Honors English Semester 2 Vocab-Anderson

Banal

(adj) hackneyed, trite, commonplace.

Synonyms: bland, everyday

Belabor

(v) to work on excessively.

Synonyms: overwork, repeat

Coherent

(adj) holding or sticking together; making a logical whole; comprehensive; meaningful.

Synonyms: logical, oderly, rational

Congeal

(v) to change from liquid to solid, thicken; to make inflexible or rigid.

Synonyms: curdle, gelatinate

Emulate

(v) to imitate with the intent of equaling or surpassing the model.

Synonyms: imitate, challenge, compete with

Germane

(adj) relevant, appropriate, apropos, fitting.

Synonyms: applicatory, fitting

Insatiable

(adj) so great of demanding as not to be satisfied

Synonyms: ravenous, desiring

Substantiate

(v) to establish by evidence, prove; to give concrete or substantial form to

Synonyms: corroborate, justify

Taciturn

(adj) habitually silent or quiet, inclined to talk very little

Synonyms: uncommunicative, antisocial

Tenable

(adj) capable of being held or defended.

Synonyms: arguable, justifiable

Accost

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

Synonyms: annoy, bother

Brackish

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

Synonyms: briny, salty

Devious

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

Synonyms: calculating, deceitful

Halcyon

(n) a legendary bird identified with the kingfisher

(adj) of or relating to the halcyon; calm, peaceful, happy, golden; prosperous, affluent.

Synonyms: quiet, still

Incendiary

(adj) deliberately setting or causing fires; designed to make people mad.

(n) one who deliberately sets fires, arsonist.

Synonyms: inflammatory, malevolent

Maelstrom

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

Synonyms: chaos, turmoil

Myopic

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

Synonyms: shortsighted, biased

Overt

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

Synonyms: obvious, unconcealed

Propriety

(n) the state of being proper, appropriateness.

Synonyms: decorum, respectability

Sacrilege

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

Synonyms: blasphemy, crime

Summarily

(adv) without delay or formality; briefly, concisely

Synonyms: promptly, swiftly

Suppliant

(adj) asking humbly and earnestly

(n) one who makes a request humbly and earnestly

Synonyms: beggar, seeker

Talisman

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

Synonyms: fetish, juju

Undulate

(v) to move in waves or with a wavelike motion

Synonyms: billow, wobble

Articulate

(v) to pronounce distinctly; to express well in words

(adj) expressed clearly and forcefully

Synonyms: coherent, expressive, fluent

Cavort

(v) to romp or prance around exuberantly; to make merry

Synonyms: fool around, dance

Credence

(n) belief, mental acceptance

Synonyms: belief, certainty

Decry

(v) to condemn, express strong disapproval; to officially depreciate

Synonyms: condense, minimize

Dissemble

(v) to disguise or conceal, deliberately give a false impression

Synonyms: affect, cloak

Distraught

(adj) very much agitated or upset as a result of emotion or mental conflict

Synonyms: confer, argue

Eulogy

(n) a formal statement of condemnation; high praise

Synonyms: salutation, tribute

Evince

(v) to display clearly, to make evident, to provide

Synonyms: declare, attest, furnish

Exhume

(v) to remove from a grave; bring to light

Synonyms: disclose, unearth, dig up

Feckless

(adj) lacking in spirit and strength; ineffective, weak, irresponsible, unreliable

Synonyms: futile, careless, feeble

Murky

(adj) dark and gloomy, obscure; lacking in clarity and precision

Synonyms: unclear, muddy

Nefarious

(adj) wicked, depraved, devoid of moral standards

Synonyms: evil, devious

Piquant

(adj) stimulating to the taste or mind; spicy, pungent; appealingly provocative

Synonyms: peppery, zesty

Primordial

(adj) developed or created at the very beginning; fundamental, basic

Synonyms: cells, original

Propinquity

(n) nearness in place or time; kinship

Synonyms: adjacency, closeness

Refulgent

(adj) shining, radiant, resplendent

Synonyms: gleaming, glowing

Utopian

(adj) founded upon or involving a visionary view of an ideal world; impractical

Synonyms: futuristic, unrealistic

Verbiage

(n) language that is too wordy or inflated in proportion to the sense or content, wordiness

Synonyms: excess words, wordy

Verdant

(adj) green in tint or color; immature in experience or judgement

Synonyms: flourishing, lush

Viscous

(adj) having a gelatinous or gluey quality, lacking in easy movement or fluidity.

Synonyms: gooey, slimey