U2 Vocab

Question 1

accost

Answer 1

(v)
- to approach and speak to first; confront in a challenging or aggressive way
SYN: buttonhole, approach, confront
ANT: shun, avoid, evade

Question 2

Animadversion

Answer 2

(n)
a comment indicating strong criticism or disapproval
SYN: rebuke, reproof
ANT: praise, compliment

Question 3

Avid

Answer 3

(Adj)
Desirous of something to the point of greed; intensely eager
SYN: keen, enthusiastic, grasping
ANT: reluctant, indifferent, unenthusiastic

Question 4

Brackish

Answer 4

(Adj)
Having a salty taste and unpleasant to drink
SYN: briny, saline
ANT: fresh, clear, sweet

Question 5

Celerity

Answer 5

(N)
Swiftness, rapidity, of motion or action
SYN: promptness, alacrity, speed
ANT: slowness, sluggishness, dilatoriness

Question 6

Devious

Answer 6

(Adj)
Straying or wandering from a straight or direct course; done or acting in a shifting or underhanded way
SYN: roundabout, indirect, tricky, sly, artful
ANT: direct, straightforward, open, aboveboard

Question 7

Gambit

Answer 7

(N)
In chess, an opening move that involves risk or sacrifice of a minor piece in order to gain a later advantage; any opening move of this type
SYN: ploy, stratagem, ruse, maneuver

Question 8

Halcyon

Answer 8

(N)(Adj)
- A legendary bird identified with the kingfisher
- of or relating to the halcyon, calm, peaceful, happy, golden; prosperous, affluent
SYN: tranquil, serene, placid, palmy
ANT: turbulent, chaotic, tumultuous

Question 9

Histrionic

Answer 9

(Adj)
Pertaining to actors and their techniques; theatrical, artificial; melodramatic
SYN: affected, stagy
ANT: low-keyed, muted, untheatrical, subdued

Question 10

Incendiary

Answer 10

(Adj) (n)
-Deliberately setting or causing fires; designed to start fires, tending to stir up strife or rebellion
- arsonist
SYN: inflammatory, provocative, firebrand
ANT: soothing, quieting, peacemaker

Question 11

Maelstrom

Answer 11

(N) a whirlpool of great size and violence; a situation resembling a whirlpool in violence and destructing
SYN: vortex, chaos, turbulence, tumult

Question 12

Myopic

Answer 12

(Adj)
Nearsighted; lacking a broad, realistic view of a situation; lacking foresight or discernment
SYN: shortsighted
ANT: farsighted

Question 13

Overt

Answer 13

(Adj)
Open, not hidden, expressed or revealed in a way that is easily recognized
SYN: clear, obvious, manifest, patent
ANT: secret, clandestine, covert, concealed

Question 14

Pejorative

Answer 14

(Adj)
Tending to make worse; expressing disapproval or disparagement, derogatory, deprecatory, belittleing
ANT: complimentary, ameliorative

Question 15

Propriety

Answer 15

(N)
The state of being proper, appropriateness; standards of what is proper or socially acceptable
SYN: fitness, correctness, decorum
ANT: unseemliness, profanation, inappropriateness

Question 16

Sacrilege

Answer 16

(N)
Improper or disrespectful treatment of something held sacred
SYN: desecration, profanation, defilement

Question 17

Summarily

Answer 17

(Adv)
Without delay or formality; briefly, concisely
SYN: promptly, peremptorily, abruptly

Question 18

Suppliant

Answer 18

(Adj) (n)
- Asking humbly and earnestly
- one who makes a request humbly and earnestly, a petitioner, suitor

Question 19

Talisman

Answer 19

(N)
An object thar serves as a charm or is believed to confer magical powers, an amulet, fetish

Question 20

Undulate

Answer 20

(V)
To moves in waves or with a wavelike motion; to have wave like appearance or form
SYN: ripple, fluctuate, rise and fall