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AP English Language Vocab Flashcards

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6663545084Ad HominemAn argument based on the failings of an adversary rather than on the merits of the case; a logical fallacy that involves a personal attack.0
6663547749AdjectiveThe part of speech (or word class) that modifies a noun or a pronoun.1
6663549573AdverbThe part of speech (or word class) that modifies a verb, adjective, or other adverb.2
6663551315AllegoryExtending a metaphor so that objects, persons, and actions in a text are equated with meanings that lie outside the text.3
6663553132AlliterationThe repetition of an initial consonant sound.4
6663555254AllusionA brief, usually indirect reference to a person, place, or event--real or fictional.5
6663558196AmbiguityThe presence of two or more possible meanings in any passage.6
6663560149AnalogyReasoning or arguing from parallel cases.7
6663571166AnaphoraThe repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or verses.8
6665980506AntecedentThe noun or noun phrase referred to by a pronoun.9
6663573425AntithesisThe juxtaposition of contrasting ideas in balanced phrases.10
6663575515Aphorism(1) A tersely phrased statement of a truth or opinion. (2) A brief statement of a principle.11
6666005065ApostropheA rhetorical term for breaking off discourse to address some absent person or thing.12
6663578309Appeal to AuthorityA fallacy in which a speaker or writer seeks to persuade not by giving evidence but by appealing to the respect people have for a famous person or institution.13
6663579893Appeal to IgnoranceA fallacy that uses an opponent's inability to disprove a conclusion as proof of the conclusion's correctness.14
6663582328ArgumentA course of reasoning aimed at demonstrating truth or falsehood.15
6663583893AssonanceThe identity or similarity in sound between internal vowels in neighboring words.16
6663585929AsyndetonThe omission of conjunctions between words, phrases, or clauses (opposite of polysyndeton).17
6663601183CharacterAn individual (usually a person) in a narrative (usually a work of fiction or creative nonfiction).18
6663603811ChiasmusA verbal pattern in which the second half of an expression is balanced against the first but with the parts reversed.19
6663605467Circular ArgumentAn argument that commits the logical fallacy of assuming what it is attempting to prove.20
6663607120ClaimAn arguable statement, which may be a claim of fact, value, or policy.21
6663609168ClauseA group of words that contains a subject and a predicate.22
6663610923ClimaxMounting by degrees through words or sentences of increasing weight and in parallel construction with an emphasis on the high point or culmination of a series of events.23
6663612560ColloquialCharacteristic of writing that seeks the effect of informal spoken language as distinct from formal or literary English.24
6663614414ComparisonA rhetorical strategy in which a writer examines similarities and/or differences between two people, places, ideas, or objects.25
6663616348ConcessionAn argumentative strategy by which a speaker or writer acknowledges the validity of an opponent's point.26
6663617878ConfirmationThe main part of a text in which logical arguments in support of a position are elaborated.27
6663619131ConjunctionThe part of speech (or word class) that serves to connect words, phrases, clauses, or sentences.28
6663621382ConnotationThe emotional implications and associations that a word may carry.29
6663622834CoordinationThe grammatical connection of two or more ideas to give them equal emphasis and importance. Contrast with subordination.30
6663638578DeductionA method of reasoning in which a conclusion follows necessarily from the stated premises.31
6663640198DenotationThe direct or dictionary meaning of a word, in contrast to its figurative or associated meanings.32
6663641417DialectA regional or social variety of a language distinguished by pronunciation, grammar, and/or vocabulary.33
6663643121Diction(1) The choice and use of words in speech or writing. (2) A way of speaking usually assessed in terms of prevailing standards of pronunciation and elocution.34
6663644959DidacticIntended or inclined to teach or instruct, often excessively.35
6663646593EpistropheThe repetition of a word or phrase at the end of several clauses. (Also known as epistrophe.)36
6663657854Epitaph(1) A short inscription in prose or verse on a tombstone or monument. (2) A statement or speech commemorating someone who has died: a funeral oration.37
6663660487EthosA persuasive appeal based on the projected character of the speaker or narrator.38
6663661483EulogyA formal expression of praise for someone who has recently died.39
6663662582EuphemismThe substitution of an inoffensive term for one considered offensively explicit.40
6663664752ExpositionA statement or type of composition intended to give information about (or an explanation of) an issue, subject, method, or idea.41
6663666327Extended MetaphorA comparison between two unlike things that continues throughout a series of sentences in a paragraph or lines in a poem.42
6663678730FallacyAn error in reasoning that renders an argument invalid.43
6668910346False DilemmaA fallacy of oversimplification that offers a limited number of options (usually two) when in fact more options are available.44
6663681615Figurative LanguageLanguage in which figures of speech (such as metaphors, similes, and hyperbole) freely occur.45
6663682689Figures of SpeechThe various uses of language that depart from customary construction, order, or significance.46
6663684501FlashbackA shift in a narrative to an earlier event that interrupts the normal chronological development of a story.47
6663694155GenreA category of artistic composition, as in film or literature, marked by a distinctive style, form, or content.48
6663703940Hasty GeneralizationA fallacy in which a conclusion is not logically justified by sufficient or unbiased evidence.49
6663706286HyperboleA figure of speech in which exaggeration is used for emphasis or effect; an extravagant statement.50
6663718323ImageryVivid descriptive language that appeals to one or more of the senses.51
6663720472InvectiveDenunciatory or abusive language; discourse that casts blame on somebody or something.52
6663722500IronyThe use of words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning. A statement or situation where the meaning is directly contradicted by the appearance or presentation of the idea.53
6663726042Isocolon/Climatic OrderA succession of phrases of approximately equal length and corresponding structure.54
6663734117JargonThe specialized language of a professional, occupational, or other group, often meaningless to outsiders.55
6663743917Loose SentenceA sentence structure in which a main clause is followed by subordinate phrases and clauses. Contrast with periodic sentence.56
6663750417MetaphorA figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between two unlike things that actually have something important in common.57
6663751705MetonymyA figure of speech in which one word or phrase is substituted for another with which it is closely associated (such as "crown" for "royalty").58
6663753603Mode of DiscourseThe way in which information is presented in a text. The four traditional modes are narration, description, exposition, and argument.59
6663756889Mood(1) The quality of a verb that conveys the writer's attitude toward a subject. (2) The emotion evoked by a text.60
6663758335NarrativeA rhetorical strategy that recounts a sequence of events, usually in chronological order.61
6663760672NounThe part of speech (or word class) that is used to name a person, place, thing, quality, or action.62
6663781430OnomatopoeiaThe formation or use of words that imitate the sounds associated with the objects or actions they refer to.63
6663783173OxymoronA figure of speech in which incongruous or contradictory terms appear side by side.64
6669034671ParadoxA statement that appears to contradict itself.65
6663790643ParallelismThe similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses.66
6663790653ParodyA literary or artistic work that imitates the characteristic style of an author or a work for comic effect or ridicule.67
6663793040PathosThe means of persuasion that appeals to the audience's emotions.68
6663795044Periodic SentenceA long and frequently involved sentence, marked by suspended syntax, in which the sense is not completed until the final word--usually with an emphatic climax.69
6663797080PersonificationA figure of speech in which an inanimate object or abstraction is endowed with human qualities or abilities.70
6663799684Point of ViewThe perspective from which a speaker or writer tells a story or presents information.71
6663801535PredicateOne of the two main parts of a sentence or clause, modifying the subject and including the verb, objects, or phrases governed by the verb.72
6663804246PronounA word (a part of speech or word class) that takes the place of a noun.73
6663805553ProseOrdinary writing (both fiction and nonfiction) as distinguished from verse.74
6663817580RefutationThe part of an argument wherein a speaker or writer anticipates and counters opposing points of view.75
6663819239RepetitionAn instance of using a word, phrase, or clause more than once in a short passage--dwelling on a point.76
6663820721RhetoricThe study and practice of effective communication.77
6663823199Rhetorical QuestionA question asked merely for effect with no answer expected.78
6663832761SarcasmA mocking, often ironic or satirical remark.79
6663833978SatireA text or performance that uses irony, derision, or wit to expose or attack human vice, foolishness, or stupidity.80
6663835578SimileA figure of speech in which two fundamentally unlike things are explicitly compared, usually in a phrase introduced by "like" or "as"81
6663836976StyleNarrowly interpreted as those figures that ornament speech or writing; broadly, as representing a manifestation of the person speaking or writing.82
6663839111SubjectThe part of a sentence or clause that indicates what it is about.83
6663840217SubordinationWords, phrases, and clauses that make one element of a sentence dependent on (or subordinate to) another. Contrast with coordination.84
6663841649SymbolA person, place, action, or thing that (by association, resemblance, or convention) represents something other than itself.85
6663843496SynecdocheA figure of speech in which a part is used to represent the whole or the whole for a part.86
6663847889Syntax(1) The study of the rules that govern the way words combine to form phrases, clauses, and sentences. (2) The arrangement of words in a sentence.87
6663865706ThesisThe main idea of an essay or report, often written as a single declarative sentence.88
6663868243ToneA writer's attitude toward the subject and audience. Tone is primarily conveyed through diction, point of view, syntax, and level of formality.89
6663870104TransitionThe connection between two parts of a piece of writing, contributing to coherence90
6663873107UnderstatementA figure of speech in which a writer deliberately makes a situation seem less important or serious than it is.91
6663874506VerbThe part of speech (or word class) that describes an action or occurrence or indicates a state of being.92
6668907175Voice(1) The quality of a verb that indicates whether its subject acts (active voice) or is acted upon (passive voice). (2) The distinctive style or manner of expression of an author or narrator.93
6663875915ZeugmaThe use of a word to modify or govern two or more words although its use may be grammatically or logically correct with only one.94

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