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(v.) to make easier or milder, relieve; to quiet, calm; to put an end to, appease, satisfy, quench
Synonyms: mitigate, alleviate, slake, allay
Antonyms: intensify, aggravate, exacerbate
assuage
(v.) to sympathize with, have pity or sorrow for, share a feeling of distress
Synonyms: feel sorry for, empathize
Antonyms: feel no sympathy for
commiserate
(adj.) not easily carried, handled, or managed because of size or complexity
Synonyms: cumbersome, bulky, clumsy, impractical
Antonyms: manageable, easy to handle
unweildy
(v.) to place in a lower position; to assign, refer, turn over; to banish
Synonyms: transfer, consign, demote, exile
Antonyms: promote, elevate, advance, recall
relegate
(v.) to make oneself agreeable and thus gain favor or acceptance by others (sometimes used in a critical or derogatory sense)
Synonyms: cozy up to, curry favor with
Antonyms: alienate, humiliate oneself, mortify oneself
ingratiate
(v.) to re-echo, resound; to reflect or be reflected repeatedly
Synonyms: rumble, thunder, boom, echo
reverberate
(n.) decline, decay, or deterioration; a condition or period of decline or decay; excessive self-indulgence
Synonyms: degeneration, corruption
Antonyms: rise, growth, development, maturation
decedance
(adj.) bitter, sarcastic; highly caustic or biting (like a strong acid)
Synonyms: withering, acerbic, mordant
Antonyms: bland, saccharine, honeyed, sugary
vitriolic
(n.) a summary, condensed account; an instant that represents a large reality
Synonyms: abstract, digest, model, archetype
epitome
(n.) an armored or protective glove; a challenge; two lines of men armed with weapons with which to beat a person forced to run between them; an ordeal
Synonyms: dare, provocation, trial, punishment
gauntlet
(adj.) able to return to an original shape or form; able to recover quickly
Synonyms: springy, elastic, buoyant, bouncy
Antonyms: rigid, stiff, inflexible, unyielding
resilient
(v.) to adorn or embellish; to display conspicuously; to publish or proclaim widely
Synonyms: broadcast, trumpet
Antonyms: hide, conceal, cover up, bury
blazon
(n.) a hint, indirect suggestion, or reference (often in a derogatory sense)
Synonyms: insinuation, intimation
Antonyms: direct statement
innuendo
(adj.) courteous and pleasant, sociable, easy to speak to
Synonyms: genial, amicable, agreeable, cordial
Antonyms: surly, cantankerous, dour, inhospitable
affable
(v.) to make milder or softer, to moderate in force or intensity
Synonyms: lessen, relieve, alleviate, diminish
Antonyms: aggravate, intensify, irritate, exacerbate
mitigate
(adj.) scholarly, learned, bookish, pedantic
Synonyms: profoundly educated, well-read
Antonyms: ignorant, uneducated, illiterate
erudite
(adj.) tending to be troublesome; unruly, quarrelsome, contrary; unpredictable
Synonyms: refractory, recalcitrant, peevish
Antonyms: docile, tractable, cooperative
fractious
adj.) lasting only a short time, fleeting; (n.) one who stays only a short time
Synonyms: (adj.) impermanent, ephemeral, evanescent
Antonyms: (adj.) permanent, imperishable, immortal
transient
(adj.) belonging to someone or something by its very nature, essential, inherent; originating in a bodily organ or part
Synonyms: immanent, organic
Antonyms: extrinsic, external, outward
intrinsic
(v.) to confuse; to disturb the composure of
Synonyms: upset, rattle, ruffle, faze, perturb
Antonyms: relax, calm, put at ease
disconcert
(v.) to free from entanglements or difficulties; to remove with effort
Synonyms: disentangle, extract, disengage
Antonyms: enmesh, entangle, involve
extricate
(n.) a warning or caution to prevent misunderstanding or discourage behavior
Synonyms: admonition, word to the wise
caveat
(v.) to assign or refer to (as a cause or source), attribute
Synonyms: impute, credit, attribute
ascribe
(adj.) abrupt, blunt, with no formalities
Synonyms: curt, tactless, ungracious, gruff, rough
Antonyms: gracious, tactful, courteous, diplomatic
brusque
(v.) to think or believe without certain supporting evidence; to conjecture or guess; (n.) likely idea that lacks definite proof
Synonyms: (v.) infer, gather; (n.) inference, presumption
surmise