1. to make less severe or less intense   militate   mitigate   2. to disobey openly and contemptuously   flaunt   flout   3. frank; artless; naive   ingenuous   ingenious   4. a speck of dust   moat   mote   5. likely to be remembered; important; significant   historic   historical   6. extreme; to a strong degree   intensive   intense   7. reluctant; unwilling   loath   loathe