Terms : Hide Images
| 6799932628 | Allegory | The device of using character and/or story elements symbolically. | 0 | |
| 6799932629 | Antecedent | Word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun. | 1 | |
| 6799932630 | Antithesis | Opposition or contrast of ideas through parallelism. | 2 | |
| 6799932631 | Aphorism | a short, proverbial saying of general truth | 3 | |
| 6799932632 | Apostrophe | when a character in a literary work speaks to an object, an idea, or someone who doesn't exist as if it is a living person | 4 | |
| 6799932633 | Colloquialism (colloquial) | The use of slang or informalities in speech or writing. | 5 | |
| 6799932634 | Conceit | A fanciful expression, usually in the form of an extended metaphor. | 6 | |
| 6799932635 | Euphemism | a mild or pleasant word or phrase that is used instead of one that is unpleasant or offensive | 7 | |
| 6799932636 | Homily | This term literally means "sermon," but more informally, it can include any serious talk, speech, or lecture involving moral or spiritual advice. | 8 | |
| 6799932637 | Invective | An emotionally violent, verbal denunciation or attack using strong, abusive language. | 9 | |
| 6799932638 | Metonymy | figure of speech in which something is represented by another that is related to it; WHOLE STANDS FOR PART | 10 | |
| 6799932639 | Anaphora | The exact repetition of words or phrases at the beginning of successive lines or sentences. | 11 | |
| 6799932640 | Pedantic | An adjective that describes words, phrases, or general tone that is overly scholarly, academic, or bookish | 12 | |
| 6799932641 | Prose | one of the major divisions of genre; refers to fiction and nonfiction, including all its forms | 13 | |
| 6799932642 | Semantics | The branch of linguistics that studies the meaning of words. | 14 | |
| 6799932643 | Syllogism | A deductive system of formal logic that presents two premises that inevitably lead to a sound conclusion. | 15 | |
| 6799932644 | Synecdoche | A figure of speech in which a part of something is used to represent the whole. | 16 | |
| 6799932645 | Synesthesia | When one kind of sensory stimulus evokes the subjective experience of another. | 17 | |
| 6799932646 | Apologia | A written or spoken defense of one's beliefs and actions. | 18 | |
| 6799932647 | Epigram | A brief witty statement. | 19 | |
| 6799932648 | Digression | The use of material unrelated to the subject of a work. | 20 | |
| 6799932649 | Ellipsis | The omission of a word or several words. | 21 | |
| 6799932650 | Ad Hominem | Attacking a speaker's character instead of to their argument. | 22 | |
| 6799932651 | Anachronism | A person, scene, event or other element that fails to correspond with the appropriate time or era. | 23 | |
| 6799932652 | Didactic | Having an instructive purpose; intending to convey information to teach a lesson usually in a dry, pompous manner. | 24 | |
| 6799932653 | Fallacy | An incorrect belief or supposition based on faulty data, defective evidence, or false information. | 25 | |
| 6799932654 | Hubris | Excessive pride that often brings about one's fall. | 26 | |
| 6799932655 | Alliteration | Repetition of consonant sounds, usually at the beginnings of words | 27 | |
| 6799932656 | Litotes | A form of understatement in which the negative of the contrary is used to achieve emphasis or intensity. | 28 | |
| 6799932657 | Paradox | A statement or idea that seems contradictory but is in fact true. | 29 | |
| 6799932658 | Non Sequitur | A statement or idea that fails to follow logically from the one before. | 30 | |
| 6799932659 | Anecdote | A short and amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person. | 31 | |
| 6799932660 | Jargon | Special words or expressions that are used by a particular profession or group. | 32 | |
| 6799932661 | Taciturn | Not talking much, reserved; silent, holding back in conversation. | 33 | |
| 6799932662 | Dogmatic | Inclined to lay down principles as incontrovertibly true. | 34 | |
| 6799932663 | Pernicious | Having a harmful effect, especially in a gradual or subtle way. | 35 | |
| 6799932664 | Bellicose | Demonstrating aggression and willingness to fight. | 36 | |
| 6799932665 | Voracious | Craving or consuming large quantities of food. | 37 | |
| 6799932666 | Zealous | Having or showing zeal. | 38 | |
| 6799932667 | Tacit | Understood or implied without being stated. | 39 | |
| 6799932668 | Innuendo | An allusive or oblique remark or hint, typically a suggestive or disparaging one. | 40 | |
| 6799932669 | Lackadaisical | Displaying or having a disinclination for physical exertion or effort; slow and relaxed. | 41 | |
| 6799932670 | Consecrate | Make or declare (something, typically a church) sacred; dedicate formally to a religious or divine purpose. | 42 | |
| 6799932671 | Chiasmus | A type of parallelism in which elements are reversed. "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." | 43 | |
| 6799932672 | Loose | A sentence in which the subject and verb come at the front of the sentence. | 44 | |
| 6799932673 | Petulant | Childishly sulky or bad-tempered. | 45 | |
| 6799932674 | Periodic Sentence | A sentence in which the subject and verb come toward the end of the sentence. | 46 | |
| 6799932675 | Exhort | Strongly encourage or urge someone to do something. | 47 | |
| 6799932676 | Cloistered | Kept away from the outside world; sheltered. | 48 | |
| 6799932677 | Sarcasm | Caustic, bitter language--iterally means "to tear the flesh." | 49 | |
| 6799932678 | Independent Clause | A complete sentence. | 50 | |
| 6799932679 | Dependent Clause | Includes a subordinate conjunction, such as because, while, etc. | 51 | |
| 6799932680 | Allusion | A reference to something (e.g., a book, a movie, an historical event) that is presumed to be well known to the audience. | 52 | |
| 6799932681 | Satire | A work that pokes fun human vices and follies in order to call attention to a larger problem. | 53 | |
| 6799932682 | Parody | A work that closely imitates the style or content of another with the specific aim of comic effect and/or ridicule. | 54 | |
| 6799932683 | Coup de Grace | The "death blow"--the culminating event in a bad situation. | 55 | |
| 6799932684 | Coup d'Etat | Literally "blow to the state"--a violent overthrow. | 56 | |
| 6799932685 | Faux Pas | A social misstep or inappropriate action. | 57 | |
| 6799932686 | Laissez-Faire | Literally "allow to do"--letting things run their natural course; hands off. | 58 | |
| 6799932687 | En Masse | In a body as a whole; as a group. | 59 | |
| 6799932688 | Proprietary | Characteristic of an owner of property; constituting property. | 60 | |
| 6799932689 | Propriety | The quality of behaving in a proper manner; obeying rules and customs. | 61 | |
| 6799932690 | Imminent | About to happen. | 62 | |
| 6799932691 | Eminent | Famous, outstanding, distinguished. | 63 | |
| 6799932692 | Ego | According to Freud, the decision-making component of personality that operates according to the reality principle. | 64 | |
| 6799932693 | Superego | According to Freud, that facet of the psyche that represents the internalized ideals and values of one's parents and society | 65 | |
| 6799932694 | Id | Literally the "It"--our base impulses, driven by selfishness and greed, for example. | 66 | |
| 6799932695 | Hamartia | A character's error in judgment that contributes to one's downfall. | 67 | |
| 6799932696 | Orwellian | The manipulation of language and ideas to control and obstruct the truth. | 68 | |
| 6799932697 | Autonomos | Independent, self-governing, not under the control of something or someone else. | 69 | |
| 6812477418 | Polemic | an aggressive argument that tries to establish the superiority of one opinion over all others; generally do not concede that opposing opinions have any merit | 70 | |
| 6812482060 | Ambivalent | having mixed feeling about someone or something; being unable to choose between two (usually opposing) courses of action | 71 | |
| 6812489637 | Explicit | fully and clearly expressed, spelled out with no room for confusion | 72 | |
| 6812495151 | Denotation | dictionary definition of a word | 73 | |
| 6812495152 | Asyndeton | the intentional omission of conjunctions between coordinate words, phrases, or clauses | 74 | |
| 6812499087 | Overstatement/Hyperbole | deliberate exaggeration used for emphasis or to produce a comic or ironic effect | 75 | |
| 6812501791 | Juxtaposition | placement of two things closely together to emphasize similarities or differences | 76 | |
| 6812504656 | Analogy | a comparison between two seemingly dissimilar things; often uses something simple or familiar to describe something complex or unfamiliar | 77 | |
| 6812506634 | Parenthesis | insertion of some verbal unit in a position that interrupts the normal syntactical flow of the sentence; MUST be in the middle of a sentence, not at the end | 78 | |
| 6812509355 | Polysyndeton | the deliberate use of multiple conjunctions between coordinate words, phrases, or clauses | 79 | |
| 6812513182 | Antimetabole | repetition of words in reverse order | 80 | |
| 6812515375 | Epistrophe | the repetition of a word at the ends of successive phrases, clauses, or sentences | 81 | |
| 6812517800 | Visceral | obtained through instinct rather than from reasoning or observation; gut feeling | 82 | |
| 6812538800 | Scheme | artful syntax; a deviation from the normal order of words | 83 | |
| 6812561923 | Verbal | verb forms which act as another part of speech in a sentence (participle, gerund, infinitive) | 84 | |
| 6812565049 | Gerund | form of a verb that ends in -ing and functions as a noun | 85 | |
| 6812567244 | Participle | form of a verb that functions as an adjective (-ing, -ed) | 86 | |
| 6812572270 | Coordinating Conjunction | connects equal words or word groups (FANBOYS) | 87 | |
| 6812574301 | Dependent Word (relative pronoun, subordinating conjunction) | provides necessary transition between two ideas in a sentence (indicates time, place, or cause and effect relationship); reduces importance of the clause it introduces, so readers know the main clause is more important | 88 | |
| 6812576167 | Infinitive | base form of a verb with "to", usually functions as a noun but can also function as an adjective or adverb | 89 | |
| 6812579620 | Preposition | relates a noun or pronoun that appears with it to another word in the sentence | 90 | |
| 6813109838 | Aesthetic | the study or philosophy of beauty in art, literature and nature | 91 | |
| 6813112278 | Ambiguity | having more than one meaning, used in verbal, written, and nonverbal communication | 92 | |
| 6813117250 | Antihero | a protagonist who is particularly graceless, inept, stupid, or dishonest | 93 | |
| 6813123485 | Archetype | a recurrent symbol or motif in literature, art, or mythology | 94 | |
| 6813127642 | Bildungsroman | a coming of age novel, the story of a person's development | 95 | |
| 6813131209 | Canon | an accepted list of literary works commonly taught in schools and universities | 96 | |
| 6813134416 | Catharsis | a moral and spiritual cleansing you receive when watching a protagonist overcome great odds to survive | 97 | |
| 6813138432 | Concrete | opposite of abstract, tangible, quantifiable | 98 | |
| 6813142357 | Confidant (male)/ Confidante (female) | A person who partakes little in the action, is very close to the protagonist, and hears all of the intimate secrets of the protagonist | 99 | |
| 6813146058 | Controlling Image | an image or metaphor which runs throughout the work | 100 | |
| 6813149169 | Crisis | The point of the highest clash | 101 | |
| 6813156208 | Cumulative Sentence | an independent clause followed by subordinate clauses or phrases that supply additional detail | 102 | |
| 6813158927 | Deductive | reasoning from the general to the specific | 103 | |
| 6813161219 | Deus Ex Machina | it applies to anytime the hero is saved by a miraculous or improbable event, literally "God in the machine," this is a Greek idea from when the gods would come on stage to rescue the hero, | 104 | |
| 6813169845 | Dystopia | An imaginary world which was constructed to be perfect yet failed. Present tendencies are carried out to their intensely unpleasant end | 105 | |
| 6813172096 | Elegiac | mournful over what has passed or been lost; often used to describe tone | 106 | |
| 6813174440 | Epiphany | a sudden understanding or realization which prior to this was thought of or understood | 107 | |
| 6813179041 | Expository | a mode of writing which is used to explain something | 108 | |
| 6813186946 | In Medias Res | this is starting a story in the middle of the action -- the first part will be revealed later; meaning "in the midst of things," | 109 | |
| 6813192735 | Inductive | reasoning from the specific to the general | 110 | |
| 6813195202 | Inversion | a sentence in which the verb precedes the subject | 111 | |
| 6813198317 | Kitsch | shallow flashy art designed to have a mass appeal | 112 | |
| 6813203830 | Microcosm | representing an entire idea through a small situation or conflict | 113 | |
| 6813210403 | Motif | a simple device that serves as a basis for an expanded narrative, it is a recurring feature in the work | 114 | |
| 6813212886 | Nominalizaton | turning a verb or adjective into a noun | 115 | |
| 6813215418 | Objective | a tone of fairness and even discussion of a subject, it usually suggests that there is distance between the author and the subject being discussed. Be careful, this tone can also be cold and impersonal. | 116 | |
| 6813217884 | Oxymoron | a self‐contradictory combination or words | 117 | |
| 6813223332 | Persona | the speaker, voice, or character assumed by the author of a piece of writing | 118 | |
| 6813226677 | Plagiarism | literary theft -- using someone's ideas and style and passing the off as your own | 119 | |
| 6813231704 | Predicate Adjective | an adjective in the predicate which modifies the subject of the sentence, the predicate adjective must follow a linking verb, and "tall" is an adjective modifying the subject "She". | 120 | |
| 6813234189 | Predicate Nominative | a noun in the predicate which renames the subject, It must follow a linking verb. Ex. He is President. "President" renames the subject. | 121 | |
| 6813239910 | Major and minor premise | two parts of a syllogism: the concluding sentence of a syllogism takes its predicate from the major premise. Major premise: All mammals are warm‐blooded. Minor premise: All horses are mammals. Conclusion: All horses are warm‐blooded. | 122 | |
| 6813243627 | Propaganda | A negative term for writing designed to sway opinion rather than present information | 123 | |
| 6813249082 | Spatial | the distance between characters, ideas, and things within the story. Careful, a character can be close physically to a person, but emotionally distant. | 124 | |
| 6813251346 | Subjective | expressing in a personal manner your convictions, beliefs, and ideas; likely to be emotional. | 125 | |
| 6813253197 | Subplot | a secondary story within a story, | 126 | |
| 6813255598 | Synopsis | a summary of the main points of a story or essay | 127 | |
| 6813258883 | Synthesis | the joining of two or more ideas, arguments, abstracts to create a new idea, argument, or product | 128 | |
| 6813261431 | Tenor and Vehicle | terms used when referring to a symbol: the abstraction; the physical thing or person | 129 | |
| 6813264326 | Transcendental | reliance upon conscience and intuition, a form of idealism, romanticism | 130 | |
| 6813266110 | Trope | artful diction; the use of language in a non-literal way; also called a figure of speech | 131 | |
| 6813269220 | Utopia | a perfect world | 132 | |
| 6813271118 | Zeugma | a construction in which one word (usually a verb) modifies or governs two or more words in a sentence; often in different, sometimes incongruent ways | 133 | |
| 6813280640 | Idiom | an expression whose meaning is not predictable from the usual meanings of its constituent elements | 134 | |
| 6820203264 | Analogy | Explaining something complex by comparing it to something more simple. | 135 | |
| 6820203265 | Argument | The combination of reasons, evidence, etc that an author uses to convince an audience of their position; Too comprehensive a concept for a single example! In effective rhetoric, every phrase serves to further build the argument. | 136 | |
| 6820203266 | Aristotelian appeals | Three different methods of appealing to an audience to convince them—ethos, logos, and pathos. | 137 | |
| 6820203267 | Attitude | The writer's personal views or feelings about the subject at hand;Difficult to convey in a short example, but something like "the deplorable state of this school" would convey that the author has a negative attitude towards the school. | 138 | |
| 6820203268 | Audience | Who the author is directing his or her message towards | 139 | |
| 6820203269 | Compare and contrast | Discussing the similarities and differences between two things to some persuasive or illustrative purpose; "Hybrid cars have a much smaller carbon footprint than traditional midsize vehicles." | 140 | |
| 6820203270 | Connotation | The implied meaning of a word; words can broadly have positive, negative, or neutral connotations. | 141 | |
| 6820203271 | Context | The extra-textual environment in which the text is being delivered. If I am delivering a congratulatory speech to awards recipients, the immediate context might be the awards presentation ceremony; the broader context might be the purpose or significance of the awards themselves. | 142 | |
| 6820203272 | Counterargument | The argument(s) against the author's position. | 143 | |
| 6820203273 | Deductive reasoning | If all planets orbit a star, and Theta II is a planet, then it must orbit a star. | 144 | |
| 6820203274 | Denotation | The literal, dictionary-definition meaning of a word. | 145 | |
| 6820203275 | Diction | The style of language used; generally tailored to be appropriate to the audience and situation; You might say "What's up, loser?" to your little brother, but you would probably say "How are you doing today?" to your principal. | 146 | |
| 6820203276 | Ethos | Setting up a source as credible and trustworthy. "Given my PhD in the subject and years of experience in the field" is an appeal to ... | 147 | |
| 6820203277 | Evidence | The information presented meant to persuade the audience of the author's position; If I were arguing that Anne is a good student, I might reference her straight-A report card and her 1500 SAT score as pieces of . | 148 | |
| 6820203278 | Figurative language | The use of language in a non-literal way; i.e. metaphor, simile, etc. "The sky's like a jewel box tonight!" | 149 | |
| 6820203279 | Genre | The specific type of work being presented. | 150 | |
| 6820203280 | Imagery | Any descriptive language used to evoke a vivid sense or image of something; includes figurative language. "The water was a pearl-studded sea of azure tipped with turquoise." | 151 | |
| 6820203281 | Implication | When something is suggested without being concretely stated. "Watch your wallet around Paul," implies that Paul is a thief without coming out and saying "Paul is a thief." | 152 | |
| 6820203282 | Inductive reasoning | Making a generalization based on specific evidence at hand.All of the planets in this solar system orbit a star, so all planets probably orbit stars. | 153 | |
| 6820203283 | Irony | At the most basic sense, saying the opposite of what you mean; also used to describe situations in which the results of an action are dramatically different than intended. | 154 | |
| 6820203284 | Juxtaposition | "There they stood together, the beggars and the lords, the princesses and the washerwoman, all crowding into the square." | 155 | |
| 6820203285 | Logos | Appealing to someone's sense of concrete facts and logic. Citing peer-reviewed scientific studies is an appeal to . | 156 | |
| 6820203286 | Occasion | The reason or moment for writing or speaking. | 157 | |
| 6820203287 | Organization | How the different parts of an argument are arranged in a piece of writing or speech. | 158 | |
| 6820203288 | Pathos | An Aristotelian appeal. Involves appealing to someone's emotions. Animal shelters ads with pictures of cute sad animals and dramatic music are using . | 159 | |
| 6820203289 | Purpose | The author's persuasive intention. | 160 | |
| 6820203290 | Repetition | Re-using a word or phrase repeatedly for effect or emphasis. "We run, and we run, and we run, like rats on a wheel." | 161 | |
| 6820203291 | Rhetoric | The use of spoken or written word (or a visual medium) to convey your ideas and convince an audience. | 162 | |
| 6820203292 | Rhetorical triangle | The relationship between the author, the audience, the text/message, and the context. The author communicates to the reader via the text; and the reader and text are surrounded by context. | 163 | |
| 6820203293 | Speaker | The persona adopted by the author to deliver his or her message; may or may not actually be the same person as the author. Similar to the difference between author and narrator in a work of fiction. | 164 | |
| 6820203294 | Style | The author's own personal approach to rhetoric in the piece; similar to voice. We might say the Taylor Swift's songwriting is straightforward and emotive. | 165 | |
| 6820203295 | Symbolism | Using a symbol to refer to an idea or concept. | 166 | |
| 6820203296 | Syntax | The way sentences are grammatically constructed. | 167 | |
| 6820203297 | Synthesis | Combining sources or ideas in a coherent way in the purpose of a larger point. | 168 | |
| 6820203298 | Themes | Overarching ideas or driving premises of a work; leaving behind a legacy, moving into the great unknown, becoming an adult, and changing the world. | 169 | |
| 6820203299 | Tone | The use of stylistic devices to reveal an author's attitude toward a subject. Only a narrow distinction from attitude. The phrase "the deplorable state of this school" reveals a negative attitude, but the word choice of "deplorable" is part of the author's tone. | 170 | |
| 6820203300 | Voice | An author's unique sound. Similar to style. Think of the way that you can recognize a pop singer on the radio without hearing who it is first. | 171 |
