English III AP Vocabulary—List #1

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