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AP English Language and Composition Flashcards

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9804010737AllegoryThe device of using character and/or story elements symbolically.0
9804010738AntecedentWord, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun.1
9804010739AntithesisOpposition or contrast of ideas through parallelism.2
9804010740AphorismEarly to bed and early to rise help make a man healthy, wealthy, and wise. -Ben Franklin3
9804010741Apostrophe"Oh, Captain, my Captain, our fearful trip is done..."4
9804010742Colloquial/ColloquialismThe use of slang or informalities in speech or writing.5
9804010743ConceitA fanciful expression, usually in the form of an extended metaphor.6
9804010744Euphemismcorrectional facility = jail between jobs = unemployed7
9804010747Metonymya figure of speech in which the name of one object is substituted for that of another closely associated with it.8
9804010748AnaphoraThe exact repetition of words or phrases at the beginning of successive lines or sentences.9
9804010750Proseone of the major divisions of genre, prose refers to fiction and nonfiction, including all its forms.10
9804010753SynecdocheA figure of speech in which a part of something is used to represent the whole.11
9804010757DigressionThe use of material unrelated to the subject of a work.12
9804010758EllipsisThe omission of a word or several words.13
9804010759Ad HominemAttacking a speaker's character instead of to their argument.14
9804010760AnachronismA person, scene, event or other element that fails to correspond with the appropriate time or era.15
9804010761DidacticHaving an instructive purpose; intending to convey information to teach a lesson usually in a dry, pompous manner.16
9804010762FallacyAn incorrect belief or supposition based on faulty data, defective evidence, or false information.17
9804010763HubrisExcessive pride that often brings about one's fall.18
9804010764AlliterationRepetition of consonant sounds, usually at the beginnings of words19
9804010765LitotesA form of understatement in which the negative of the contrary is used to achieve emphasis or intensity.20
9804010766ParadoxA statement or idea that seems contradictory but is in fact true.21
9804010767Non SequiturA statement or idea that fails to follow logically from the one before.22
9804010768AnecdoteA short and amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person.23
9804010769JargonSpecial words or expressions that are used by a particular profession or group.24
9804010770TaciturnNot talking much, reserved; silent, holding back in conversation.25
9804010771DogmaticInclined to lay down principles as incontrovertibly true.26
9804010772PerniciousHaving a harmful effect, especially in a gradual or subtle way.27
9804010773BellicoseDemonstrating aggression and willingness to fight.28
9804010774VoraciousCraving or consuming large quantities of food.29
9804010775ZealousHaving or showing zeal.30
9804010776TacitUnderstood or implied without being stated.31
9804010777InnuendoAn allusive or oblique remark or hint, typically a suggestive or disparaging one.32
9804010778LackadaisicalDisplaying or having a disinclination for physical exertion or effort; slow and relaxed.33
9804010779ConsecrateMake or declare (something, typically a church) sacred; dedicate formally to a religious or divine purpose.34
9804010780ChiasmusA 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."35
9804010781Loose SentenceA sentence in which the subject and verb come at the front of the sentence.36
9804010782PetulantChildishly sulky or bad-tempered.37
9804010783Periodic SentenceA sentence in which the subject and verb come toward the end of the sentence.38
9804010784ExhortStrongly encourage or urge someone to do something.39
9804010785CloisteredKept away from the outside world; sheltered.40
9804010786SarcasmCaustic, bitter language--iterally means "to tear the flesh."41
9804010787Independent ClauseA complete sentence.42
9804010788Dependent ClauseIncludes a subordinate conjunction, such as because, while, etc.43
9804010789AllusionA reference to something (e.g., a book, a movie, an historical event) that is presumed to be well known to the audience.44
9804010790SatireA work that pokes fun human vices and follies in order to call attention to a larger problem.45
9804010791ParodyA work that closely imitates the style or content of another with the specific aim of comic effect and/or ridicule.46
9804010792Coup de GraceThe "death blow"--the culminating event in a bad situation.47
9804010793Coup d'EtatLiterally "blow to the state"--a violent overthrow.48
9804010794Faux PasA social misstep or inappropriate action.49
9804010795Laissez-FaireLiterally "allow to do"--letting things run their natural course; hands off.50
9804010796En MasseIn a body as a whole; as a group.51
9804010797ProprietaryCharacteristic of an owner of property; constituting property.52
9804010798ProprietyThe quality of behaving in a proper manner; obeying rules and customs.53
9804010799ImminentAbout to happen.54
9804010800EminentFamous, outstanding, distinguished.55
9804010801EgoAccording to Freud, the decision-making component of personality that operates according to the reality principle.56
9804010802SuperegoAccording to Freud, that facet of the psyche that represents the internalized ideals and values of one's parents and society57
9804010803IdLiterally the "It"--our base impulses, driven by selfishness and greed, for example.58
9804010804HamartiaA character's error in judgment that contributes to one's downfall.59
9804010805OrwellianThe manipulation of language and ideas to control and obstruct the truth.60
9804010806AutonomosIndependent, self-governing, not under the control of something or someone else.61

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