accost
(v) to approach and speak to first; to confront in a challenging or aggressive way
syn: buttonhole, approach, confront
ant: evade, avoid, shun
animadversion
(n) a comment indicating strong criticism or disapproval
syn: rebuke, reproof
ant: praise, compliment
avid
(adj) desirous of something to the point of greed; intensely eager
syn: keen, enthusiastic, grasping
ant: reluctant, indifferent, unenthusiastic
brackish
(adj) having a salty taste and unpleasant to drink
syn: briny, saline
ant: fresh, clear, sweet
celerity
(n) swiftness, rapidity of motion or action
syn: promptness, alacrity, speed
ant: slowness, sluggishness, dilatoriness
devious
(adj) straying or wandering from a straight or direct course; done or acting in a shifty or underhanded way
syn: roundabout, indirect, tricky, sly, artful
ant: direct, straightforward, open, aboveboard
gambit
(n) 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
syn: ploy, stratagem, ruse, maneuver
halcyon
(n) a legendary bird identified with the king fisher; (adj) of or relating to the halcyon; calm, peaceful; happy, golden; prosperous, affluent
syn: tranquil, serene, placid, palmy
ant: turbulent, chaotic, tumultuous
histrionic
(adj) pertaining to actors and their techniques; theatrical, artificial; melodramatic
syn: affected, stagy
ant: low-keyed, muted, untheatrical, subdued
incendiary
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
syn: inflammatory, provocative; firebrand
ant: soothing, quieting; peacemaker
maelstrom
(n) a whirlpool of great size and violence; a situation resembling a whirlpool in violence and destruction
syn: vortex, chaos, turbulence, tumult
myopic
(adj) nearsighted; lacking a broad, realistic view of a situation; lacking foresight or discernment
syn: shortsighted
ant: farsighted
overt
(adj) open, not hidden, expressed or revealed in a way that is easily recognized
syn: clear, obvious, manifest, patent
ant: secret, clandestine, covert, concealed
pejorative
(adj) tending to make worse; expressing disapproval or disparagement, derogatory, deprecatory, belittling
ant: complimentary, ameliorative
propriety
(n) the state of being proper, appropriateness; (pl) standards of what is proper or socially acceptable
syn: fitness, correctness, decorum
ant: unseemliness, inappropriateness
sacrilege
(n) improper or disrespectful treatment of something held sacred
syn: desecration, profanation, defilement
summarily
(adv) without delay or formality; briefly, concisely
syn: promptly, peremptorily, concisely
suppliant
(adj) asking humbly and earnestly (n) one who makes a request humbly and earnestly, a petitioner, suitor
talisman
(n) an object that serves as a charm or is believed to confer magical powers, an amulet, fetish
undulate
(v) to move in waves or with a wavelike motion; to have a wavelike appearance or form
syn: ripple, fluctuate, rise and fall