accost
v) to approach and speak to first; to confront in a challenging or aggressive way
syn: buttonhole, approach
ant: avoid, shun
aminadversion
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: saline
ant: clear, sweet
celerity
n) swiftness, rapidity of motion or action
syn: promptness, 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, ruse, maneuver
halcyon
n) a legendary bird identified with the kingfisher
adj) of or relating to the halcyon; calm, peaceful; happy, golden; prosperous, affluent
syn: tranquil, placid, palmy
ant: turbulent, tumultuous
histrionic
adj) pertaining to actors and their techniques; theatrical, artificial; melodramatic
syn: affected, stagy
ant: muted, untheatrical, subdued
incendiary
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
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: 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: cladestine, 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
ant: unseemliness, inappropriateness
sacrilege
n) improper or disrespectful treatment of something held sacred
syn: desecration, profranation, defilement
summarily
adj) without delay or formality; briefly, concisely
syn: promptly, peremptorily
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: fluctuate, rise and fall