AP Lang Vocab 2

accost

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

The nobleman was __________ by beggars on his way to the castle.

Synonyms (=): buttonhole, approach

Antonyms (≠): avoid, shun

animadversion

(n) a comment indicating strong criticism or disapproval

The inexperienced filmmaker was disheartened by the ___________ of the film critic.

= rebuke, reproof

≠ praise, compliment

avid

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

Most writers are also _____ readers who have loved books since childhood.

= keen, enthusiastic, grasping

≠ reluctant, indifferent, unenthusiastic

brackish

(adj) having a salty taste and unpleasant to drink

The shipwrecked passengers adrift on the lifeboat became ill after drinking ________ water.

= saline

≠ clear, sweet

celerity

(adj) swiftness, rapidity of motion or action

Although the heavy snowfall was not expected, the highway department responded with surprising _______.

= promptness, speed

≠ slowness, sluggishness, dilatoriness

devious

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

The interrogator used ________ methods to try to get the suspect to incriminate himself.

= roundabout, indirect, tricky, sly, artful

≠ 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

Asking an interesting stranger about his or her job is a popular party ________.

= ploy, ruse, manuever

halcyon

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

The teacher read the legend of the ________, a mythic bird that nested in a calm sea.

The woman often spoke of the ________ days of her childhood.

= tranquil, placid, palmy

≠ turbulent, tumultuous

histrionic

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

Upon receiving his award, the young actor gave a ________ speech.

= affected, stagy

≠ 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

The arsonist planted an _________ device in the basement of the store.

The radical _________ was sentenced to life imprisonment.

= (adj) inflammatory, provocative; (n) firebrand

≠ (adj) soothing, quieting; (n) peacemaker

maelstrom

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

Many innocent people caught in the _______ of the revolution lost their lives and property.

= chaos, turbulence, tumult

myopic

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

The _______ foreign policy of the last administration has led to serious problems with our allies.

= shortsighted

≠ farsighted

overt

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

In order for Congress to declare war, the President must demonstrate an ______ threat.

= clear, obvious, manifest, patent

≠ clandestine, covert, concealed

pejorative

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

The lawyer was accused of making a _____________ remark when referring to the defendant’s background.

= complimentary, ameliorative

propriety

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

The social worker questioned the _________ of the police’s request to see confidential records.

= fitness, correctness

≠ unseemliness, inappropriateness

sacrilege

(n) improper or disrespectful treatment of something held sacred

The anthropologist was accused of committing a _________ when she disturbed a burial ground.

= desecration, profanation, defilements

ummarily

(adv) without delay or formality; briefly, concisely

As soon as there was evidence of criminal wrongdoing, the official was ______ ousted from his post

= promptly, peremptorily

suppliant

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

He made a suppliant address to the parole board.

Stranded in the deserted city of Moscow, Napoleon had to turn to the Czar not as a conqueror but as a suppliant.

talisman

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

Most people do not believe that rabbit’s feet and other _________ actually bring good luck. und

undulate

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

The baseball fans began to ________ as they cheered, so that they appeared to move in a wave.

= fluctuate, rise and fall