Vocabulary List: Adjectives and Verbs with Unique Meanings, Exams of English

Download Vocabulary List: Adjectives and Verbs with Unique Meanings and more Exams English in PDF only on Docsity! Level G – Vocabulary Unit 2 accost (v.) to approach and speak to someone with a demand or a request The politician was accosted by the angry mob who demanded that there be a tax break. animadversion (n.) harsh criticism That teacher’s lectures are filled with animadversions of all the military actions of the U.S for the past 50 years. avid (adj.) enthusiastic Judy does well in her English class because she is an avid reader. brackish (adj.) slightly salty water; unpleasant to drink; mixture of sea water and fresh water The oil has made its way to Lake Pontchartrain, a brackish body of water that is technically an estuary. celerity (n.) speed I am impressed with the celerity with which they got married. They met just two months ago. devious (adj.) misleading, tricky; not honest The devious governor of Illinois tried to use his office to make himself rich rather than help the people of the state. gambit (n.) An opening move or remark where one gives up something small with the hopes of gaining an upper hand The president talking to Iran is a high stakes diplomatic gambit. halcyon (adj.) calm and peaceful When life gets really hectic, I like to think back on the halcyon days of my youth when I was able to lie around the pool all summer. histrionic (adj.) excessively dramatic or emotional The problem with many television shows is the histrionic performances from some of the actors. incendiary (adj.) causing fires or conflict By their count, his bad temper and incendiary tongue has gotten him kicked out of school 5 times. maelstrom (n.) 1. large and violent whirlpool; 2. any violent or disorderly situation; chaos John’s life was one big maelstrom once his wife found out that he was cheating on her. Once everything calmed down, he realized he had nothing. myopic (adj.) shortsighted Merely repaving the road is myopic since almost anyone can see we need to redesign the roads in a few years. overt (adj.) not secret It is difficult for us today to realize how overt the racism was 50 years ago when certain races were actually prohibited from participating in everything equally. pejorative (adj.) insulting Most people find the word retarded to be pejorative. propriety (n.) correct or appropriate behavior The students ignored propriety when they chose to plagiarize their final papers. sacrilege (n.) disrespectful treatment of something regarded as sacred Many people in the congregation found the pastor’s speech about how god is a woman to be sacrilege. summarily (adv.) immediately Once they found out he was stealing money from the registered, they summarily fired him. supplicant (adj.) begging; (n.) beggar Kyrgzstan is no stranger to the role of a supplicant. For the past twenty years they have depended on donors for their survival. talisman (n.) any object thought to have magical or protective powers The tribe leader said everything will work out well as he rubbed the tiger’s claw that hung around his neck, a talisman that supposedly has the power to end conflicts. undulate (v.) make something move in a wavelike motion The critic undulated in his opinion of the movie. At one moment he loved the film and the next he hated the film.