Unit 2 Flashcards
accost
(v.) to approach and speak to first; to confront in a challenging or aggressive way
Synonyms: buttonhole, approach, confront
Antonyms: evade, avoid, shun
animadversion
(n.) a comment indicating strong criticism or disapproval
Synonyms: rebuke, reproof
Antonyms: praise, compliment
avid
(adj.) desirous of something to the point of greed; intensely eager
Synonyms: keen, enthusiastic
Antonyms: reluctant, indifferent, unenthusiastic
brackish
(adj.) having a salty taste and unpleasant to drink
Synonyms: briny, saline
Antonyms: fresh, clear, sweet
celerity
(n.) swiftness, rapidity of motion or action
Synonyms: promptness, alacrity, speed
Antonyms: slowness, sluggishness, dilatoriness
devious
(adj.) straying or wandering from a straight or direct course; done or acting in a shifty or underhanded way
Synonyms: roundabout, indirect, tricky, sly, artful
Antonyms: direct, straightforward, open, aboveboard
gambit
(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
Synonyms: ploy, stratagem, ruse, maneuver
halcyon
(n.) a legendary bird identified with the kingfisher; (adj.) of or relating to the halcyon; calm, peaceful; happy, golden; prosperous, affluent
Synonyms: (adj.) tranquil, serene, placid, palmy
Antonyms: (adj.) turbulent, chaotic, tumultuous
histrionic
(adj.) pertaining to actors and their techniques; theatrical, artificial; melodramatic
Synonyms: affected, stagy
Antonyms: low-keyed, muted, untheatrical, subdued
incendiary
(adj.) deliberately setting or causing fires; designed to start fires; tending to stir up strife or rebellion; (n.) one who deliberately sets fires, arsonist; one who causes strife
Synonyms: (adj.) inflammatory, provocative, (n.) firebrand
Antonyms: (adj.) soothing, quieting, (n.) peacemaker
maelstrom
(n.) a whirlpool of great size and violence; a situation resembling a whirlpool in violence and destruction
Synonyms: vortex, chaos, turbulence, tumult
myopic
(adj.) nearsighted; lacking a broad, realistic view of a situation; lacking foresight or discernment
Synonym: shortsighted
Antonym: farsighted
overt
(adj.) open, not hidden, expressed or revealed in a way that is easily recognized
Synonyms: clear, obvious, manifest, patent
Antonyms: secret, clandestine, covert, concealed
pejorative
(adj.) tending to make worse; expressing disapproval or disparagement, derogatory, deprecatory, belittling
Antonyms: complimentary, ameliorative
propriety
(n.) the state of being proper, appropriateness; (pl.) standards of what is proper or socially acceptable
Synonyms: fitness, correctness, decorum
Antonyms: unseemliness, inappropriateness
sacrilege
(n.) improper or disrespectful treatment of something held sacred
Synonyms: desecration, profanation, defilement
summarily
(adv.) without delay or formality; briefly, concisely
Synonyms: promptly, peremptorily, abruptly
suppliant
(adj.) asking humbly and earnestly; (n.) one who makes a request humbly and earnestly, a petitioner, suitor
talisman
(n.) an object that serves as a charm or is believed to confer magical powers, an amulet, fetish
undulate
(v.) to move in waves or with wavelike motion; to have a wavelike appearance or form
Synonyms: ripple, fluctuate, rise and fall
