English III AP Vocabulary—List #3

accost

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

affinity

(n.) a natural attraction to a person, thing, or activity; a relationship, connection

brackish

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

carping

(adj.) tending to find fault, especially in a petty, nasty, or hairsplitting way; (n) petty, nagging criticism

coherent

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

commensurate

(adj.) equal in size, extent, duration, or importance; proportionate; measurable by the same standards

dichotomy

(n.) a division into two contradictory or mutually exclusive parts; a branching or forking in an ancestral line

ensconce

(v.) to settle comfortably and firmly in position; to put or hide in a safe place

faux pas

(n.) a slip in manners or conduct; a social blunder

iconoclastic

(adj.) attacking or seeking to overthrow popular or traditional beliefs, ideas, or institutions

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.

largesse

(n.) generosity in giving; lavish or bountiful contributions

malleable

(adj.) capable of being formed into different shapes; capable of being altered, adapted, or influenced

noisome

(adj.) offensive or disgusting; foul-smelling; harmful or injurious

portentous

(adj.) foreshadowing an event to come; causing wonder or awe; self-consciously weighty, pompous

raconteur

(n.) a person who tells stories and anecdotes with great skill

tenable

(adj.) capable of being held or defended

truncate

(v.) to shorten by or as if by cutting off, lop

unconscionable

(adj.) not guided or restrained by conscience, prudence, or reason; unscrupulous; immoderate

vacuous

(adj.) devoid of matter, substance, or meaning; lacking ideas or intelligence; purposeless