angular – lean; sharp cornered; gaunt

antithesis – a direct opposite, a contrast

autonomous – independent, self-contained

banal – common, ordinary, lacking freshness, hackneyed

innocuous – harmless, producing no injury

repudiate – to reject, to disown, to disavow

ostentatious – showy, pretentious

reticence – restraint in speech, reluctance to speak

revere – to honor, to regard with respect

syntax – the rules or patterns of grammatical sentences; sentence structure