Exorbitant

Extreme and Excessive

Mitigate

To make a problem less severe

Engender

To cause or give rise to

Scrutiny

Critical examination

Lucrative

Very profitable

Outsized

Disproportionately large

Antithetical

Characterized by extreme contrast

Affinity

Strong attraction or liking

Pervasive

Widespread

Surmise

Assume; draw a conclusion without strong evidence

Proponent

A person who supports a theory, proposal, or project

Advantageous

Creating favorable circumstance

Tenuous

Very weak, slight

Conjecture

Hypothesis

Corroborate

To confirm or support a statement or claim

Calamitous

Extremely disastrous