AP US History Vocabulary
Terms
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- prudent
- p
- gentry
- the most powerful members of a society
- alien
- anyone who does not belong in the environment in which they are found
- auspicious
- favorable
- transcend
- d
- infallible
- incapable of making mistakes
- clandestine
- secretive
- fiscal
- money
- commune
- groups of people
- plutocratic
- Government by the wealthy, aristocracy
- coherent
- sticking together
- admonition
- warning
- piety
- reverence for God or devout fulfillment of religious obligations
- ominous
- d
- polygamy
- having more than one spouse at a time
- conventional
- following accepted customs and proprieties
- vindicate
- clear of accusation, blame, suspicion, or doubt with supporting proof
- archaic
- p
- loathsome
- highly offensive
- chronic
- being long-lasting and recurrent or characterized by long suffering
- fluctuation
- the quality of being unsteady and subject to fluctuations
- procrastinate
- postpone doing what one should be doing
- eugenics
- selective breeding
- optimism
- r
- ostensibly
- seemingly
- textile
- any cloth or goods produced by weaving, knitting, or felting.
- ascertain
- to verify
- patronage
- p
- precedent
- an example that is used to justify similar occurrences at a later time
- nonviolence
- the principal of refraining from using violence,especially as a means of protest
- indignation
- anger at an injustice; Ex. righteous indignation; ADJ. indignant
- reconcile
- come to terms
- enterprising
- ready to undertake projects of importance or difficulty, or untried schemes; energetic in carrying out any undertaking
- punitive
- punishing
- nullify
- d
- armistice
- a state of peace agreed to between opponents so they can discuss peace terms
- malaise
- r
- instigate
- provoke or stir up
- aesthetic
- concerning or characterized by an appreciation of beauty or good taste
- injunction
- court order
- salient
- most noticeable
- containment
- the act or condition of containing.
- disenfranchise
- deprive of voting rights
- mandate
- a document giving an official instruction or command
- precedent
- something preceding in time that may be used as an authority or guide for future action
- canvass
- talking poll
- analogy
- drawing a comparison in order to show a similarity in some respect
- transcend
- to rise above or go beyond; overpass; exceed:
- malaise
- ill feeling
- guerrilla
- a member of an irregular armed force that fights a stronger force by sabotage and harassment
- pork
- d
- moratorium
- p
- renounce
- give up
- sundry
- miscellaneous unspecified objects
- feasible
- do-able
- capitulate
- give up
- prevalent
- ubiquitous
- electoral college
- the body of electors who formally elect the United States president and vice-president
- imperialism
- a policy of extending your rule over foreign countries, Declaration of independence?
- impetuous
- characterized by undue haste and lack of thought or deliberation
- ominous
- menacing; threatening
- dregs
- the last remaining part the part of least worth
- conscription
- draft
- prolific
- bearing in abundance especially offspring
- detente
- p
- mentor
- a wise and trusted guide and advisor
- kindred
- soulmate
- Philanthropist
- someone who makes charitable donations intended to increase human well-being
- predestination
- (theology) being determined in advance
- natural law
- a rule or body of rules of conduct inherent in human nature and essential to or binding upon human society
- increment
- smalls bits and pieces
- tariff
- A tax on foreign goods
- latent
- r
- partisan
- devoted to a cause or party
- demagogue
- hitler, appeals to emotions
- piety
- reverence for God or devout fulfillment of religious obligations
- disseminate
- scatter
- intrepid
- fearless
- contraband
- Trade forbidden by law or treaty.
- insatiable
- can't be filled
- chattel
- property
- infallible
- r
- protégé
- mentor
- emancipation
- freeing someone from the control of another; especially a parent's relinquishing authority and control over a minor child
- annex
- add
- fetish
- excessive or irrational devotion to some activity
- pseudonym
- A fictitious name, especially when assumed by a writer.
- procreation
- the sexual activity of conceiving and bearing offspring
- secede
- withdraw from an organization or communion
- totalitarian
- dictator, total control
- inexorable
- can't stop
- sacrilegious
- desecrating; profane; N. sacrilege: desecration, misuse, or theft of something sacred
- prone
- inclined
- disparage
- express a negative opinion of
- conglomerate
- anything composed of heterogeneous materials or elements.
- apathetic
- showing little or no emotion or animation
- mundane
- d
- edict
- order from high place
- jeopardize
- p
- nullify
- make invalid; make null; invalidate
- radical
- thoroughgoing or extreme, esp. as regards change from accepted or traditional forms
- animosity
- Hatred.
- nonentity
- a nonexistent thing, n. A person or thing of little or no account.
- unremitting
- nonstop
- vilify
- spread negative information about
- belligerent
- Manifesting a warlike spirit.
- resilient
- recovering readily from adversity, depression, or the like
- condone
- overlook; forgive; give tacit approval; excuse
- apathetic
- r
- mundane
- commonplace; ordinary
- belligerent
- d
- materialism
- a desire for wealth and material possessions with little interest in ethical or spiritual matters
- credibility
- the quality of being believable or trustworthy
- abdicate
- give up
- egalitarian
- promoting equality
- expedient
- d
- philanthropist
- r
- exploitation
- use or utilization, esp. for profit:
- replenish
- fill something that had previously been emptied
- epithet
- nickname
- loathsome
- d
- verdant
- valleys, green, lush
- tenacious
- persistent, resolute
- credibility
- r
- tenement
- slums, ghettos
- reciprocal
- mutual; given and received in return; exchangeable; interacting; Ex. reciprocal trade agreement
- vigilant
- carefully observant or attentive
- inflation
- d
- downsizing
- reducing a company in size by laying off workers and managers to become more efficient
- amnesty
- pardon (allowed by government to political criminals)
- salient
- r
- implausible
- not likely
- urban
- located in or characteristic of a city or city life
- xenophobia
- p
- migration
- the movement of persons from one country or locality to another
- charisma
- d
- pedestrian
- common
- antipathy
- hatred
- excise tax
- a tax that is measured by the amount of business done (not on property or income from real estate)
- xenophobic
- an unreasonable fear or hatred of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange.
- theocracy
- rule by religion
- conspiracy
- a plot to carry out some harmful or illegal act (especially a political plot)
- propriety
- correct or appropriate behavior
- guise
- disguise
- peerless
- without equal
- socialism
- a theory or system of social organization that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole.
- prelude
- p
- repudiate
- deny
- recalcitrant
- stubborn
- coup
- overthrow authority
- latent
- hidden
- restitution
- r
- arbitration
- d
- genocide
- systematic killing of a racial or cultural group
- tangible
- perceptible by the senses especially the sense of touch
- anarchist
- a person who promotes disorder or excites revolt against any established rule, law, or custom.
- coalition
- groups/ allies
- kindred
- r
- martial
- militarily
- utopian
- an idealistic (but usually impractical) social reformer
- propaganda
- information, ideas, or rumors deliberately spread widely to help or harm a person, group, movement, institution, nation, etc.
- protege
- d
- succinct
- brief; terse; compact
- facade
- an illuson
- bicameral
- composed of two legislative bodies
- connoisseur
- an expert able to appreciate a field
- arbitration
- medium
- contiguous
- geographically connected
- compelling
- overpowering, irresistible effect
- expedient
- convenience; means to an end
- annihilate
- kill in large numbers
- edict
- d
- bequeath
- give in will
- habitat
- an organism's home
- backlash
- a sudden, forceful backward movement; recoil
- disenfranchise
- d
- autonomy
- Self-government.
- temperance
- moderation or self-restraint in action, statement, etc.; self-control.
- eugenics
- p
- persecution
- punishment or harassment usually of a severe nature on the basis of race, religion, or political opinion in one's country of origin
- reparations
- the making of amends for wrong or injury done
- wanton
- reckless
- exploit
- use or manipulate to one's advantage
- compliant
- easily influenced or imposed on
- ratify
- approve and express assent, responsibility, or obligation
- pretext
- excuse to do something
- quorum
- a gathering of the minimal number of members of an organization to conduct business
- negligible
- hardly noticeable
- hierarchy
- the organization of people at different ranks in an administrative body
- grievance
- d
- nativism
- a policy of favoring native-born individuals over foreign-born ones
- effigy
- A likeness or image,esp. a crude figure or dummy representing a hated person or group
- nonchalance
- the trait of remaining calm and seeming not to care
- moratorium
- a suspension of activity
- subjugate
- to bring under control, conquer, enslave
- versatile
- (used of persons) having many skills
- suffrage
- p
- tenacious
- stubborn; resolute; holding firm to a purpose
- charisma
- a spiritual power or personal quality that gives an individual influence or authority over large numbers of people
- subsidize
- to provide or aid with a subsidy or a financial grant
- homogenous
- all of the same or similar kind or nature
- predilection
- a predisposition in favor of something
- replenish
- d
- sanction
- official permission or approval
- apathetic
- showing little or no emotion or animation
- mitigate
- make less severe or harsh
- proliferation
- spreading
- diplomacy
- d
- inference
- conclusion reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning
- sedition
- an illegal action inciting resistance to lawful authority and tending to cause the disruption or overthrow of the government
- dregs
- the skum
- mediate
- act between parties with a view to reconciling differences
- graft
- the practice of offering something (usually money) in order to gain an illicit advantage
- egalitarian
- p
- innovation
- r
- corroborate
- establish or strengthen as with new evidence or facts
- demographics
- the characteristics of a population with respect to age, race, and gender.
- chauvinism
- d
- superfluous
- extra; unnecessary
- repertoire
- a list or supply of dramas, operas, pieces or parts; talent
- capitulate
- r
- commune
- r
- anomaly
- an odd, peculiar, or strange condition, situation, quality, etc.
- inalienable
- not to be taken away; nontransferable; Ex. inalienable rights
- suffrage
- The right or privilege of voting.
- astute
- shrewd; clever
- conscription
- d
- altruistic
- showing unselfish concern for the welfare of others
- rural
- living in or characteristic of farming or country life
- boycott
- to abstain from buying or using
- dissident
- One who disagrees; a dissenter; rebel
- auspicious
- attended by favorable circumstances
- agrarian
- r
- despot
- a cruel and oppressive dictator
- writ
- written permission
- duplicity
- deceitfulness in speech or conduct; speaking or acting in two different ways concerning the same matter with intent to deceive; double-dealing.
- proliferation
- r
- epithet
- p
- mandate
- a document giving an official instruction or command
- manifest
- p
- sadistic
- deriving pleasure or sexual gratification from inflicting pain on another
- detente
- a relaxing of tension, esp. between nations, as by negotiations or agreements.
- prudent
- careful thing to do
- pseudonym
- rr
- rebate
- money back
- mobilize
- to prepare military forces for war
- criterion
- the ideal in terms of which something can be judged
- credibility
- believability
- patronage
- the act of providing approval and support
- ascertain
- p
- militia
- civilians trained as soldiers but not part of the regular army
- revenue
- government income due to taxation
- volatile
- liable to lead to sudden change or violence
- ostentatious
- intended to attract notice and impress others
- reprimand
- a severe reproof or rebuke, esp. a formal one by a person in authority.
- grievance
- a complaint about a (real or imaginary) wrong that causes resentment and is grounds for action
- dilemma
- situation that requires a choice between equally unfavorable options; problem; choice of two unsatisfactory alternatives
- federal
- Of, relating to, or being a form of government in which a union of states recognizes the sovereignty of a central authority while retaining certain residual powers of government.
- despot
- p
- assimilate
- d
- pretext
- d
- precarious
- uncertain, risky, dangerous.
- pundit
- writers that give their opinions, muckrakers
- resilient
- able to return to an original form, recover quickly
- intuition
- instinctive knowing (without the use of rational processes)
- usurp
- took away
- fundamentalism
- the interpretation of every word in the sacred texts as literal truth
- insurrection
- rebellion, uprising
- adversary
- opponent; enemy
- agrarian
- having to do with farming or agriculture
- patronize
- To act as a patron to; support; to treat in a condescending manner.
- socialism
- p
- insidious
- cruel, evil
- dividend
- A share of a surplus; a bonus.
- redress
- answer grievances
- impervious
- incapable of being penetrated or affected
- demographic
- a single vital or social statistic of a human population, as the number of births or deaths.
- despondent
- depressed; gloomy
- odious
- rude
- conservative
- conforming to the standards and conventions of the middle class
- sovereignty
- government free from external control
- tentative
- r
- wanton
- reckless, without regard
- subsidy
- a grant paid by a government to an enterprise that benefits the public
- archaic
- old fashioned
- pragmatist
- practical person; one who is concerned with usefulness
- quota
- a limitation on imports
- integrate
- make whole; combine; make into one unit
- assimilate
- make similar, adapt
- backlash
- p
- contraband
- p
- erratic
- liable to sudden unpredictable change
- prelude
- come before
- jeopardize
- put at risk
- dissident
- p
- mandate
- d
- feasible
- d
- spoils
- what you get is a result of your winning
- vacillate
- procrastinating
- chauvinism
- activity indicative of belief in the superiority of men over women
- life expectancy
- an expected time to live as calculated on the basis of statistical probabilities
- interrogation
- formal systematic questioning
- diplomacy
- p
- peerless
- p
- mundane
- boring, trivial, tedious
- unconstitutional
- law or government action that violates provisions set forth in the U.S. Constitution
- inflation
- a general and progressive increase in prices
- contiguous
- p
- covenant
- enter into a covenant or formal agreement
- innovation
- the act of starting something for the first time
- dogmatic
- stubbornly adhering to insufficiently proved beliefs
- hegemony
- leadership of one state within a confederacy
- injunction
- d
- abortive
- failed; unsuccessful
- patronize
- p
- manifest
- make it plain and clear
- edict
- p
- militant
- engaged in warfare; fighting
- boondoggle
- work of little or no value done merely to look busy
- motley
- of variety
- tentative
- unsure; uncertain; not definite or positive; hesitant
- monopoly
- (economics) a market in which there are many buyers but only one seller
- materialism
- p
- pessimism
- a general disposition to look on the dark side and to expect the worst in all things
- prolific
- p
- paradox
- (logic) a self-contradiction
- axiom
- a truism
- liaison
- to link, bond
- bourgeois
- a member of the middle class
- cynical
- believing the worst of human nature and motives
- paragon
- r
- diplomacy
- the art and practice of conducting negotiations between nations without arousing hostility
- faction
- a group of persons forming a cohesive, usually contentious minority within a larger group
- marxism
- The political and economic philosophy of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in which the concept of class struggle plays a central role in understanding society's allegedly inevitable development from bourgeois oppression under capitalism to a socialist and ultimately classless society.
- punitive
- p
- ubiquitous
- being present everywhere at once
- redundant
- repetition of same sense in different words
- inexorable
- p
- bloc
- a group of persons, businesses, etc., united for a particular purpose.
- capitalism
- an economic system based on open competition in a free market, in which individuals and companies own the means of production and operate for profit
- propensity
- tendency
- optimism
- a general disposition to expect the best in all things
- demagogue
- an orator who appeals to the passions and prejudices of his audience