Vocabulary for AP English Language
6620477756 | Ad Hominem Argument | Attacks the opposing speaker or another person rather than addressing the issues at hand | 0 | |
6620477757 | Allegory | Fictional work in which the characters represent ideas or concepts | 1 | |
6620477758 | Alliteration | The repetition of consonant sounds, usually at the beginning of words | 2 | |
6620477759 | Allusion | A reference, usually oblique or faint, to another thing, idea, or person | 3 | |
6620477760 | Ambiguity | Uncertain or indefinite; subject to more than one interpretation | 4 | |
6620477761 | Analogy | The correspondence or resemblance between two things that are essentially different | 5 | |
6620477762 | Anecdote | A short story used to illustrate a point the author is making | 6 | |
6620477763 | Antecedent | Every pronoun refers back to a previous noun or pronoun | 7 | |
6620477764 | Antithesis | An opposition or contrast of ideas that is often expressed in balanced phrases or clauses | 8 | |
6620477765 | Apostrophe | A figure of speech in which an absent person or personified object is addressed by a speaker | 9 | |
6620477766 | Appositive | A word or phrase that follow a noun or pronoun for emphasis or clarity | 10 | |
6620477767 | Assonance | A type of internal rhyming in which vowel souds are repeated | 11 | |
6620477768 | Asyndeton | When the conjunctions (such as "and" or "but") that would normally connect a string of words, phrases, or clauses are omitted from a sentence | 12 | |
6620477769 | Atmosphere | The emotional feeling -or mood- of a place, scene, or event | 13 | |
6620477770 | Attitude | The feelings of a particular speaker or piece of writing toward a subject, person, or idea | 14 | |
6620477771 | Contrast | Oppositions | 15 | |
6620477772 | Colloquial Language | Slang or common language that is informal | 16 | |
6620477773 | Connotative | The interpretive level of a word based on associated images rather than the literal meaning | 17 | |
6620477774 | Deductive Argument | The process of moving from a general rule to a specific example | 18 | |
6620477775 | Diction | An author's choice of words | 19 | |
6620477776 | Didactic | Writing which has the purpose of teaching or instructing | 20 | |
6620477777 | Elegy | A work that expresses sorrow | 21 | |
6620477778 | Ellipses | Indicated by a series of three periods; shows that words have been omitted | 22 | |
6620477779 | Ethos | Refers to generally ethics, or values | 23 | |
6620477780 | Euphemism | A mild or pleasant sounding expression that substitutes for a harsh, indelicate, or simply less pleasant idea | 24 | |
6620477781 | Exposition | Writing or speech that is organized to explain | 25 | |
6620477782 | Figurative Language | All uses of language that imply an imaginative comparison | 26 | |
6620477783 | Foreshadowing | A purposeful hint placed in a work of literature to suggest what may occur later in the narrative | 27 | |
6620477784 | Hyperbole | A figure of speech in which exaggeration is used to achieve emphasis | 28 | |
6620477785 | Imagery | A mental picture that is conjured by specific words and associations | 29 | |
6620477786 | Inductive Argument | Creating a case by providing specific examples and drawing a conclusion based on the evidence they provide | 30 | |
6620477787 | Irony | When a situation produces and outcome that is the opposite of what is expected | 31 | |
6620477788 | Juxtaposition | When two contrasting things are placed next to each other for comparison | 32 | |
6620477789 | Logos | The use of reason as a controlling principle in an argument | 33 | |
6620477790 | Metaphor | A figure of speech in which two unlike things are compared directly | 34 | |
6620477791 | Metonymy | A figure of speech in which something is referred to by using the name of something that is associated with it | 35 | |
6620477792 | Mood | The prevailing or dominant feeling of a work, scene, or event | 36 | |
6620477793 | Onomatopoeia | An effect created by words that have sounds that reinforce their meaning | 37 | |
6620477794 | Oxymoron | Two contradictory words in one expression | 38 | |
6620477795 | Paradox | A seeming contradiction that in fact reveals some truth | 39 | |
6620477796 | Parallelism | A literary technique that relies on the use of the same syntactical structures | 40 | |
6620477797 | Parody | An effort to ridicule or make fun of a literary work or an author by writing a comic imitation of the work | 41 | |
6620477798 | Pathos | A sympathetic feeling of pity or compassion evoked by an artistic work | 42 | |
6620477799 | Periodic Sentence | Presents the main clause at the end of the sentence, for emphasis | 43 | |
6620477800 | Persona | The character created by the voice and narration of the speaker of a text | 44 | |
6620477801 | Personification | A figure of speech in which ideas or objects are described as having human qualities or personalities | 45 | |
6620477802 | Point of View | The particular perspective from which a story is told | 46 | |
6620477803 | Pun | A play on words | 47 | |
6620477804 | Repetition | The reiteration of a word or phrase for emphasis | 48 | |
6620477805 | Rhetoric | The art and logic of a written or spoken argument to persuade, to analyze, or to expose | 49 | |
6620477806 | Rhetorical Strategy | The way an author organizes words, sentences, and overall argument in order to achieve a particular purpose | 50 | |
6620477807 | Rhetorical Devices | The specific language tools that an author uses to carry out a rhetorical strategy (diction, imagery, or syntax) | 51 | |
6620477808 | Rhetorical Question | A question that is asked for the sake of argument | 52 | |
6620477809 | Satire | To ridicule or mock ideas, persons, events, or doctrines | 53 | |
6620477810 | Selection of Detail | The specific words, incidents, images, or events the author uses to create a scene or narrative | 54 | |
6620477811 | Simile | A commonly used figure of speech that compares one thing with another using the words "like" or "as" | 55 | |
6620477812 | Speaker | The narrator of a story, poem, or drama | 56 | |
6620477813 | Syllogism | A form of deductive reasoning in which pieces of evidence are used to create a new conclusion | 57 | |
6620477814 | Symbol | Something that stands for something else | 58 | |
6620477815 | Synonym | A word that has the same, or nearly the same, meaning as another word | 59 | |
6620477816 | Syntax | The way words are arranged in a sentence | 60 | |
6620477817 | Tension | A feeling excitement and expectation the reader or audience feels because of the conflict, mood, or atmosphere of the work | 61 | |
6620477818 | Theme | The central idea | 62 | |
6620477819 | Tone | Attitude | 63 | |
6620477820 | Understatement | When an author assigns less significance to an event or thing than it deserves | 64 | |
6620477821 | Zeugma | When a word is used with two adjacent words in the same construction, but only makes literal sense with one of them | 65 |