accost
to approach and speak to first; to confront in a challenging or aggressive way
Accost
syn:buttonhole, approach ant: avoid, shun
animadversion
a comment indicating strong criticism or disapproval
Animadversion
syn: rebuke, reproof ant: praise, compliment
avid
desirous of something to the point of greed; intensely eager
Avid
syn: keen, enthusiastic, grasping ant: reluctant, indifferent, unenthusiastic
brackish
having a salty taste and unpleasant to drink
Brackish
syn: saline ant: clear, sweet
celerity
swiftness, rapidity of motion or action
Celerity
syn: promptness, speed ant: slowness, sluggishness, dilatoriness
devious
straying or wandering from a straight or direct course; done or acting in a shifty or underhanded way
Devious
syn: roundabout, indirect, tricky, sly, artful ant: direct, straightforward, open, aboveboard
gambit
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
Gambit
syn: ploy, ruse, maneuver
halcyon
(n.) a legendary bird identified with the kingfisher; (adj.) of or relating to the halcyon; calm, peaceful; happy, golden; prosperous, affluent
Halcyon
syn: tranquil, placid, palmy ant: turbulent, tumultuous
histrionic
pertaining to actors and their techniques; theatrical, artificial; melodramatic
Histrionic
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
incendiary
syn: inflammatory, provocative, firebrand ant: soothing, quieting, peacemaker
maelstrom
a whirlpool of great size and violence; a situation resembling a whirlpool in violence and destruction
Maelstrom
syn: chaos, turbulence, tumult
myopic
nearsighted; lacking a broad, realistic view of a situation; lacking foresight or discernment
Myopic
syn: shortsighted ant: farsighted
overt
open, not hidden, expressed or revealed in a way that is easily recognized
Overt
syn: clear, obvious, manifest, patent ant: clandestine, covert, concealed
pejorative
tending to make worse; expressing disapproval or disparagement, derogatory, deprecatory, belittling
pejorative
ant: complimentary, ameliorative
propriety
(n) the state of being proper, appropriateness; (pl) standards of what is proper or socially acceptable
Propriety
syn: fitness, correctness ant: unseemliness, inappropriateness
sacrilege
improper or disrespectful treatment of something held sacred
Sacrilege
syn: desecration, profanation, defilement
summarily
without delay or formality; briefly, concisely
Summarily
syn: promptly, peremptorily
suppliant
(adj.) asking humbly and earnestly; (n.) one who makes a request humbly and earnestly, a petitioner, suitor
talisman
an object that serves as a charm or is believed to confer magical powers, an amulet, fetish
undulate
to move in waves or with a wavelike motion; to have a wavelike appearance or form
Undulate
syn: fluctuate, rise and fall
Studied by 44 People