Sadlier Oxford Level G Unit 2

accost

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

Syn- adress, annoy, bother, brace, confront

Ant- avoid, dodge, evade, ignore

Sentence: I was told to accost my teacher about the issue

animadversion

(n.) a comment indicating strong criticism or disapproval

Syn- accusation, arraignment, attack, attribution

Ant- applause, commendation, exaltation, exculpation, exoneration, praise, thanks

Sentence- I had an animadversion against those who disrespected my friends

avid

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

Syn- athirst, avaricious, breathless, covetous, desirous, devoted, dying to, eager

Ant- dispassionate, indifferent, unenthusiastic

Sentence- I had an avid desire for knowledge

brackish

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

Syn- briny, highly flavored, oversalted, pungent, saliferous

Ant- bland, unsalted, unsalty

Sentence- Unfortunately the drink was brackish and i had to pretend to enjoy it to be polite

celerity

(n.) swiftness, rapidity of motion or action

Syn- briskness, dispatch, expedition, expeditiousness, fleetness, gait, haste, hurry

Ant- slowness, sluggishness

Sentence- the celerity of the superhero made it almost impossible to see him in action

devious

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

Syn- crooked, deceitful, double-dealing, duplicitous, errant, erring, evasive

Ant- frank, honest, open, straightforward, trustworthy, truthful

Sentence- the child's devious behavior had him constantly out of line and lost from the group

gambit

(n.) in chess, an opening move that involves risk or sacrifice of a minor piece in order to gain later advantage; any opening move of this type

Syn- design, device, gimmick, jig, maneuver, play, ploy, ruse, trick

Ant- candor, frankness,honesty,honor, ingenuousness,innocence,openness,reality,sincerity, truthfulness

Sentence- The opening gambit for her match was a wise one.

halcyon

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

Syn- balmy, bucolic, gentle, golden, happy, harmonious, palmy, pastoral, quiet, serene

Ant-agitated, angry, inclement, restless, rough, stormy, tempestuous, turbulent, unquiet, unsettled

Sentence- lately we've had some halcyon weather

histrionic

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

Syn- overacting, overplayed, theatrical, thespian

Ant- untheatrical

Sentence- The histrionic actor was more fit for broadway than movies.

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

Syn- demagogic, dissentious, inflammatory, malevolent, provocative, rabble-rousing, seditious, subversive

Ant- peacemaking

Sentence- the incendiary man was attempting to scam his insurance company when he set his house on fire

maelstrom

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

Syn- chaos, confusion, disorder, flap, fuss, pandemonium, turbulence, turmoil, uproar

Ant- calm, peace, quite

Sentence- The war in iraq was a maelstrom

myopic

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

Syn- biased, blind, halfsighted, nearsighted, presbyopic, shortsighted

Ant- far-sighted

Sentence- less then 10 percent of people with myopic parents develop myopia

overt

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

Syn- clear, definite, manifest, observable, open, patent, plain, public, undisguised, visible

Ant- hidden, private, secret

Sentence- the overt love m grandma shows for me is very nice

pejorative

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

Syn- deprecatory, depreciatory, derisive, derogatory, detracting, detractive, detractory, disadvantageous

Ant- positive, praising

Sentence- the pejorative stance the president has will undoubtedly get our country nowhere

propriety

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

Syn- advisability, agreeableness, appositeness, aptness, becomingness, compatibility, concord, congruity, consonance

Ant- impropriety, inappropriateness, unsuitableness, wrong

Sentence- we wouldn't have had nearly the same level of success using the proprietary model.

sacrilege

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

Syn- crime, curse, desecration, heresy, impiety, mockery, offense

Ant- respect, reverence

Sentence- the sacrilege of the holy book would result in world outrage

summarily

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

Syn- at short notice, expeditiously, forthwith, immediately, on the spot, peremptorily, promptly, readily

Ant- slowly

Sentence- the summarily speech got its point across

suppliant

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

Syn- beseecher, petitioner, seeker, solicitor, suitor

Ant- benefactor, supporter

Sentence- the suppliant way in which the boy asked for a cookie, made it almost impossible to say no

talisman

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

Syn- good-luck piece, juju, lucky piece, phylactery

Ant- jinx

Sentence- my talisman is the reason i played so well today

undulate

(v.) to move in waves or with a wavelike motion; to have a wavelike appearance or form

Syn- flow, heave, oscillate, ripple, roll, surge, swell, swing

Ant- ripple, ruffle, riffle, cockle, undulate

Sentence- the stadium undulate