Unit 2 Vocab

Question 1

v. to approach and speak to first; to confront in a challenging or aggressive way

Answer 1

accost

Question 2

n. a comment indicating strong criticism or disapproval

Answer 2

animadversion

Question 3

adj. desirous of something to the point of greed; intensely eager

Answer 3

avid

Question 4

adj. having a salty taste and unpleasant to drink

Answer 4

brackish

Question 5

n. swiftness, rapidity of motion or action

Answer 5

celerity

Question 6

adj. straying or wandering from a straight or direct course; done or acting in a shifty or underhanded way

Answer 6

devious

Question 7

n. in chess, an opening move that involves risk or sacrifice of a minor piece to gain a later advantage; any opening move of this type

Answer 7

gambit

Question 8

n. a legendary bird identified with the kingfisher;
adj. of or relating to the halcyon; calm, peaceful; happy, golden; prosperous, affluent

Answer 8

halycon

Question 9

adj. about actors and their techniques; theatrical, artificial; melodramatic

Answer 9

histrionic

Question 10

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

Answer 10

incendiary

Question 11

adj. nearsighted; lacking a broad, realistic view of a situation; lacking foresight or discernment

Answer 11

myopic

Question 12

adj. open, not hidden, expressed or revealed in a way that is easily recognized

Answer 12

overt

Question 13

n. the state of being proper, appropriateness; (pl) standards of what is proper or socially acceptable

Answer 13

propriety

Question 14

n. improper or disrespectful treatment of something held sacred

Answer 14

sacriledge

Question 15

adv. without delay or formality; briefly, concisely

Answer 15

summarily

Question 16

adj. asking humbly and earnestly;
n. one who makes a request humbly and earnestly, a petitioner, suitor

Answer 16

suppliant

Question 17

n. an object that serves as a charm or is believed to confer magical powers, an amulet, fetish

Answer 17

talisman

Question 18

v. to move in waves or with a wavelike motion; to have a wavelike appearance or form

Answer 18

undulate

Question 19

adj. tending to make worse; expressing disapproval or disparagement, derogatory, deprecatory, belittling

Answer 19

pejorative

Question 20

n. a whirlpool of great size and violence; a situation resembling a whirlpool in violence and destruction

Answer 20

maelstrom