vocab unit 2

Question 1

accost

Answer 1

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

Question 2

animadversion

Answer 2

(n.) a comment indicating strong criticism or disapproval

Question 3

avid

Answer 3

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

Question 4

brackish

Answer 4

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

Question 5

antithesis

Answer 5

(n.) the juxtaposition of contrasting ideas in balanced ideas (opposite)

Question 6

aphorism

Answer 6

(n. ) 1. a tersely phrased statement of a truth or opinion

2. a brief statement of a principle (Ex: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it)

Question 7

celerity

Answer 7

(n.) swiftness, rapidity of motion or action

Question 8

devious

Answer 8

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

Question 9

gambit

Answer 9

(n.) in ches, an opening move that involves risk or sacrifice of a minor place in order to gain a later advantage; any opening move of tho type

Question 10

halcyon

Answer 10

(n. ) a legendary bird identifies with the kingfisher;

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

Question 11

histrionic

Answer 11

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

Question 12

incendiary

Answer 12

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

Question 13

maelstrom

Answer 13

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

Question 14

myopic

Answer 14

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

Question 15

overt

Answer 15

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

Question 16

pejorative

Answer 16

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

Question 17

propriety

Answer 17

(n. ) the state of being proper, appropriateness;

(pl. ) standards of what is proper or socially acceptable

Question 18

sacrelige

Answer 18

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

Question 19

summarily

Answer 19

(adv.) without delay or formality; briefly, concisely

Question 20

suppliant

Answer 20

(adj. ) asking humbly and earnestly;

(n. ) one who makes a request humbly and earnestly, a petitioner, suitor

Question 21

talisman

Answer 21

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

Question 22

undulate

Answer 22

(v.) to move in waves or with a wavelike motion; to have a wavelike appearance or form

Question 23

apostrophe

Answer 23

(n.) rhetorical term for breaking off discourse to address some absent person or thing.

Question 24

argument

Answer 24

(n.) a course of reasoning aimed at demonstrating truth or falsehood.

Question 25

asyndeton

Answer 25

(n.) the omission of conjunctions between words, phrases, or clauses (opposite of polysyndeton).

Question 26

archetype

Answer 26

(n.) the original model or pattern from which all things of the same kind are copied or on which they are based; a prototype.