Vocabulary Study Notes

Definitions and Pronunciations of Key Terms

  • Overt (ō vert')

    • Part of Speech: Adjective
    • Definition: Open, not hidden, expressed or revealed in a way that is easily recognized.
    • Usage in Context: In order for Congress to declare war, the President must demonstrate an overt threat.
    • Synonyms: Clear, obvious, manifest, patent
    • Antonyms: Secret, clandestine, covert, concealed

  • Pejorative (pǝ jôr' ǝ tiv)

    • Part of Speech: Adjective
    • Definition: Tending to make worse; expressing disapproval or disparagement, derogatory, deprecatory, belittling.
    • Usage in Context: The lawyer was accused of making a pejorative remark when referring to the defendant's background.
    • Antonyms: Complimentary, ameliorative

  • Propriety (prǝ pri' a tē)

    • Part of Speech: Noun
    • Definition: The state of being proper, appropriateness; (plural) standards of what is proper or socially acceptable.
    • Usage in Context: The social worker questioned the propriety of the police's request to see confidential records.
    • Synonyms: Fitness, correctness, decorum
    • Antonyms: Unseemliness, inappropriateness

  • Sacrilege (sak' rǝ lij)

    • Part of Speech: Noun
    • Definition: Improper or disrespectful treatment of something held sacred.
    • Usage in Context: The anthropologist was accused of committing a sacrilege when she disturbed an ancient burial ground.
    • Synonyms: Desecration, profanation, defilement

  • Summarily (sǝ mer' ǝ lē)

    • Part of Speech: Adverb
    • Definition: Without delay or formality; briefly, concisely.
    • Usage in Context: As soon as there was evidence of criminal wrongdoing, the official was summarily ousted from his post.
    • Synonyms: Promptly, peremptorily, abruptly

  • Suppliant (sǝp' lē ǝnt)

    • Part of Speech: Adjective/Noun
    • Definition: Asking humbly and earnestly; (n.) one who makes a request humbly and earnestly, a petitioner, suitor.
    • Usage in Context: He made a suppliant address to the parole board.
    • Example Scenario: Stranded in the deserted city of Moscow, Napoleon had to turn to the Czar not as a conqueror but as a suppliant.

  • Talisman (tal' iz mən)

    • Part of Speech: Noun
    • Definition: An object that serves as a charm or is believed to confer magical powers; an amulet, fetish.
    • Usage in Context: Most people do not believe that rabbit's feet and other talismans actually bring good luck.

  • Undulate (ǝn' dyǝ lāt)

    • Part of Speech: Verb
    • Definition: To move in waves or with a wavelike motion; to have a wavelike appearance or form.
    • Usage in Context: The baseball fans began to undulate as they cheered, so that they appeared to move in a wave.
    • Synonyms: Ripple, fluctuate, rise and fall

Additional Vocabulary

  • Gambit (gam' bit)

    • Part of Speech: Noun
    • Definition: 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.
    • Usage in Context: Asking an interesting stranger about his or her job is a popular party gambit.
    • Synonyms: Ploy, stratagem, ruse, maneuver

  • Halcyon (hal' sē ǝn)

    • Part of Speech: Noun/Adjective
    • Definition: A legendary bird identified with the kingfisher; (adj.) calm, peaceful; happy, golden; prosperous, affluent.
    • Usage in Context: The teacher read the legend of the halcyon, a mythic bird that nested in a calm sea.
    • Example Context: The woman often spoke of the halcyon days of her childhood.
    • Synonyms: (adj.) Tranquil, serene, placid, palmy
    • Antonyms: (adj.) Turbulent, chaotic, tumultuous

  • Animadversion (an a mad vǝr' zhǝn)

    • Part of Speech: Noun
    • Definition: A comment indicating strong criticism or disapproval.
    • Usage in Context: The inexperienced filmmaker was disheartened by the animadversion of the film critic.
    • Synonyms: Rebuke, reproof
    • Antonyms: Praise, compliment

  • Avid (av' id)

    • Part of Speech: Adjective
    • Definition: Desirous of something to the point of greed; intensely eager.
    • Usage in Context: Most writers are also avid readers who have loved books since childhood.
    • Synonyms: Keen, enthusiastic, grasping
    • Antonyms: Reluctant, indifferent, unenthusiastic

  • Brackish (brak' ish)

    • Part of Speech: Adjective
    • Definition: Having a salty taste and unpleasant to drink.
    • Usage in Context: The shipwrecked passengers adrift on the lifeboat became ill after drinking brackish water.
    • Synonyms: Briny, saline
    • Antonyms: Fresh, clear, sweet

  • Celerity (sǝ ler' ǝ tē)

    • Part of Speech: Noun
    • Definition: Swiftness, rapidity of motion or action.
    • Usage in Context: Although the heavy snowfall was not expected, the highway department responded with surprising celerity.
    • Synonyms: Promptness, alacrity, speed
    • Antonyms: Slowness, sluggishness, dilatoriness

  • Devious (dē' vë ǝs)

    • Part of Speech: Adjective
    • Definition: Straying or wandering from a straight or direct course; done or acting in a shifty or underhanded way.
    • Usage in Context: The interrogator used devious methods to try to get the suspect to incriminate himself.
    • Synonyms: Roundabout, indirect, tricky, sly, artful
    • Antonyms: Direct, straightforward, open, aboveboard

  • Histrionic (his tre än' ik)

    • Part of Speech: Adjective
    • Definition: Pertaining to actors and their techniques; theatrical, artificial; melodramatic.
    • Usage in Context: Upon receiving his award, the young actor gave a histrionic speech.
    • Synonyms: Affected, stagy
    • Antonyms: Low-keyed, muted, untheatrical, subdued

  • Incendiary (in sen' de er ĕ)

    • Part of Speech: Adjective/Noun
    • Definition: (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.
    • Usage in Context: The arsonist planted an incendiary device in the basement of the store.
    • Example Context: The radical was sentenced to life imprisonment.
    • Synonyms: (adj.) Inflammatory, provocative; (n.) Firebrand
    • Antonyms: (adj.) Soothing, quieting; (n.) Peacemaker

  • Maelstrom (māl' strǝm)

    • Part of Speech: Noun
    • Definition: A whirlpool of great size and violence; a situation resembling a whirlpool in violence and destruction.
    • Usage in Context: Many innocent people caught in the maelstrom of the revolution lost their lives and property.
    • Synonyms: Vortex, chaos, turbulence, tumult

  • Myopic (mi äp' ik)

    • Part of Speech: Adjective
    • Definition: Nearsighted; lacking a broad, realistic view of a situation; lacking foresight or discernment.
    • Usage in Context: The myopic foreign policy of the last administration has led to serious problems with our allies.
    • Synonym: Shortsighted
    • Antonym: Farsighted