AP Lang/Comp: Level G Units 1-3 Vocab

acquisitive

(adj.) able to get and retain ideas or information; concerned with acquiring wealth or property

SYN: greedy, grasping, avaricious, retentive

ANT: altrustic, unretentive

arrogate

(v.) to claim or take without right

SYN: expropriate, usurp, commandeer

ANT: relinquish, renounce, abdicate, abandon

banal

(adj.) hackneyed, trite, commonplace

SYN: stale, insipid

ANT: fresh, novel, original, new

belabor

(v.) to work on excessively; to thrash soundly

SYN: overwork

carping

(adj.) tending to find fault, especially in a petty, nasty, or hairsplitting way; (n.) petty, nagging, criticism

SYN: nit-picking, caviling

ANT: approving, uncritical

coherent

(adj.) holding or sticking together; making a logical whole; comprehensible, meaningful

SYN: connected, unified, consistent, cohesive

ANT: muddled, chaotic, disjointed

congeal

(v.) to change from liquid to solid, thicken; to make inflexible or rigid

SYN: harden, jell, coagulate, solidify

ANT: melt liquify

emulate

(v.) to imitate with the intent of equaling or surpassing the model

SYN: copy, mimic, rival, match, measure up to

encomium

(n.) a formal expression of praise, a lavish tribute

SYN: panegyric, eulogy, commendation

ANT: condemnation, castigation, criticism

eschew

(v.) to avoid, shun, keep away from

SYN: abstain from, steer clear of, forgo

ANT: embrace, adopt

germane

(adj.) relevant, appropriate, apropos, fitting

SYN: pertinent

ANT: irrelevant, extraneous, inappropriate

insatiable

(adj.) so great or demanding as not to be satisfied

SYN: unquenchable, ravenous, voracious

intransigent

(adj.) refusing to compromise, irreconcilable

SYN: uncompromising, unyielding, obdurate

ANT: lukewarm, halfhearted, yielding

invidious

(adj.) offensivee, hateful; tending to cause bitterness and resentment

SYN: malicious, spiteful, prejudicial, pejorative

ANT: complimentary, flattering, ameliorative

largesse

(n.) generosity in giving; lavish or bountiful contributions

SYN: liberality, munificence, bounty

ANT: stinginess, miserliness, *****rdliness

reconnaissance

(n.) a survey made for military purposes; any kind of preliminary inspection or examination

SYN: scouting expedition

substantiate

(v.) to establish by evidence, prove; to give concrete or substantial form to

SYN: verify, confirm, validate, authenticate

ANT: refute, disprove, invalidate

taciturn

(adj.) habitually silent or quiet, inclined to talk very little

SYN: tight-lipped, uncommunicative, laconic,

ANT: garrulous, loquacious, prolix, verbose

temporize

(v.) to stall or act evasively in order to gain time, avoid a confrontation, or postpone a decision; to compromise

SYN: hedge, dillydally, procrastinate

tenable

(adj.) capable of being held or defended

SYN: defensible, justifiable, maintainable

ANT: indefensible, unjustifiable

bi-

two

bicycle

com- (also con-, col-, cor-)

together, with

community

de-

down, away, reverse, remove

decrease

astr-

star

astronomy

chron-

time

chronological

cosm-

universe, world, order

cosmos

-cap-

to take, seize

capture

-cede-

to go, yield

recede

-cred-

to believe, trust

credible

Accost

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

S: buttonhole, approach, confront

A: evade, avoid, shun

Animadversion

(n) a comment indicating strong criticism or disapproval

S: rebuke, reproof

A: praise, compliment

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

Celerity

(n) swiftness, rapidity of motion or action

S: promptness, alacrity, speed

A: slowness, sluggishness, dilatoriness

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

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

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

Histrionic

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

A: low-keyed, muted, untheatrical, subdued

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

Maelstrom

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

A: vortex, chaos, turbulence, tumult

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

Pejorative

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

A: complimentary ameliorative

Propriety

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

Sacrilege

(n) improper or disrespectful treatment of something held sacred

S: desecration, profanation, defilement

Summarily

(adv) without delay or formality; briefly, concisely

S: promptly, peremptorily

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 a wavelike motion; to have a wavelike appearance or form

S: ripple, fluctuate, rise and fall

mid-

middle

Example: midterm = the middle of a term

mis-

wrong, badly

Example: misunderstand = to understand wrongly

-meter-

measure

Example: thermometer = device for measuring temperature

micro-

small

Example: microscope = instrument for viewing small objects

-morph-

form, shape

Example: metamorphosis = change in form

-mitt-

(from Latin mittere) → to send

Example: transmit = to send across

Cavort

(v.) to romp or prance around exhuberantly; to make merry

Synonym: gambol

Credence

(n.) belief, mental acceptance

Synonyms: credit, trust, confidence

Antonyms:disbelief, skepticism, incredulity

Decry

(v.) to condemn, express strong disapproval; to officially depreciate

Synonyms: denounce, censure, devalue

Antonyms: tout, commend, extol, laud, praise

Dissemble

(v.) to disguise or conceal, deliberately give a false impression

Synonyms: dissimulate, mask, feign

Distraught

(adj.) very much agitated or upset as a result of emotion or mental conflict

Synonyms: distracted

Antonyms: calm, collected

Eulogy

(n.) a formal statement of commendation; high praise

Synonyms: panegyric, encomium, tribute

Antonyms: philippic, invective

Evince

(v.) to display clearly, to make evident, to provoke

Synonyms: exhibit, manifest, occasion

Exhume

(v.) to remove from a grave; to bring to light

Synonyms: disinter, unearth, uncover

Antonyms: bury, inter

Feckless

(adj.) lacking in spirit and strength; ineffective, weak; irresponsible, unreliable

Synonyms: feeble, incompetent, ineffectual

Antonyms: competent, capable, effective

Murky

(adj.) dark and gloomy, obscure; lacking in clarity and precision

Synonyms: dim, cloudy

Antonyms: clear, transparent, lucid, limpid

Nefarious

(adj.) wicked, depraved, devoid of moral standards

Synonyms: iniquitous, reprehensible

Antonyms: virtuous, honorable, praiseworthy, meritorious

Piquant

(adj.) stimulating to the taste or mind; spicy, pungent; appealingly provocative

Synonyms: zestful, tangy

Antonyms: bland, insipid, tasteless, mild

Primordial

(adj.) developed or created at the very beginning; going back to the most ancient times or earliest stage; fundamental, basic

Synonyms: original, primal

Propinquity

(n.) nearness in place or time; kinship

Synonyms: similarity

Antonyms: remoteness, distance

Substantive

(adj.) real, having a solid basis; considerable in number or amount; meaningful and on topic

Synonyms: firm, substantial, meaty

Antonyms: imaginary, unreal, meaningless

Unwonted

(adj.) not usual or expected; not in character

Synonyms: unusual, uncommon, unexpected, atypical

Antonyms: usual, customary, typical

Utopian

(adj.) founded upon or involving a visionary view of an ideal world; impractical

Synonyms: idealistic

Antonyms: realistic, pragmatic

Verbiage

(n.) language that is too wordy or inflated in proportion to the sense or content, wordiness; a manner of expression

Synonyms: prolixity, diction, jargon

Verdant

(adj.) green in tint or color; immature in experience or judgement

Synonyms: artless, naive

Antonyms: scorched, sere, barren

Viscous

(adj.) having a gelatinous or gluey quality, lacking in easy movement or fluidity

Synonyms: sticky, thick

Antonyms: watery, aqueous

-gen-

born, produced

hydrogen, pathogen

-gnos-

knowledge, to know

diagnose, prognosis

-graph-

drawn, written, one who draws or writes

photograph, telegraph

-gram-

what is written, small weight; record, picture

telegram, diagram

-fac-

to make, to do

factory, manufacture

-ject-

to throw

project, inject