Vocab Unit 2 Level G
Suppliant
(adj) asking humbly and earnestly (n) one who makes a request humbly and earnestly, a petitioner, suitor
Incendiary
(adj) deliberately setting or causing fires; designed to start fires; tending to sir up strife or rebellion; (n) one who deliberately sets fires, arsonist; one who cases strife
Avid
(adj) desirous of something to the point of greed; intensely eager S: keen, enthusiastic, grasping A: reluctant, indifferent, unenthusiastic
Brackish
(adj) having a salty taste and unpleasant to drink S: briny, saline A: fresh, clear, sweet
Myopic
(adj) nearsighted, lacking a broad, realistic view of a situation; lacking foresight or discernment S: shortsighted A: farsighted
Overt
(adj) open, not hidden, expressed or revealed in a way that is not easily recognized S: clear, obvious, manifest, patent A: secret, clandestine, covert, concealed
Histrionic
(adj) pertaining to actors and their techniques; theatrical, artificial; melodramatic S: affected, stagy A: low-keyed, muted, untheatrical, subdued
Devious
(adj) straying or wandering from a straight or direct course; done or acting in a shifty or underhand way S: roundabout, indirect, tricky, sly, artful A: direct, straightforward, open, aboveboard
Pejorative
(adj) tending to make worse; expressing disapproval or disparagement, derogatory, deprecatory, belittling A: complimentary ameliorative
Summarily
(adv) without delay or formality; briefly, concisely S: promptly, peremptorily
Animadversion
(n) a comment indicating strong criticism or disapproval S: rebuke, reproof A: praise, compliment
Halcyon
(n) a legendary bird identified with the kingfisher; (adj) of or relating to the halcyon; calm, peaceful; happy, golden; prosperous, affluent S: tranquil, serene, placid, palmy A: turbulent, chaotic, tumultuous
Talisman
(n) an object that serves as a charm or is believed to confer magical powers, an amulet, fetish
Sacrilege
(n) improper or disrespectful treatment of something held sacred S: desecration, profanation, defilement
Gambit
(n) in chess and opening move that involves risk or sacrifice of a minor piece in order to gain a later advantage; any opening move of this type S: ploy stratagem, ruse, maneuver
Celerity
(n) swiftness, rapidity of motion or action S: promptness, alacrity, speed A: slowness, sluggishness, dilatoriness
Propriety
(n) the state of being proper, appropriateness; (pl) standards of what is proper or socially acceptable
Maelstrom
(n) whirlpool of great size and violence; a situation resembling a whirlpool in violence and destruction A: vortex, chaos, turbulence, tumult
Accost
(v) approach and speak to first; confront in a challenging or aggressive way S: buttonhole, approach, confront A: evade, avoid, shun
Undulate
(v) to move in waves or with a wavelike motion; to have a wavelike appearance or form S: ripple, fluctuate, rise and fall