AP Lit - Unit 2 Vocabulary

accost

accost

(v.) to approach and speak to first; to confront in a challenging or aggressive way
syn: buttonhole, approach
ant: avoid, shun

animadversion

(n.) a comment indicating strong criticism or disapproval
syn: rebuke, reproof
ant: praise, compliment

avid

(adj.) desirous of something to the point of greed; intensely eager
syn: keen, enthusiastic, grasping
ant: reluctant, indifferent, unenthusiastic

brackish

(adj.) having a salty taste and unpleasant to drink
syn: saline
ant: clear, sweet

celerity

(n.) swiftness, rapidity of motion or action
syn: promptness, speed
ant: slowness, sluggishness, dilatoriness

devious

(adj.) straying or wandering from a straight or direct course; done or acting in a shifty or underhanded way
syn: roundabout, indirect, tricky, sly, artful
ant: direct, straightforward, open, aboveboard

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
syn: ploy, ruse, maneuver

halycon

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

histrionic

(adj.) pertaining to actors and their techniques; theatrical, artificial; melodramatic
syn: affected, stagy
ant: muted, untheatrical, subdued

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 (adj); inflammatory, provocative; (n.) firebrand
ant (adj.) soothing, quieting; (n.) peacemaker

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
syn: shortsighted
ant: farsighted

overt

(adj.) open, not hidden, expressed or revealed in a way that is easily recognized
syn: clear; obvious, manifest, patent
ant: clandestine, covert, conealed

pejorative

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

propriety

(n.) the state of being proper, appropriateness; (pl.) standards of what is proper or socially acceptable
syn: fitness, correctness
ant: unseemliness, inappropriateness

sacrilege

(n.) improper or disrespectful treatment of something held sacred
syn: desecration, profanation, defilement

summarily

(adv.) without delay or formality; briefly, concisely
syn: 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
syn: fluctuate, rise and fall