Specialized Vocabulary
Terms
undefined, object
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- paradox
- An assertion seemingly opposed to common sense, but that may yet have some truth in it
- pronoun
- A word that is used as a substitute for a noun or noun equivalent, takes noun constructions, and refers to persons or things named or understood in the context
- irony
- Expression of something which is contrary to the intended meaning; the words say one thing but mean another
- adjective
- A word that serves as a modifier of a noun to denoted a quality of the thing named
- anagram
- A word that is formed when the letters of a word or phrase are rearranged
- metaphor
- Implied comparison achieved through a figurative use of words; the word is used not in its literal sense, but in one analogous to it
- transitive verb
- A verb that can act upon an object. One might say that a transitive verb is one that is object-oriented. EX: see, buy
- portmanteau
- A word created by blending two words together to form a new word that is related to both of the original words
- acronym
- A word made up of the first letters of other words it describes
- onomatopoeia
- Use of words to imitate natural sounds; accommodation of sound to sense
- conjunction
- A word that joins together sentences, clauses, phrases, or words. There are two kinds of conjunctions: coordinating conjunctions (such as and, or) and subordinating conjunctions (such as but, because
- predicate
- The part of a sentence or clause that expresses what is said of the subject and that usually consists of a verb with or without objects, complements, or adverbial modifiers. The predicate excludes the subject itself
- alliteration
- Repetition of the same sound beginning several words in sequence
- simile
- An explicit comparison between two things using like or as.
- person
- A segment of discourse that pertains to the speaker (first person), to the one spoken to (second person), or the one spoken of (third person)
- preposition
- A (usually small) word that combines with a noun, pronoun, or noun equivalent to form a prepositional phrase that modifies part of the sentence. EX: after, at, before, by, for, with
- superlative
- The degree of grammatical comparison that denotes an extreme or unsurpassed level or extent, denoted usually by an -est ending
- possessive
- A grammatical case that denotes ownership or a relation analogous to ownership
- article
- One of a small set of words or affixes (a, an, the) used with nouns to limit or give definiteness to the application. English has an indefinite article (a, an) and a definite article (the)
- diphthong
- A gliding monosyllabic speech item that starts at or near the articulatory position for one vowel and moves to or toward the position for another (as the vowel combination that forms the last part of toy)
- oxymoron
- Apparent paradox achieved by the juxtaposition of words which seem to contradict one another
- plural
- More than one, often (but not always) indicated with the letter 's' at the end of a word
- noun
- A word that is the name of something (as a person, animal, place, thing, quality, idea, or action)
- tautology
- Repetition of an idea in a different word, phrase, or sentence. EX: "Cease and desist that activity."
- subject
- The part of a sentence that indicates what acts upon the verb. It is always a noun, pronoun, or noun clause/
- consonance
- Recurrence or repetition of consonants especially at the end of stressed syllables without the similar correspondence of vowels
- diaeresis
- Two dots placed side-by-side over a vowel (like and umlaut), indicating that the vowel is considered a separate vowel, even though it would normally be considered part of a diphthong,
- hyperbole
- Exaggeration for emphasis or for rhetorical effect
- verb
- A word that expresses an action, occurrence, or mode of being. It is the grammatical center of a predicate.
- adverb
- A word serving as a modifier of a verb, an adjective, another adverb, a preposition, etc., which often but not always ends in -ly.
- intransitive verb
- A verb that does not act on an object (unlike a transitive verb).
- palindrome
- A word spelled the same forward as backward
- prepositional phrase
- A phrase that starts with a preposition. EX: With