AP LANG VOCABULARY & TERMS
Ten words per week. Cumulative quizzes every Monday.
1.
aesthetic: having to do with the appreciation of
beauty
2. affable: easy-going, friendly
3. alienated: removed or disassociated from
4. amenable: responsive, agreeable
5. anaphora: repetition of words at the beginning of
successive phrases, clauses
6. antecedent: the noun to which a later pronoun refers
7. antimetabole: repetition of words in an inverted order
to sharpen a contrast
8. apology: defense of an idea
9. apposition: a grammar construction in which a noun
or noun phrase is placed with another as an
explanation
10. arbiter: a judge who decides a disputed issue
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
archetype: perfect example
assertion: a declaration or statement
assiduous: hard-working
astute: shrewd, clever
asyndeton: leaving out conjunctions
austere: without decoration, strict
brusque: rudely abrupt
candor: frankess
capricious: impulsive and unpredictable
caustic: bitingly sarcastic or biting
21. chiasmus: an inversion in the second of two parallel
phrases
22. clandestine: secretive
23. cogent: convincing, reasonable
24. coherent: logically connected
25. conception: the ability to form or understand an idea
26. convoluted: intricate, complex
27. copious: plentiful, having a large quantity
28. cumulative (loose) sentence: independent clause
followed by subordinate clauses
29. declarative sentence: makes a statement
30. decorous: proper, marked by good taste
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
deductive: reasoning from general to specific
despotic: exercising absolute power
didactic: intended to instruct
dilettante: one with an amateurish or superficial
understanding of a field of knowledge
discourse: verbal expression or exchange;
conversation
disparage: to belittle
dogged: stubbornly persevering
dogmatic: stubbornly adhering to unproved beliefs
ebullience: intense enthusiasm
eclectic: made of up a variety of sources or styles
41. effusive: emotionally unrestrained, gushing
42. egregious: conspicuously bad or offensive
43. elegiac: mournful
44.
45.
46.
47.
eloquence: the ability to speak vividly or persuasively
enmity: mutual hatred or ill will
epigram: brief, witty statement
equanimity: the quality of being calm and eventempered
48. equivocate: to avoid making a definite statement
49. exculpate: to free from guilt or blame
50. facile: done or achieved with little effort; easy
51. fastidious: possessing careful attention to detail;
difficult to please
52. flagrant: extremely or deliberately shocking or
noticeable
53. florid: describing flowery or elaborate speech
54. fluid: easily flowing
55. fractious: quarrelsome, unruly
56. frenetic: vividly excited or active
57. gratuitous: given freely, unearned, unwarranted
58. hackneyed: worn out through overuse
59. heinous: abominable
60. hortatory: urging, strongly encouraging
61.
62.
63.
64.
65.
66.
67.
68.
69.
70.
hypophora: asking a question and answering it
imperative sentence: command
imperious: arrogantly domineering or overbearing
impinge: hinder, interfere with
implication: the act of suggesting or hinting
incorrigible: unable to be reformed
indolent: lazy
induction: reasoning from specific to general
insipid: uninteresting, unchallenging
insolent: insulting in manner or speech
71. intrepid: courageous, fearless
72. intuition: sharp insight
73. inversion: a sentence in which the verb precedes the
subject
74. inveterate: long-established, deep-rooted
75. lament: express grief, mourn
76. laudatory: giving praise
77. listless: lacking energy
78. lucid: easily understood, clear
79. malfeasance: wrongdoing, misconduct
80. maverick: one who is independent and resists
adherence to a group
81. mediocrity: quality of being average
82. metonymy: figurative tool in which one term is
substituted for another term with which it is closely
associated
83. mollify: to calm or soothe
84. nascent: coming into existence, emerging
85. nominalization: turning a verb or adjective into a
noun
86. notorious: infamous
87. novel: strikingly new or unusual
88. obdurate: stubborn, inflexible
89. obstinate: stubbornly adhering to an opinion or
course of action
90. ostentatious: describing a showy or pretentious
display
91. oxymoron: an apparent contradiction of terms
92. pacing: relative speed or slowness with which a story
is told or idea presented
93. panegyric: statement of high praise
94. paradigm: example or model
95. paradox: a statement that seems contradictory but is
actually true
96. paramount: of chief concern or importance
97. parody: artistic work that imitates the style of another
work for comic effect
98. patronizing: treating in a condescending manner
99. pejorative: describing words or phrases that belittle or
speak negatively of someone
100. penitent: expressing remorse
101. periodic sentence: main clause ends the sentence
102. permeated: spread or flowing throughout
103. pernicious: causing great alarm
104. persona: the speaker, voice, or character assumed by
the author of a piece of writing
105. pervasive: dispersed throughout
106. plausible: seemingly valid or acceptable; credible
107. poignant: profoundly moving
108. polemic: argument against an idea, usually regarding
philosophy, politics, or religion (polemical =
controversial)
109. polysyndeton: deliberate use of a series of
conjunctions
110. ponderous: extremely dull
111. prodigious: enormous
112. proliferate: to grow or increase rapidly
113. propitious: presenting favorable circumstances
114. propriety: appropriateness of behavior
115. prosaic: dull
116. prudent: exercising good judgment
117. pugnacious: combative, belligerent
118. quandary: state of perplexity or uncertainty
119. querulous: complaining in a petulant or whining
manner
120. rancorous: marked by deep-seated ill will
121. replete: abundantly supplied, filled to capacity
122. rhetoric: the art of using language persuasively
123. sanction: give official authorization or approval
124. sardonic: disdainfully or ironically humorous; bitter
or caustic
125. serene: calm
126. servile: submissing, like a servant
127. slander: false charges against someone
128. spurious: not genuine
129. staid: unemotional, serious
130. stoic: indifferent to pleasure or pain, impassive
131. stratagem: clever trick designed to deceive or outwit
132. subordination: the dependence of one syntactical
element on another in a sentence
133. substantiated: supported with proof or evidence;
verfied
134. surreptitiously: done by secretive means
135. syllogism: a form of deductive reasoning: a major
premise, minor premise, conclusion
136. synecdoche: form of metonymy where a part signifies
the whole
137. tenacity: persistence
138. tenuous: having little substance; shaky, unsure, weak
139. theoretical: lacking practical application
140. timorous: timid, fearful of the future
141. torpor: laziness, dullness
142. trepidation: apprehension
143. truncated: shortened, cut off
144. understatement: lack of emphasis in a statement or
point; restraint in language often used for ironic
effect
145. venerated: highly respected
146. vilify: to make vicious statements about
147. vindicated: freed from blame
148. wary: on guard
149. whimsical: subject to erratic behaviour; unpredictable
150. zeugma: construction in which one word (usually a
verb) modifies or governs—usually in different,
sometimes incongruent ways—two or more words in
a sentence