AP English III Vocab Test 1

AP English III

acquisitive

(adj.) able to get and retain ideas or information; concerned with acquiring wealth or property. Often greedy or avaricious. SYNONYMS: greedy, grasping, avaricious, retentive ANTONYMS: altruistic, benevolent, generous

animadversion

(n.) a comment indicating strong criticism or disapproval; a critical remark or viewpoint. SYNONYMS: rebuke, reproof ANTONYMS: praise, approval

banal

(adj.) hackneyed, trite, commonplace. SYNONYMS: stale, insipid ANTONYMS: fresh, novel, original, new

cacophonous

(adj.) harsh-sounding, raucous, discordant, dissonant. ANTONYMS: harmonious, melodious, mellifluous SYNONYMS: blaring, jarring

celerity

(n.) swiftness, rapidity of motion or action. SYNONYMS: promptness, alacrity, speed. ANTONYMS: slowness, sluggishness, dilatoriness

dissemble

(v.) to disguise or conceal, deliberately give a false impression. SYNONYMS: dissimulate, mask, feign

eschew

(v.) to avoid, shun, keep away from. SYNONYMS: abstain from, steer clear of, forgo. ANTONYMS: embrace, adopt

evince

(v.) to display clearly, to make evident, to provoke. SYNONYMS: exhibit, manifest, occasion

feckless

(adj.) lacking in spirit and strength; ineffective, weak; irresponsible, unreliable. SYNONYMS: feeble, helpless, incompetent, ineffectual. ANTONYMS: competent, capable, effective

halcyon

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

ANTONYMS: turbulent, chaotic, tumultuous

intransigent

(adj.) refusing to compromise; irreconcilable. SYNONYMS: uncompromising, unyielding, obdurate

ANTONYMS: lukewarm, halfhearted, yielding

maelstrom

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

nefarious

(adj.) wicked, depraved, devoid of moral standards. SYNONYMS: iniquitous, reprehensible

ANTONYMS: virtuous, honorable, praiseworthy, meritorious

pejorative

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

piquant

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

ANTONYMS: bland, insipid, tasteless, mild

progeny

(n.) descendants, offspring, children, followers, disciples. SYNONYMS: issue, posterity

ANTONYMS: ancestors, forebears, antecedents

summarily

(adv.) without delay or formality; briefly, concisely. SYNONYMS: promptly, peremptorily, abruptly

temporize

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

unwonted

(adj.) not usual or expected; not in character. SYNONYMS: unusual, uncommon, unexpected, atypical

ANTONYMS: usual, customary, typical

verbiage

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

arrogate

(v.) to claim or take without right.

SYNONYMS: expropriate, usurp, commandeer.

ANTONYMS: relinquish, renounce, abdicate, abandon

articulate

(v.) to pronounce distinctly; to express well in words; to connect by a joint or joints; (adj.) expressed clearly and forcefully; able to employ language clearly and forcefully; jointed

SYNONYMS: (v.) pronounce, elucidate; (adj.) eloquent

ANTONYMS: (v.) mumble, slur; (adj.) tongue-tied, halting

belabor

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

SYNONYMS: overwork

cavort

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

SYNONYMS: 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

emulate

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

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

encomium

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

SYNONYMS: panegyric, eulogy, commendation

ANTONYMS: condemnation, castigation, criticism

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

SYNONYMS: ploy, stratagem, ruse, manuever

germane

(adj.) relevant, appropriate, apropos, fitting

SYNONYMS: pertinent

ANTONYMS: irrelevant, extraneous, inappropriate

histrionic

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

SYNONYMS: affected, stagy

ANTONYMS: low-keyed, muted, untheatrical, subdued

invidious

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

SYNONYMS: malicious, spiteful, prejudicial, pejorative

ANTONYMS: complimentary, flattering, ameliorative

myopic

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

SYNONYMS: shortsighted

ANTONYMS: farsighted

primordial

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

SYNONYMS: original, primeval, primal

propriety

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

SYNONYMS: fitness, correctness, decorum

ANTONYMS: unseemliness, inappropriateness

sacrilege

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

SYNONYMS: desecration, profanation, defilement

suppliant

(adj.) asking humbly and earnestly;

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

SYNONYMS: petitioner, seeker, solicitor, suitor

taciturn

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

SYNONYMS: tight-lipped, uncommunicative, laconic ANTONYMS: garrulous, loquacious, prolix, verbose

talisman

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

viscous

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

SYNONYMS: gummy, sticky, thick

ANTONYMS: runny, watery, aqueous

accost

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

affinity

(n.) a natural attraction to a person, thing, or activity; a relationship, connection

brackish

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

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.

commensurate

(adj.) equal in size, extent, duration, or importance; proportionate; measurable by the same standards

dichotomy

(n.) a division into two contradictory or mutually exclusive parts; a branching or forking in an ancestral line

ensconce

(v.) to settle comfortably and firmly in position; to put or hide in a safe place

faux pas

(n.) a slip in manners or conduct; a social blunder

iconoclastic

(adj.) attacking or seeking to overthrow popular or traditional beliefs, ideas, or institutions

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.

largesse

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

malleable

(adj.) capable of being formed into different shapes; capable of being altered, adapted, or influenced

noisome

(adj.) offensive or disgusting; foul-smelling; harmful or injurious

portentous

(adj.) foreshadowing an event to come; causing wonder or awe; self-consciously weighty, pompous

raconteur

(n.) a person who tells stories and anecdotes with great skill

tenable

(adj.) capable of being held or defended

truncate

(v.) to shorten by or as if by cutting off, lop

unconscionable

(adj.) not guided or restrained by conscience, prudence, or reason; unscrupulous; immoderate

vacuous

(adj.) devoid of matter, substance, or meaning; lacking ideas or intelligence; purposeless