Terms : Hide Images
| 6619576030 | Ad Hominem | An argument based on the failings of an adversary rather than on the merits of the case; a logical fallacy that involves personal attack. During the election campaign for Hillary Clinton and Trump, their were many ad hominem arguments made on both sides. | 0 | |
| 6619589691 | Adjective | A word that modifies a noun or pronoun. Jake is a handsome young man, and she is quite smitten with him. | 1 | |
| 6619605067 | Adverb | A word that modifies a verb, adjective, or other adverb. He was quickly running towards the door to the classroom--it was about to close. | 2 | |
| 6619636900 | Allegory | Extending a metaphor so that objects, persons, and actions in a text are equated with meaning that lie outside the text. Dr. Seuss wrote The Sneetches as an allegory for racism and other forms of prejudice. The story is all about creatures who are treated as inferior because they don't have stars on their bellies. | 3 | |
| 6619664660 | Alliteration | Repetition of initial consonant sounds. Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Peppers. | 4 | |
| 6619670599 | Allusion | A brief, usually indirect reference to a person, place, or event--real or fictional. Mr. Landreneau lives in a world where everything is an allusion to Dante and his "Inferno". | 5 | |
| 6619684061 | Ambiguity | The presence of two or more possible meanings in any passage. "Romeo and Juliet" is often seen as ambiguous in the meaning of their love. Some see it as a romantic story about young love, where as others see it as a warning against frivolity and lust. | 6 | |
| 6619721088 | Analogy | Reasoning or arguing form parallel cases. Every choice you make is like spinning the wheel of fortune--sometimes you will get the result that you desire, while other times you will end up with something you always hoped to avoid. | 7 | |
| 6619731727 | Anaphora | The repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or phrases. I loved him. I worshiped him. I died for him. I haunt him. | 8 | |
| 6619754411 | Antecedent | The noun or noun phrase referred to by a pronoun. Every day, every night, in every way, I am getting better and better. | 9 | |
| 6619769804 | Antithesis | The juxtaposition of contrasting ideas in balanced phrases. "That's one small step for a man - one giant leap for mankind." (Neil Armstrong, 1969) | 10 | |
| 6619786923 | Aphorism | (1) A tersely phrased statement of a truth or opinion. (2) A brief statement of a principle. "If you judge a fish by its ability to climb trees, it will spend its whole life thinking it is stupid." (Albert Einstein) | 11 | |
| 6619808509 | Apostrophe | A rhetorical term for breaking off discourse to address some absent person or thing. "Twinkle, twinkle, little star, How I wonder what you are. Up above the world so high, Like a diamond in the sky." | 12 | |
| 6619822240 | Appeal to Authority | A 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 |
| 6619841003 | Appeal to Ignorance | A fallacy that uses an opponent's inability to disprove a conclusion as proof of the conclusion's correctness. Because my opponent can not provide evidence that aliens don't exist, then my statement stands. Aliens could exist. | 14 | |
| 6619861773 | Argument | A course of reasoning aimed at demonstrating truth or falsehood. James was seen playing video games while his book bag sat next to him. It is known his grades are not the best. It could be said that because he plays video games he isn't doing his homework. | 15 | |
| 6619873469 | Assonance | The identity or similarity between internal vowels in neighboring words. It is very hard to say Irish Wristwatch because of the assonance of the two words. | 16 | |
| 6619882518 | Asyndeton | The omission of connections between words, phrases, or clauses. He was smart, attractive, tall, well built. All things that make him appealing to girls. | 17 | |
| 6619892743 | Character | An individual in a narrative. Princess Leia is a strong female character in Star Wars. | 18 | |
| 6628846008 | Chiasmus | A verbal pattern in which the second half of an expression is balanced against the the first, but with the parts reversed. "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country." (John F. Kennedy, 1961) | 19 | |
| 6628859324 | Circular Argument | An argument that commits the logical fallacy of assuming what it is attempting to prove. The Bible affirms that it is inerrant | 20 | |
| 6628867991 | Claim | An arguable statement, which may be a claim of fact, value, or policy. The boy claims that he not guilty of stealing a candy bar. | 21 | |
| 6628875923 | Clause | A group of words that contains a subject and predicate. I saw the way she smiled to herself. | 22 | |
| 6628882829 | Climax | Mounting by degrees through words or sentences of increasing weight and in parallel construction with an emphasis on the high point or cumulation. The climax of Star Wars for many viewers is when Darth Vader reveals he is Luke's father with the famous line "Luke, I am your father". | 23 | |
| 6628895396 | Colloquial | Characteristic of writing that seeks the effect of informal spoken language as distinct from formal or literary English. Mark Twain wrote with many colloquial expressions and terms in his novels. | 24 | |
| 6628908225 | Comparison | A rhetorical strategy in which a writer examines similarities and/or differences between two people, places, ideas, or objects. Miranda and Margaret are both very pretty, but Miranda has had braces to straighten her teeth and Margaret has them naturally. | 25 | |
| 6628924331 | Complement | A word or word group that completes the predicate in a sentence. Susan is a gifted athlete. | 26 | |
| 6628944179 | Concession | An argumentative strategy by which a speaker or writer acknowledges the validity of an opponent's point. I agree with you that Hannah can be rude, but that does not mean she can not be extremely nice to everyone. | 27 | |
| 6628961012 | Confirmation | The main part of a text in which logical arguments in support of a position are elaborated. Evidence is needed for all arguments or else they are just opinions. | 28 | |
| 6628976742 | Conjunction | The part of speech that serves to connect words, phrases, clauses, or sentences. I love you, but I can't be with you. | 29 | |
| 6628989029 | Connotation | The emotional implication and association that a word may carry. Like carries a weaker connotation then love. | 30 | |
| 6628995668 | Coordination | The grammatical connection of two or more ideas to five them equal emphasis and importance. "Fern phoned and got her Aunt Edith, and her Aunt Edith hollered for Uncle Homer, and Uncle Homer came in from the barn and talked to Fern." (E.B. White, Charlotte's Web. Harper, 1952) | 31 | |
| 6629016901 | Deduction | A method of reasoning in which a conclusion follows necessarily form the stated premises. Sherlock Holmes is a fictional character known for his skills in deduction. | 32 | |
| 6629043205 | Denotation | The direct or dictionary meaning of a word. Peace has a denotation of "a state of mutual harmony between people or groups, especially in personal relations". | 33 | |
| 6629054230 | Dialect | Regional or social variety of a language distinguished by pronunciation, grammar, and/or vocabulary. In the South, groups are often addressed as y'all; however, in the North, groups are addressed as you all. | 34 | |
| 6629069191 | Diction | (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. Using kinder words when talking to someone who is sad is an example of diction in everyday life. Using curse words and slurs when angry is another example of diction. | 35 | |
| 6629085811 | Didactic | Intended or include to teach or instruct, often excessively. Mr. Landreneau and Mrs. Purohit are often seen as being didactic because of the amount of homework he gives. | 36 | |
| 6638261538 | Encomium | A tribute or eulogy in prose or verse glorifying people, objects, ideas, or events. "O Captain! My Captain!" by Walt Whitman is an encomium to Abraham Lincoln. "Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue" by Toby Keith is an encomium to 9/11. | 37 | |
| 6638292739 | Epistrophe | The repetition of a word or phrase at the end of several clauses. The award for best hair went to Josh. The award for most likely to succeed went to Josh. And the award for most charming? It went to Josh! | 38 | |
| 6638301496 | Epitaph | (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. Family members are often the ones to give an epitaph at funerals. | 39 | |
| 6638320466 | Ethos | A persuasive appeal based on the projected character of the speaker or narrator. A scientist has more ethos than an actor that plays one on TV. Then there is Mayim Bialik who is a neuroscientist--she also plays one on TV in the show "The Big Bang Theory". | 40 | |
| 6638382341 | Eulogy | A formal expression of praise for someone who has recently died. It is easy to understand why eulogies at funerals of young people and children are sadder than eulogies at those of older people. | 41 | |
| 6638390623 | Euphemism | The substation of an inoffensive term for one considered offensively explicit. In today's society, curvy can be seen as a euphemism for fat because of the rise of skinny being equivalent to beautiful. | 42 | |
| 6638405092 | Exposition | A statement of type of composition intended to give information about an issue, subject, method, or idea. Books often include expositions that introduce the main character. | 43 | |
| 6638418863 | Extended Metaphor | A comparison between two unlike things that continues throughout a series of sentences in a paragraph or lines in a poem. |  | 44 |
| 6638434682 | Fallacy | An error in reasoning that renders an argument invalid. Little kids often use fallacies when trying to get there way. It usually works with other kids there age, but not so much when they try to use it on people older than them. | 45 | |
| 6638442823 | False Dilemma | A fallacy of oversimplification that offers a limited number of options, when in fact more options are available. During forceful interrogations there seem to be only two options according to interrogators, the easy way and the hard way to get information. In reality, those being interrogated often have many options. | 46 | |
| 6638458001 | Figurative Language | Language in which figures of speech (such as metaphors, similes, and hyperbole) freely occur. In some mythologies, natural disasters are seen as the personification of angry gods. | 47 | |
| 6638468662 | Figures of Speech | The various uses of language that depart from customary construction, order, or significance. The saying "it's raining cats and dogs outside" is a figure of speech for heavy rains. | 48 | |
| 6638474701 | Flashback | A shift in narrative to an earlier event that interrupts the normal chronological development of a story. In the TV show "The Big Bang Theory", Sheldon and Leonard, two of the main characters of the show, often have flashbacks to their childhoods. These flashbacks may possibly manifest into a spinoff that follows Sheldon as a child. | 49 | |
| 6638497380 | Genre | A category or type of literature (or of art, music, etc.) characterized by a particular form, style, or content. Many students prefer to read modern fiction to other genres, like classical fiction and non-fiction. | 50 | |
| 6638504976 | Hasty Generalization | A fallacy in which a conclusion is not logically justified by sufficient or unbiased evidence. Because the boy is a straight, white male in America with his parents still together, his life is easy. | 51 | |
| 6638518286 | Hyperbole | A figure of speech in which exaggeration is used for emphasis or effect; an extravagant statement. On a scale of 1 to 10, that movie was a 100. | 52 | |
| 6638538080 | Imagery | Vivid descriptive language that appeals to one or more of the senses. He had wavy brown hair that was soft to the touch. He smells like cologne, although he claims he never wears it. He has gray blue eyes that look like the morning sky after a storm. In her eyes, he was the most handsome boy she had ever met. | 53 | |
| 6646788155 | Induction | A method of reasoning by which a generalization is created from a number of instances that is meant to apply to all instances. Jamie got pizza for lunch. Sarah got pizza for lunch. Mark got pizza for lunch. The pizza must be good. | 54 | |
| 6646832455 | Invective | Denunciatory or abusive language; discourse that casts blame on somebody or something Yo mama so old, she took her driver's test on a dinosaur. | 55 | |
| 6646871489 | Irony | The 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. |  | 56 |
| 6646895891 | Isocolon | A succession of phrases of approximately equal length and corresponding structure. The bigger they are, the harder they fall. |  | 57 |
| 6646926517 | Jargon | The specialized language of a professional, occupational, or other group, often meaningless to outsiders. Doctors have jargon they use that confuses patients. It can often help to obscure something upsetting, like the patients death is soon to be. | 58 | |
| 6646936561 | Litotes | A figure of speech consisting of an understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by negating its opposite. He's not the sharpest tool in the shed. | 59 | |
| 6646948811 | Loose Sentence | A sentence structure in which a main clause is followed by subordinate phrases and clauses. Florida is a great vacation spot for families, with Disney World, Universal Studios, and Sea World. | 60 | |
| 6646956433 | Metaphor | A figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between two unlike things that actually have something important in common. "It is the east, and Juliet is the sun!" (William Shakespeare - Romeo & Juliet) | 61 | |
| 6646963842 | Metonym | A figure of speech in which one word or phrase is substituted for another with which it is closely associated. Hollywood has been releasing a surprising amount of sci-fi movies lately. (Hollywood has become synonymous for entertainment, like movie) | 62 | |
| 6646974539 | Mode of Discourse | The way in which information is presented in a text. The four traditional modes are narration, description, exposition, and argument. Instructions, Guidelines, and Manuals are descriptive modes of discourse. | 63 | |
| 6646986101 | Mood | (1) The quality of a verb that conveys the writer's attitude toward a subject. (2) The emotion evoked by a text. Charles Dickens creates a calm and peaceful mood in his novel "Pickwick Papers": "The river, reflecting the clear blue of the sky, glistened and sparkled as it flowed noiselessly on." | 64 | |
| 6646993215 | Narrative | A rhetorical strategy that recounts a sequence of events, usually in chronological order. Movies and novels are often narratives of a fictional character, or set of characters, to entertain audiences. | 65 | |
| 6646998048 | Noun | The part of speech that is used to name a person, place, thing, quality, or idea. The boy she likes goes to Springhill, and he had an idea to be an actor when he was younger. | 66 | |
| 6647006772 | Onomatopoeia | The formation or use of words that imitate the sounds associated with the objects or actions they refer to. The gun went off with a bang. | 67 | |
| 6647013854 | Oxymoron | A figure of speech in which incongruous or contradictory terms appear side by side. Jumbo Shrimp; Civil War | 68 | |
| 6647018235 | Paradox | A statement that appears to contradict itself. If Pinocchio says "My nose will grow now" what would happen? | 69 | |
| 6647023209 | Parallelism | The similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses. MLK Jr's "I have a Dream" speech contains parallelism. | 70 | |
| 6647030795 | Parody | A literary or artistic work that imitates the characteristic style of an author or a work for comic effect or ridicule. Barely Political is a youtube channel that creates parodies of many popular songs. | 71 | |
| 6647047525 | Pathos | The means of persuasion that appeals to the audience's emotions. Shelters will use pathos in an attempt to persuade people to donate money by showing sad and abused animals while playing sad music in the background. | 72 | |
| 6647054505 | Periodic Sentence | A 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. In spite of heavy snow and cold temperatures, the game continued. | 73 | |
| 6647066035 | Personification | A figure of speech in which an inanimate object or abstraction is endowed with human qualities or abilities. The wind howled in wake of the storm. | 74 | |
| 6660840262 | Point of View | The perspective from which a speaker or writer tells a story or presents information. In History and English, there are often questions about the point of view of an author to help further understanding of the document and its context. | 75 | |
| 6660845908 | Predicate | One of the two main parts of a sentence or clause, modifying the subject, including the verb, objects, or phrases governed by the verb. The girls in our office *are experienced instructors. | 76 | |
| 6660864178 | Pronoun | A word that takes the place of a noun. Jake is the pronoun of "the boy", and Miranda is the pronoun of "she" in the noun example. (The boy she likes goes to Springhill, and he had an idea to be an actor when he was younger.) | 77 | |
| 6660879860 | Prose | Ordinary writing as distinguished from verse. The bible is often printed in prose from, unlike the Qu'ran which is in verse. | 78 | |
| 6660890910 | Refutation | The part of an argument wherein a speaker or writer anticipates and counters opposing point of views. Connor's refutation during the TSA debate is probably what won his team the debate. | 79 | |
| 6660900877 | Repetition | An instance of using a word, phrase, or clause more than once in a short passage. Repetition often shows emphasis in writing, and draws the audiences attention to the phrase being repeated. | 80 | |
| 6660907924 | Rhetoric | The study and practice of effective communication. Although you may not realize it, you use rhetoric everyday. | 81 | |
| 6660912686 | Rhetorical Question | A question asked merely for effect with no answer expected. The question "Do I look stupid?" is often rhetorical. You should not answer unless you want to get in trouble. | 82 | |
| 6660926342 | Running Style | Sentence style that appears to follow the mind as it worries a problem through, mimicking the "rambling, associative syntax of conversation". "It had rained in the night, and the lane was awash with thin red mud, and puddles stood in the ruts and potholes. It was steep, wet, slippery walking. And cold." (Berton Roueché, What's Left. Little, Brown, 1968). | 83 | |
| 6660940932 | Sarcasm | A mocking, often ironic or satirical remark. I made the genius choice of selling my car right before I decided to move. | 84 | |
| 6660944921 | Satire | A text or performance that uses irony, derision, or wit to expose or attack human vice, foolishness, or stupidity. Political Cartoons. |  | 85 |
| 6660953503 | Simile | A figure of speech in which two fundamentally unlike things are explicitly compared, usually in a phrase introduced by "like" or "as". His eyes were like the sky after a storm--a perfect grey-blue. | 86 | |
| 6660959799 | Style | Narrowly interpreted as those figures that ornament speech or writing; broadly, as representing a manifestation of the person speaking or writing. You can use style to make writing more elegant, for example "She picked a red rose from the ground" can be made "Scarlet was the rose that she plucked from the earth", which can then be made into "From the ground she delicately plucked the ruby rose, cradling it in her hands as if it were a priceless jewel". | 87 | |
| 6660971321 | Subject | The part of a sentence or clause that indicates what it is about. In this sentence, "Jake and Miranda don't know that they have a crush on each other", Jake and Miranda are the subject. | 88 | |
| 6660980799 | Syllogism | A form of deductive reasoning consisting of a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion. Major premise: All men are mortal. Minor premise: Socrates is a man. Conclusion: Socrates is mortal. | 89 | |
| 6660983822 | Subordination | Words, phrases, and clauses that make one element of a sentence dependent on (or subordinate to) another. She answered the phone when it rang. "when it rang" is subordinate. | 90 | |
| 6660990928 | Symbol | A person, place, action, or thing that (by association, resemblance, or convention) represents something other than itself. A rose symbolizes romantic love. Cupid symbolizes desire. Valentine's Day represents chocolate and flowers. | 91 | |
| 6660997952 | Synecdoche | A figure of speech in which a part is used to represent the whole or the whole for a part. Microcosm is the phrase for synecdoche in which a smaller part signifies a larger whole. Macrocosm, on the other hand, is the phrase for synecdoche in which a larger whole signifies a smaller collection of parts. | 92 | |
| 6661002999 | Syntax | (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. Understanding syntax is very important for making clear sentences. | 93 | |
| 6661007015 | Thesis | The main idea of an essay or report, often written as a single declarative sentence. "If you don't know what a thesis is, you should not be in AP Language and Composition" is an example of a thesis if it were to lead into an essay. | 94 | |
| 6674477533 | Tone | A writer's attitude toward the subject and audience. Tone is primarily conveyed through diction, point of view, syntax, and level of formality. When emailing your boss, it is best to have a formal tone; however, if your texting your best friend, there should be an informal tone. | 95 | |
| 6674477534 | Transition | The connection between two parts of a piece of writing, contributing to coherence. Without transitions, stories would be disjointed and messy. | 96 | |
| 6674479084 | Understatement | A figure of speech in which a writer deliberately makes a situation seem less important or serious than it is. Shaquille O'Neal is kinda tall. | 97 | |
| 6674480673 | Verb | The part of speech that describes an action or occurrence or indicates a state of being. Without verbs, action sequences in movies would be boring. | 98 | |
| 6674480674 | Voice | (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. "First the colors. Then the humans. That's usually how I see things. Or at least, how I try. Here is a small fact You are going to die." The Book Thief; Markus Zusak | 99 | |
| 6674483257 | Zeugma | The use of a word to modify or govern two or more words although its use may be grammatically or logically correct with only one. The farmers in the valley grew potatoes, peanuts, and bored. | 100 |
