Vocabulary Workshop Level G: Unit 2 Flashcards
Animadversion
(n.) a comment indicating strong criticism or disapproval
Synonym: rebuke, reproof
Antonym: praise, compliment
Avid
Desirous of something to the point of greed; intensely eager
Synonym: keen, enthusiastic, grasping
Antonym: reluctant, indifferent, unenthusiastic
Brackish
Having a salty taste and unpleasant to drink
Synonym: saline
Antonym: clear, sweet
Celerity
Swiftness, rapidity of motion or action
Synonym: promptness, speed
Antonym: slowness, sluggishness, dilatoriness
Devious
Straying or wandering from a straight or direct course; done acting in a shifty unheard way
Synonym: roundabout, indirect, tricky, sly, artful
Antonym: direct, straightforward, open, aboveboard
Gambit
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.
Synonym: ploy, rude, maneuver
Halcyon
A legendary bird identified with the kingfisher; relating of or relating to the halcyon; calm, peaceful; happy golden; prosperous, affluent
Synonym: tranquil, placid, palmy
Antonym: turbulent, tumultuous
Histrionic
Pertaining to actors and their techniques; theatrical, artificial; melodramatic
Synonym: affected, stagy
Antonym: muted, untheatrical, subdued
Incendiary
Deliberately setting or causing fires; designed to start fires; tending to stir up strife or rebellion; one who deliberately sets fires, arsonist; one who causes strife
Synonym: inflammatory, provocative; firebrand
Antonym: soothing quieting; piece maker
Maelstrom
A whirlpool of great size and violence; a situation resembling a whirlpool of violence and destruction
Synonym: chaos, turbulence, tumult
Myopic
Nearsighted; lacking a broad, realistic view of a situation; lacking foresight or discernment
Synonym: shortsighted
Antonym: farsighted
Overt
Open not hidden, expressed or revealed in a way that is easily recognized
Synonyms: clear, obvious, manifest, patent
Antonym: clandestine, covert, concealed
Pejorative
Tending to make worse; expressing disapproval or disparagement, derogatory, belittling
Antonym: complimentary, ameliorative
Propriety
The state of being proper, appropriateness; standards of what is proper or socially acceptable
Synonym: fitness, correctness
Antonym: unseemliness, inappropriate
Sacrilege
Improper or disrespectful treatment of something held sacred
Synonym: desecration, profs nation, defilement
