ap lit 2-4

Accost

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

Animadversion

n.) a comment indicating strong criticism or disapproval

Avid

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

Brackish

adj.) having a salty taste and unpleasant to drink

Celerity

n.) swiftness, rapidity of motion or action

Devious

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

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

Halcyn

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

Histrionic

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

Incendiary

adj.) deliberately setting or causing fires; designed to start fires; tending to stir up strife per rebellion
(n.) one who deliberately sets fires, arsonists, one who causes strife

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

Overt

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

pejorative

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

Propriety

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

sacrilege

n.) improper or disrespectful treatment of something held sacred

Summarily

adv.) without delay or formality; briefly, concisely

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 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

Carvort

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

Credence

n.) belief, mental acceptance

Decry

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

Dissemble

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

Distraught

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

Eulogy

n.) a formal statement of commendation; high praise

Evince

v.) to display clearly, to make evident, to provoke

Exhume

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

Freckles

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

Murky

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

Nefarious

adj.) wicked, depraved, devoid of moral standards

Piquant

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

Primordial

adj.) developed or created at the very beginning; going back to the most ancient times or earliest stage; fundamental, basic

propinquity

n.) nearness in place or time; kinship

Substantive

adj.) real, having a solid basis; considerable in number or amount; meaningful and on topic

Unwonted

adj.) not usual or expected; not in character

Utopian

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

Verbiage

n.) language that is too wordy or inflated in proportion to the sense or content, wordiness; a manner of expression

Verdant

adj.) green in tint or color; immature in experience or judgment

Viscous

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