AP English 08-09
AP Vocabulary
Terms
undefined, object
copy deck
- Insolent
- insulting in manner or speech
- Inconsequential
- unimportant
- Eloquence
- the ability to speak vividly or persuasively
- Prodigious
- enormous
- Facile
- done or achieved with little effort; easy
- Inpede
- to slow the process of
- Transient
- passing away with time; passing from one place to another
- Putrid
- rotten
- Ostentatious
- describing a showy or pretentious display
- Enlightening
- informative; contributing to one's awareness
- Clarity
- clearness in thought or expression
- Intrepid
- courageous; fearless
- Alliance
- a union of two or more groups
- Cryptic
- difficult to comprehend
- Discourse
- verbal expression or exchange; conversion
- Truncated
- shortened; cut off
- Disparity
- inequality in age, rank or degree; difference
- Sardonic
- disdainfully or ironically humorous; harsh, bitter, or caustic
- Surreptitiously
- done by secretive means
- Diligent
- maked be painstaking effort; hard-working
- Nascent
- coming into existence; emerging
- Sanction
- an economic or military measure put in place to punish
- Plagiarism
- the act of passing the ideas or writings of another as one's own
- Vilify
- to make vicious statements about
- Wily
- cunning
- Futile
- having no useful purpose; pointless
- Trepidation
- uncertainty; apprehension
- Trivial
- of little importance or significance
- Florid
- describing flowery or elaborate speech
- Innate
- possessed from birth; inborn
- Frenetic
- wildly excited or active
- Oxymoron
- an apparent contradiction of terms
- Reclamation
- the act of making something useful again
- Contemporary
- current, modern; from the same time
- Lucid
- easily understood, clear
- Candor
- sincerity;openness
- Coup
- a brilliantly excuted plan
- Meticulous
- extremely careful and precise
- Chiasmus
- an inversion in the second of two parallel phrases
- Elusive
- difficult to capture, as in something actually fleeting
- Inveterate
- long established; deep-rooted; habitual
- Cogent
- convincing
- Cohesive
- condition of sticking together
- Asylum
- a place of retreat or security
- Discredit
- to cause to be doubted
- Proximity
- closeness
- Amenable
- responsive; agreeable
- Excerpt
- a selected part of a passage or scene
- Impinge
- hinder; interfere
- Catalog
- to make an itemized list of
- Staid
- unemotional; serious
- Torpor
- laziness; inactivity; dullness
- Parody
- an artistic work that imitates the style of another work for comic effect
- Fractious
- quarrelsome; unruly
- Equanimity
- the quality of being calm and even-tempered; composure
- Nocturnal
- of or occurring in the night
- Consensus
- general agreement
- Realism
- artistic representation that aims for visual accuracy
- Idealize
- to consider perfect
- Genre
- describing a category or artistic endeavor
- Arid
- describing dry, rainless climate
- Flagrant
- extremely or deliberately shocking or noticeable
- Mural
- a large painting applied directly to a wall or ceiling surface
- Misconception
- an incorrect understanding or interpretation
- Obsolete
- no longer in use; old-fashioned
- Disingenuous
- not straight forward; crafty
- Mediocrity
- the state or quality of being average; of moderate to low quality
- Arbitrary
- determined to impulse rather than reason
- Endure
- to put up with; to survive a hardship
- Condescending
- treating people as weak or inferior
- Compelling
- forceful; urgently demanding attention
- Disparage
- to speak of in a slighting way or negatively; to belittle
- Notorious
- known widely and usually unfavorably; infamous
- Sedentary
- not migratory; settled
- Conviction
- a fixed or strong belief
- Stoic
- indifferent to pleasure or pain; impassive
- Metonymy
- a type of figurative language in which one term is substituted for another term with which it is closely associated
- Dubious
- doubtful; of unlikely authenticity
- Brusque
- rudely abrupt
- Hypothetical
- existing only as an assumption or speculation
- Comprehensive
- large in scope or content
- Subdue
- to restrain; to hold back
- Anthology
- a collection ot literary pieces
- Servile
- submissive; like a servant
- Virtuoso
- a tremendously skilled artist
- Naive
- lacking sophistication
- Medieval
- referring to the Middle Ages, old-fashioned
- Integrity
- trustworthiness; completeness
- Arbiter
- a judge who decides a dispute issue
- Ample
- describing a large amount of something
- Alienated
- removed or disassociated from (friends, family, or homeland)
- Assiduous
- hard-working
- Archetype
- a perfect example; and original pattern or model
- Copious
- plentiful; having large quantity
- Heinous
- hatefully evil; abominable
- Exemplary
- commendable; worthy of imitation
- Melancholy
- sadness; depression
- Caustic
- bitingly sarcastic or witty
- Incontrovertible
- not able to be denied or disputed
- Pernicious
- causing great harm
- Fabricated
- made; concocted to deceive
- Syllogism
- a form of deductive reasoning; a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion
- Dogged
- stubbornly persevering
- Solvent
- able to pay one's debt
- Indifferent
- not caring one way or the other
- Assimilation
- to absorb; to make similar
- Assertion
- a declaration or statement
- Gesticulating
- making gestures while speaking
- Effusive
- emotionally unrestrained; gushy
- Apathetic
- feeling or showing little emotion
- Contemptuous
- feeling hatred; scornful
- Patronizing
- treating in a condescending manner
- Theoretical
- lacking application or practical application
- Inevitable
- certain to happen; unavoidable
- Listless
- lacking energy
- Lexicon
- a word book describing language with definitions; a dictionary
- Intuition
- the power of knowing things without thinking; sharp insight
- Paradigm
- an example or model
- Medley
- an assortment or mixture, especially of musical pieces
- Eclectic
- made up a variety of sources or styles
- Objectivity
- treating the facts without influence from personal feelings or prejudices
- Rhetoric
- the art of using language effectively and persuasively
- Toxic
- poisonous
- Innovative
- introducing something new
- Mollify
- to calm or soothe
- Penitent
- expressing remorse for one's misdeeds
- Impression
- a feeling or understanding results from an experience
- Period (periodic sentence)
- long, complex, grammatically correct sentence
- Emphasize
- to give special attention to something, to stress
- Context
- circumstances of a situation; environment
- Conception
- the ability to form or understand an idea
- Ambivalent
- simultaneously having opposite feelings; uncertain
- Obstinate
- stubbornly adhering to an opinion or a course of action
- Obdurate
- stubborn; inflexible
- Venerated
- highly respected
- Permeated
- spread or flowing throughout
- Whimsical
- subject to erratic behavior; unpredictable
- Acquired
- developed or learned; not naturally occurring
- Facetious
- playfully humorous
- Indolent
- Lazy
- Substantiated
- supported with proof or evidence; verified
- Ruse
- a crafty trick
- Perception
- awareness; insight
- Pragmatic
- practical
- Narrative
- (adj.) characterized by telling a story; (n.) a story
- Haughty
- arrogant; vainly proud
- Vindicated
- freed from blame
- Deleterious
- having a harmful effect; injurious
- Paramount
- of chief concern or importance
- Suppressed
- subdued; kept from being circulated
- Anthropomorphism
- the attribution of humanlike characteristics to inanimate objects, animals, or forces of nature
- Ominous
- menacing; threatening
- Vitality
- energy; power to survive
- Transitory
- short-lived or temporary
- Cordial
- friendly; sincere
- Ponderous
- extremely dull
- Rational
- logical; motivated by reason rather than feeling
- Strategem
- a clever trick used to deceive or outwit
- Plausible
- seemingly veiled or acceptable; credible
- Egregious
- conspicuously bad or offensive
- Gratuitous
- given freely; unearned; unwarranted
- Malice
- extreme ill-will or spite
- Perspective
- point of view
- Sanction
- to give the official authorization or approval
- Capricious
- impulsive and unpredictable
- Astute
- shrewd; clever
- Dogmatic
- stubbornly adhering to unproved beliefs
- Timorous
- timid; fearful about the future
- Hackneyed
- work out through overuse; trite
- Novice
- a beginner
- Poignant
- profoundly moving; touching
- Hierarchy
- a group organized by rank
- Ambiguous
- open to more than one interpretation
- Brittle
- easily broken when subjected to pressure
- Aesthetic
- having to do with the appreciation of beauty
- Phenomenon
- an unusual, observable event
- Spurious
- not genuine
- Dictatorial
- domineering; oppressively overbearing
- Cogent
- convincing; reasoning
- Reprehensible
- worth of blame
- Camaraderie
- good will between friends
- Rancorous
- hateful; marked by deep-seated ill-will
- Decorous
- proper; marked by good taste
- Apology
- defense of an idea
- Prosaic
- unimaginative; dull
- Sonorous
- producing a deep or full sound
- Omnipotent
- all-powerful
- Affable
- easy-going; friendly
- Modest
- quiet or humble in manner or appearance
- Equivocate
- to avoid making definite statement
- Dilettante
- one with an amateurish or superficial understanding of a field of knowledge
- Pejorative
- describing words or phrases that belittle or speak negatively of someone
- Insipid
- uninteresting
- Panegyric
- statement of high praise
- Apparatus
- equipment; a group of machines
- Malfeasance
- wrong doing; misconduct
- Didactic
- intended to instruct
- Novel
- strikingly new or unusual
- Pugnacious
- combative; belligerent
- Maverick
- one who is independent and resists adherence to a group
- Premonition
- a feeling about the future
- Apposition
- a grammar construction in which a noun (or noun phrase) is placed with another as an explanation
- Lament
- express grief for; mourn
- Spontaneous
- unplanned; naturally occurring
- Proliferate
- to grow or increase rapidly
- Superficial
- concerned only with what is on the surface or obvious; shallow
- Auspicious
- favorable; promising
- Clandestine
- secretive
- Wary
- on guard
- Synecdoche
- a form of metonymy that's restricted to cases where a part is used to signify the whole
- Conflagration
- a widespread fire
- Coherent
- logically connected
- Incorrigible
- unable to be reformed
- Laudatory
- giving praise
- Tenacity
- persistence
- Quandary
- a state of uncertainty or perplexity
- Prudent
- exercising good judgment or common sense
- Condemn
- to express strong disapproval of; denounce
- Alleviate
- to ease a pain or burden
- Emigrate
- to leave one country or region and settle in another
- Enmity
- mutual hatred or ill-will
- Derived
- copied or adapted from a souce
- Disdain
- (n) contempt, scorn, (v) to regard or treat with comtempt; to look down
- Opulent
- exhibiting a display of great wealth
- Hypocrisy
- the practice of pretending to be something one is not; insincerity
- Impartial
- not in favor of one side or the other, unbiased
- Ingrate
- an ungrateful person
- Frank
- open and sincere in expression; straightforward
- Exculpate
- to free from guilt or blame
- Mundane
- commonplace; ordinary
- Archaic
- characteristics of an ealier period; old fashioned
- Benevolent
- well-meaning; generous
- Austere
- without decoration; strict
- Ornate
- elaborately decorated
- Biased
- prejudiced
- Embellish
- to make beautiful by ornamenting; to decorate
- Superfluous
- extra; unnecessary
- Parallelism
- a grammar construction in which two identical syntactic constructions are used
- Imperious
- arrogantly domineering or overbearing
- Harbinger
- something that indicates what is to come; a forerunner
- Despotic
- exercising absolute power; tyrannical
- Replete
- abundantly supplied; filled to capacity
- Implication
- the act of suggesting or hinting
- Benign
- kind and gentle
- Slander
- false charges and malicious oral statements about someone
- Pervasive
- dispersed throughout
- Profound
- having a great depth or seriousness
- Propriety
- appropriateness of behavior
- Propitious
- presenting favorable circumstances; auspicious
- Anachronism
- something out of place in time or sequence
- Malleable
- easily shaped or formed;easily influenced
- Incumbent
- imposed as a duty; obligatory
- Fastidious
- possessing careful attention to detail; difficult to please
- Apprehension
- anxiety or fear about the future
- Fluid
- easily flowing
- Serene
- calm
- Tenuous
- having little substance or strength; shaky; unsure, weak
- Inherent
- inborn; built-in
- Ebullience
- intense enthusiasm
- Abstract
- not appllied to actual objects
- Obscure
- (adj.) relatively unknown, (v) to conceal or make indistinct