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AP Lang Vocab S1
AP Lang Semester 1 Vocabulary Terms
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| mood (in literature) | Feeling or atmosphere that a writer creates for the reader |
| exigence | an issue, problem, or situation that causes or prompts someone to write or speak |
| rhetorical situation | a situation in which people's understanding can be changed through messages |
| rhetorical strategies | methods and techniques that speakers use to achieve their speaking goals |
| sarcastic | marked by or given to using irony in order to mock or convey contempt |
| sardonic | grimly mocking or cynical |
| effusive | emotionally excessive; overly demonstrative |
| apathetic | feeling or showing little emotion |
| flippant | (adj.) lacking in seriousness; disrespectful; saucy |
| ambivalent | having mixed feeling or contradictory ideas about something or someone |
| euphemism | an inoffensive expression that is substituted for one that is considered offensive |
| colloquial | characteristic of informal spoken language or conversation |
| allegory | a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one |
| allegorical | containing hidden symbolism but still containing the original plot and characters |
| alliteration | repetition of initial consonant sounds |
| consonance | repetition of consonant sounds with different vowel sounds |
| allusion | a reference to another work of literature, person, or event |
| aphorism | a concise statement of a truth or principle |
| ambiguity | an event or situation that may be interpreted in more than one way |
| analogy | a comparison of two different things that are similar in some way |
| conceit (as a literary device) | comparing two very dissimilar things |
| pronoun antecedent | the noun or nouns that the pronoun replaces |
| participle | verb form used as an adjective |
| chiasmus | a reversal in the order of words in two otherwise parallel phrases |
| litotes | a form of understatement that involves making an affirmative point by denying its opposite |
| synecdoche | a figure of speech in which a part is used for the whole |
| metonymy | substituting the name of one object for another object closely associated with it |
| apostrophe | address to an absent or imaginary person |
| disparaging | expressing the opinion that something is of little worth; derogatory |
| idiomatic | saying something that means something different than the literal meaning |
| didactic | intended to teach |
| anaphora | the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses |
| derisive | ridiculing, mocking |
| Concession | Something given up or yielded |
| fallacy | a faulty or illegitimate argument, typically leading to an incorrect conclusion |
| caricature | an exaggerated portrayal of one's features |
| adage | a familiar proverb or wise saying |
| non sequitur | something that does not logically follow, random ideas or phrases that seem to have connection |
| bombastic | pompous or overblown in language but with little meaning |
| morose | having a gloomy or sullen manner; not friendly or sociable |
| trite | lacking in freshness and effectiveness due to constant use |
| affectation | a phony attitude |
| caustic | sarcastic in a scathing and bitter way |
| polysyndeton | deliberate use of many conjunctions |
| appositive | a word or phrase that renames a nearby noun or pronoun |
| erudite | scholarly, learned, bookish |
| banal | predictably boring, so unoriginal and common that it is obvious and boring |
| blithe | lacking concern or too casually mentioned, could also be carefree |
| syllepsis | use of a word with several other words where the meaning of the original word changes with each word |
| assonance | repetition of vowel sounds, used to achieve emphasis |
| synesthesia | describing one kind of sensation in terms of another |
| invective | insulting, abusive, highly critical language |
| antithesis | the direct opposite, a sharp contrast, could be a style of phrase in literature |
| jargon | vocabulary distinctive to a specific group of people |
| gerund | a verb form ending in -ing that is used as a noun |
| semantics | the set of rules by which we derive meaning words |
| ad hominem | in an argument, an attack on the opposing person instead of the their ideas |
| morass | a complex or confusing situation that is hard to deal with |
| denunciate | to condemn openly |
| self-effacing | not drawing attention to oneself |
| infinitve | the word "to" plus a verb usually functioning as a noun, predicate, adjective, or adverb |
| facetious | humorous, not meant seriously |
| asyndeton | omission of junction between coordinate phrases, clauses, or words |
| aposiopesis | stopping abruptly and leaving a statement unfinished |
| perspicacious | wise; insightful; acutely intelligent |
| paradox | A statement made up of two things that seem like opposites that cannot coexist, but actually can |
| Absolutism | words, phrases, or ideas that suggest something is absolute or all-encompassing |
| Sanguine | cheerful, optimistic |
| Disinterested | fair minded, free from selfish motives, indifferent |
| Uninterested | without interest; having no interest or concern in a matter |
| Decorous | proper; tasteful; socially correct |
| New criticism | A movement in literary criticism, dating from the late 1920s, that stressed close textual analysis of works of literature |
| Loaded diction | words or phrases intended to inspire emotion in the audience |
| metaphysics | a branch of philosophy that investigates the ultimate nature or reality |
| Literary naturalism | belief that human beings exist entirely in the order of nature and do not have a soul or participate in any religious or spiritual world |
| Romanticism | 19th century artistic movement that appealed to emotion rather than reason |
| Transcendentalism | Philosophy that each person has direct communication with god and nature, that the mind goes beyond matter, promoted individualism, self-reliance, freedom from social constraints, and emphasized emotions |
| Reader response theory | widely accepted perspective in literature that focuses on readers response to a story instead of the author's version |
| Picaresque | A story type involving clever rogues or adventurers |
| A priori | Theoretical knowledge |
| A posteriori | knowledge based on observation |
| Nonpareil | having no equal; superb |
| ad hoc | for this specific purpose; improvised; with respect to this |
| esoteric | intended for or only understood by a select few people |
| platonic | intimate or affectionate but not in a romantic or sexual manner |
| Platonic | of, relating to, or characteristic of Plato or Platoism |
| grotesque | unnatural, distorted; bizzare |
| Pique (noun) | a feeling of irritation or resentment, resulting from insult to one's pride |
| Pique (verb) | to stimulate interest or curiosity |
| Conditional statement | can be written in If-Then form |
| Amplification | the way a writing embellishes a sentence to emphasize certain points |
| Split infinitves | an adverb placed between to and the verb |
| abstruse | difficult to understand |
| relativism | pertaining to the belief that moral behavior varies among individuals, groups, cultures, and situations |
| Sophism | a false argument |
| Precis | a summary or abstract of a text or speech |
| Fallacy | a false notion or belief; an error in thinking |
| Epistemology | the philosophical theory of knowledge and how the mind relates to reality |
| Epistrophe | the repetition of a word at the end of successive clauses or sentences |
| Fatalism | belief that events are controlled by forces beyond ones control |
| Reductio ad absurdum | a method of proving the falsity of a premise by showing that its logical consequence is absurd or contradictory |
| Volubility | excessive talkativeness |
| Chagrin | irritation of humiliation |
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