Vocabulary for AP English Language
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| 15020996987 | Allegory | Fictional work in which the characters represent ideas or concepts(Purpose: Convey difficult idea through an in-depth metaphorical narrative) | 0 | |
| 15020996988 | Alliteration | The repetition of consonant sounds, usually at the beginning of words |  | 1 |
| 15020996989 | Allusion | A reference, usually oblique or faint, to another thing, idea, or person(Ex: Aslan in "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" represents Christ) | 2 | |
| 15020996990 | Ambiguity | Uncertain or indefinite; subject to more than one interpretation(Ex: I rode a black horse in red pajamas.) | 3 | |
| 15020996991 | Analogy | The correspondence or resemblance between two things that are essentially different(Ex: medicine : illness :: law : anarchy) | 4 | |
| 15020997031 | Anaphora | repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences in a row(Ex: "This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England,This nurse, this teeming womb of royal kings [. . .]This land of such dear souls, this dear dear land,") from Act 2 Scene 1 of "Richard II" | 5 | |
| 15020996992 | Antecedent | Every pronoun refers back to a previous noun or pronoun(Ex: The weather is great today; let's make the most of it by going to the beach.) | 6 | |
| 15020997032 | Antimetabole | Half of expression is balanced, other half is backwards.(Ex: "Eat to live, not live to eat." - Socrates) | 7 | |
| 15020996993 | Antithesis | An opposition or contrast of ideas that is often expressed in balanced phrases or clauses(Ex: Man proposes, God disposes.) | 8 | |
| 15020996994 | Apostrophe | A figure of speech in which an absent person or personified object is addressed by a speaker(Ex: "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star") | 9 | |
| 15020996995 | Appositive | A word or phrase that follow a noun or pronoun for emphasis or clarity(Purpose(s): Provide essential or non-essential information, Gives meanings to sentences in different texts, etc) | 10 | |
| 15020997033 | Archaic Diction | the use of words that are old-fashioned or no longer commonly used(Ex: "steed" instead of "horse" or "stallion") | 11 | |
| 15020997034 | Asyndeton/ Polysyndeton | Commas used (with no conjunction) to separate a series of words. The parts are emphasized equally when the conjunction is omitted; in addition, the use of commas with no intervening conjunction speeds up the flow of the sentence. X, Y, Z as opposed to X, Y, and Z.(Ex: "Without looking, without making a sound, without talking" from Sophecles' "Oedipus at Colonus") | 12 | |
| 15020997035 | Atmosphere | The emotional feeling -or mood- of a place, scene, or event(Purpose: Create emotional effects) | 13 | |
| 15020997036 | Caricature | A grotesque or exaggerated likeness of striking qualities in persons and things( Purpose: Portray important political or artistic ideas) | 14 | |
| 15020997037 | Clause | A structural element of a sentence, consisting of a grammatical subject and a predicate(Ex: Ghost stories are a lot of fun, if you tell them late at night with the lights off.) | 15 | |
| 15020997038 | Chiasmus | Arrangement of repeated thoughts in the pattern of X Y Y X. It is often short and summarizes a main idea(Ex: "Never let a Fool Kiss You or a Kiss Fool You.") | 16 | |
| 15020996996 | Colloquial Language | Slang or common language that is informal(Ex: "That totally grossed me out.") | 17 | |
| 15020997039 | Conceit | A witty or ingenious thought; a diverting or highly fanciful idea, often stated in figurative language(Ex: "Love is like an oil change.") | 18 | |
| 15020996997 | Connotative | The interpretive level of a word based on associated images rather than the literal meaning(Ex: "Wall Street" = wealth and power) | 19 | |
| 15020997040 | Denotation | the literal or dictionary meaning of a word(Ex: Dog suggests an ugly face.) | 20 | |
| 15020996998 | Diction | An author's choice of words(Purpose: Create & convey a typical mood, tone and atmosphere) | 21 | |
| 15020996999 | Didactic | Writing which has the purpose of teaching or instructing(Ex: Religious texts(teach us about the reality of God)) | 22 | |
| 15020997000 | Euphemism | A mild or pleasant sounding expression that substitutes for a harsh, indelicate, or simply less pleasant idea(Ex: Correctional facility instead of jail) | 23 | |
| 15020997041 | Exigence | An issue, problem, or situation that causes or prompts someone to write or speak(Ex: PSAs about particular health issues) | 24 | |
| 15020997042 | Extended Metaphor | A series of comparisons between two unlike objects(Ex: Bobby Holloway says my imagination is a three-hundred-ring circus. Currently I was in ring two hundred and ninety-nine, with elephants dancing and clowns cart wheeling and tigers leaping through rings of fire. The time had come to step back, leave the main tent, go buy some popcorn and a Coke, bliss out, cool down." (Dean Koontz, Seize the Night. Bantam, 1999)) | 25 | |
| 15020997001 | Figurative Language | All uses of language that imply an imaginative comparison(Ex: Personification) | 26 | |
| 15020997043 | Figure of Speech | A device used to produce figurative language(Ex: Metaphor) | 27 | |
| 15020997044 | Genre | The major category into which a literary work fits. The basic divisions of literature are prose, poetry, and drama(Ex: Non-fiction) | 28 | |
| 15020997045 | Homily | Includes any serious talk, speech, or lecture involving moral or spiritual advice(Purpose: Convey moral lesson, mainly a religious one) | 29 | |
| 15020997002 | Hyperbole | A figure of speech in which exaggeration is used to achieve emphasis(Ex: Your suitcase weighs a ton!) | 30 | |
| 15020997003 | Imagery | A mental picture that is conjured by specific words and associations(Purpose: Generate a vibrant presentation of a scene that appeals to as many of the reader's senses as possible) | 31 | |
| 15020997046 | Inference | To draw a reasonable conclusion from the information presented(Ex: Norman sees cookie crumbs on the floor and chocolate around his son's mouth. Norman infers that his son must have eaten some cookies from the cookie jar.) | 32 | |
| 15020997047 | Inversion | reversal of the usual or natural order of words; anastrophe(Ex: Where in the world were you?) | 33 | |
| 15020997048 | Invective | An emotionally violent, verbal denunciation or attack using strong, abusive language(Ex: Chicken for coward) | 34 | |
| 15020997004 | Irony | When a situation produces and outcome that is the opposite of what is expected(Ex: The name of Britain's biggest dog was "Tiny".) | 35 | |
| 15020997005 | Juxtaposition | When two contrasting things are placed next to each other for comparison(Ex: Milton's "Paradise Lost" - God(good) and Satan(bad)) | 36 | |
| 15020997049 | Litotes | A form of understatement in which the negative of the contrary is used to achieve emphasis or intensity(Ex: New York is not an ordinary city.) | 37 | |
| 15020997050 | Non-periodic sentence | A type of sentence in which the main idea (independent clause) comes first, followed by dependent grammatical units such as phrases and clauses(Ex: I went to the movies yesterday, bought candy, and shopped at the mall.) | 38 | |
| 15020997006 | Metaphor | A figure of speech in which two unlike things are compared directly(Ex: My brother was boiling mad.) | 39 | |
| 15020997007 | Metonymy | A figure of speech in which something is referred to by using the name of something that is associated with it(Ex: Let me give you a hand; hand means help) | 40 | |
| 15020997008 | Mood | The prevailing or dominant feeling of a work, scene, or event(Purpose: Evoke various emotional responses in readers and ensure their emotional attachment as they read the book) | 41 | |
| 15020997051 | Narrative | The telling of a story or an account of an event or series of events(Purpose: Gain a deep insight of culture and develop some sort of understanding towards it) | 42 | |
| 15020997009 | Onomatopoeia | An effect created by words that have sounds that reinforce their meaning(Ex: Moo!) | 43 | |
| 15020997010 | Oxymoron | Two contradictory words in one expression(Ex: jumbo shrimp) | 44 | |
| 15020997011 | Paradox | A seeming contradiction that in fact reveals some truth(Ex: "I can resist anything but temptation" - Oscar Wilde) | 45 | |
| 15020997012 | Parallelism | A literary technique that relies on the use of the same syntactical structures(Ex: John likes to play tennis, bake cake, and read books.) | 46 | |
| 15020997013 | Parody | An effort to ridicule or make fun of a literary work or an author by writing a comic imitation of the work(Ex: SNL) | 47 | |
| 15020997052 | Pedantic | An adjective that describes words, phrases, or general tone that is overly scholarly, academic, or bookish(Purpose: Teach something in a complicated manner) | 48 | |
| 15020997014 | Periodic Sentence | Presents the main clause at the end of the sentence, for emphasis(Ex: Unable to join the others at the dance because of my sprained ankle, I went to a movie.) | 49 | |
| 15020997015 | Persona | The character created by the voice and narration of the speaker of a text(Purpose: Express ideas due to some restrictions, such as no talking) | 50 | |
| 15020997016 | Personification | A figure of speech in which ideas or objects are described as having human qualities or personalities(Ex: The flowers danced in the gentle breeze.) | 51 | |
| 15020997017 | Point of View | The particular perspective from which a story is told(Ex: 1st person - " I tell myself to focus while I am reading a book.") | 52 | |
| 15020997053 | Prose | One of the major divisions of genre; refers to fiction and nonfiction, including all its forms, because they are written in ordinary language and most closely resemble everyday speech(Ex: "It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen." 1984 - George Orwell) | 53 | |
| 15020997018 | Repetition | The reiteration of a word or phrase for emphasis(Ex: "Because I do not hope to turn again Because I do not hope Because I do not hope to turn..." - "Ash Wednesday") | 54 | |
| 15020997019 | Rhetoric | The art and logic of a written or spoken argument to persuade, to analyze, or to expose(Ex: Ethos, Logos, Pathos) | 55 | |
| 15020997054 | Ethos | Form, Manner(Purpose: Musician starring in a dog commercial) | 56 | |
| 15020997055 | Pathos | Force, Emotion(Ex: Empathizing with a friend who lost a family member) | 57 | |
| 15020997056 | Logos | Idea, Message(Ex:Facts, Charts, Tables used to support that abortion rates correlates with crime rates) | 58 | |
| 15020997057 | Rhetorical Modes(exposition, argumentation, description, narration) | The flexible term describes the variety, the conventions, and the purposes of the major kinds of writing(Ex: Journal entry = description) | 59 | |
| 15020997020 | Rhetorical Question | A question that is asked for the sake of argument(Ex: " Why not?") | 60 | |
| 15020997058 | Sarcasm | Use of bitter, caustic language that is meant to hurt or ridicule someone or something. It may use irony as a device(Ex: " Friends, countrymen, lend me your ears." - Julius Caesar) | 61 | |
| 15020997021 | Satire | To ridicule or mock ideas, persons, events, or doctrines(Ex: The Daily Show) | 62 | |
| 15020997059 | Semantics | The branch of linguistics that studies that meaning of words, their historical and psychological development, their connotations, and their relation to one another(Ex: A water pill at first glance could be a pill with water in it; but, it is understood to be a diuretic that causes a person to lose water from his body.) | 63 | |
| 15020997060 | Periodic Sentence | Sentence with main clause or predicate at the end(Ex: In opening minds, instilling values, and creating opportunities, education has no equal.) | 64 | |
| 15020997061 | Cumulative Sentence | Sentence with an independent clause elaborated by modifying clauses or phrases(Ex: "I write this at a wide desk in a pine shed as I always do these recent years, in this life I pray will last, while the summer sun closes the sky to Orion and to all the other winter stars over my roof." (Annie Dillard, An American Childhood, 1987)) | 65 | |
| 15020997062 | Hortative Sentence | Sentence urging to some conduct or course of action(Ex: Before Tom Daley is about to dive into the pool, his coach may say, "All of your training and hard work will pay off; you will be great.") | 66 | |
| 15020997063 | Imperative Sentence | Sentence that also functions as a direct command (Ex: Clear this desk by tomorrow!) | 67 | |
| 15020997022 | Simile | A commonly used figure of speech that compares one thing with another using the words "like" or "as"(Ex: Jake is as slow as a turtle.) | 68 | |
| 15020997064 | Style | An evaluation of the sum of the choices an author makes in blending diction, syntax, figurative language, and other literary devices(Purpose: Create a certain impact on the readers based on one's style) | 69 | |
| 15020997065 | Subject Complement(predicate nominative and predicate adjective) | The word that follows a linking verb and completes the subject by renaming or describing it(Ex: Brandon is a great player.) | 70 | |
| 15020997066 | Subordinate Clause | Like all clauses, it contains both a subject and a verb (plus any accompanying phrases or modifiers), but unlike the independent clause, the subordinate clause cannot stand alone; it does not express a complete thought. Also called a dependent clause, the subordinate clause depends on a main clause (or independent clause) to complete its meaning(Ex: After John played tennis) | 71 | |
| 15020997023 | Syllogism | A form of deductive reasoning in which pieces of evidence are used to create a new conclusion(Ex: "All dogs are canine. Tommy is a dog. Therefore, Tommy is a canine.") | 72 | |
| 15020997024 | Symbol | Something that stands for something else(Ex: Dove = peace) | 73 | |
| 15020997067 | Synedoche | a figure of speech that utilizes a part as representative of the whole(Ex: "gray beard" = old man) | 74 | |
| 15020997068 | Synesthesia | describing one kind of sensation in terms of another ("a loud color," "a sweet sound") | 75 | |
| 15020997025 | Syntax | The way words are arranged in a sentence(Ex: "I cannot go out." vs. "Go out I cannot.") | 76 | |
| 15020997026 | Theme | The central idea(Ex: love and friendship in "Pride and Prejudice") | 77 | |
| 15020997069 | Thesis | The sentence or group of sentences that directly expresses the author's opinion, purpose, meaning, or proposition(Purpose: To inform audience about main idea) | 78 | |
| 15020997070 | Trope vs Schemes | The use of a word, phrase, or image in a way not intended by its normal signification; A change in standard word order or pattern(Ex(scheme): "I have a Dream" speech) | 79 | |
| 15020997027 | Tone | Attitude(Purpose: Decide how readers should read a literary piece and how they should feel while reading it) | 80 | |
| 15020997028 | Understatement | When an author assigns less significance to an event or thing than it deserves(Ex: " He is not too thin" when describing an obese person) | 81 | |
| 15020997071 | Wit | In modern usage, intellectually amusing language that surprises and delights. Usually uses terse language that makes a pointed statement(Ex: "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a young man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife." - Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen) | 82 | |
| 15020997029 | Zeugma | When a word is used with two adjacent words in the same construction, but only makes literal sense with one of them(Ex: "The farmers in the valley grew potatoes, peanuts, and bored." - Wunderland) | 83 |
