [mit·i·gate] v. (1) Make less severe, serious, or painful: “he wanted to mitigate the damages in court.” (2) Lessen the gravity of (an offense or mistake).

Luminous [lu·mi·nous] adj. Bright or shining, esp. in the dark. Glowing with health, vigor, or a particular emotion: “Her eyes were luminous with joy.”

Austerity [aus·ter·i·ty] n. (1) Sternness or severity of manner or attitude. (2) Extreme plainness and simplicity of style or appearance.

Fractious [frac·tious] adj. (1) Easily irritated; bad-tempered: “they fight and squabble like fractious kids.” (2) (of an organization) Difficult to control; unruly.

Abysmal [a·bys·mal] adj. Extremely bad; appalling. “The results were pretty abysmal;” “Abysmal failure.”

Atrocious [a·tro·cious] adj. Horrifyingly wicked: “Atrocious cruelties.” Of a very poor quality; extremely bad or unpleasant: “Atrocious weather.”

Endemic [en·dem·ic] adj. Native to a specific region or environment and not occurring naturally anywhere else. “Malaria is endemic in tropical climates.” (n.) An endemic plant or animal.

Paradox [par·a·dox] n. A statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth. An opinion or statement contrary to commonly accepted opinion, but may be factual.

Superfluous [su·per·flu·ous] adj. Unnecessary, being beyond what is required or sufficient. “The repeated warnings were superfluous.” “Superfluous details.”

Lascivious adj. Feeling or revealing an overt and often offensive sexual desire. “He gave her a lascivious wink.” Inclined to lustfulness; wanton; lewd. “The lascivious old man.”