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

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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.