mirosavich vocab 2

accost

to approach and speak to first; to confront in a challenging/aggressive way (approach, confront)

animadversion

a comment indicating strong criticism/disapproval (rebuke, reproof)

avid

desirous of something to the point of greed, intensely eager (keen, enthusiastic)

brackish

having a salty taste and unpleasant to drink (briny, saltine)

celerity

swiftness, rapidity of motion/action (promptness, alacrity, speed)

devious

straying or wandering from a straight/direct course; done or acting in a shifty or underhanded way (roundabout, indirect, tricky, sly, artful)

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 (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 (tranquil, serene, placid, palmy)

histrionic

pertaining to actors and their techniques; theatrical, artificial, melodramatic (affected, stagy)

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 (provocative, inflammatory)

maelstrom

a whirlpool of great size and violence; a situation resembling a whirlpool in violence and destruction (vortex, chaos, turbulence, tumult)

myopic

nearsighted; lacking a broad, realistic view of a situation; lacking foresight or discernment (shortsighted)

overt

open, not hidden, expressed/revealed in a way that is easily recognized (clear, obvious, manifest, patent)

pejorative

tending to make worse; expressing disapproval or disparagement, derogatory, deprecatory, belittling (ant: complimentary, ameliorative)

propriety

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

sacrilege

improper of disrespectful treatment of something held sacred (desecration, defilement, profanation)

summarily

without delay or formality; briefly, concisely (promptly, abruptly, peremptorily)

suppliant

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

talisman

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

undulate

to move in waves or with a wavelike motion; to have a wavelike appearance or form (ripple, fluctuate, rise and fall)