Vocabulary Units 1-3

Accost

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

Animadversion

(n.) a comment indicating strong criticism or disapproval

Avid

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

Brackish

(adj.) having a salty taste and unpleasant to drink

Celerity

(n.) swiftness, rapidity of motion or action

Devious

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

Gambit

(n.) 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

Halcyon

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

Histrionic

(adj.) pertaining to actors and their techniques, theatrical, artificial; melodramatic

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

Maelstrom

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

Myopic

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

Overt

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

Pejorative

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

Propriety

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

Sacrilege

(n.) improper or disrespectful treatment of something held sacred

Summarily

(adv.) without delay or formality; briefly, concisely

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

acquisitive

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

arrogate

(v.) to claim or take without right

banal

(adj.) hackneyed, trite, commonplace

belabor

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

carping

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

coherent

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

congeal

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

emulate

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

encomium

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

eschew

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

germane

(adj.) relevant, appropriate, apropos, fitting

insatiable

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

intransigent

(adj.) refusing to compromise, irreconcilable

invidious

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

largesse

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

reconnaissance

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

substantiate

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

taciturn

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

temporize

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

tenable

(adj.) capable of being held or defended

Substantive

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

Cavort

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

Credence

(n.) belief, mental acceptance

Decry

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

Dissemble

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

distraught

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

Eulogy

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

Evince

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

Exhume

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

Feckless

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

Murky

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

Nefarious

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

Piquant

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

Primordial

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

Propinquity

(n.) nearness in place or time; kinship

Unwonted

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

Utopian

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

Verbiage

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

Verdant

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

Viscous

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