AP Vocabulary

221402745	denotation	the most direct or specific meaning of a word or expression
221402746	allusion	a reference to something literary, mythological, or historical that the author assumes the reader will recognize
221402747	anecdote	short account of event
221402748	analogy	drawing a comparison in order to show a similarity in some respect
221402749	colloquial	characteristic of informal spoken language or conversation
221402750	cacophony	loud confusing disagreeable sounds
221402751	antithesis	exact opposite
221402752	allegory	a literary work in which characters, objects, or actions represent more abstract ideas; Santa Clause, for instance, can be an allegory for generocity.
221402753	alliteration	use of the same consonant at the beginning of each stressed syllable in a line of verse
221402754	connotation	an idea that is implied or suggested
221402755	dialect	the usage or vocabulary that is characteristic of a specific group of people
221402756	diction	the manner in which something is expressed in words
221402757	ellipsis	the omission of a word or phrase which is grammatically necessary but can be deduced for the context ("Some people prefer cats; others, dogs.")
221402758	euphemism	an inoffensive expression that is substituted for one that is considered offensive
221402759	euphony	any agreeable (pleasing and harmonious) sounds
221402760	hyperbole	a figure of speech that uses exaggeration to express strong emotion, make a point, or evoke humor
221402761	imagery	Description that appeals to the senses (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste)
221402762	irony	incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs
221402763	metaphor	a figure of speech in which an expression is used to refer to something that it does not literally denote in order to suggest a similarity
221402764	metonymy	A figure of speech in which something is referred to by using the name of something that is associated with it
221402765	monologue	a (usually long) dramatic speech by a single actor
221402766	onomatopoeia	using words that imitate the sound they denote
221402767	oxymoron	conjoining contradictory terms (as in 'deafening silence')
221402768	parody	a composition that imitates somebody's style in a humorous way
221402769	sarcasm	witty language used to convey insults or scorn
221402770	satire	form of literature in which irony, sarcasm, and ridicule are employed to attack human vice and folly
221402771	syllogism	deductive reasoning in which a conclusion is derived from two premises
221402772	synecdoche	A figure of speech in which a part is used for the whole (as hand for sailor), the whole for a part (as the law for police officer), the specific for the general (as cutthroat for assassin), the general for the specific (as thief for pickpocket), or the material for the thing made from it (as steel for sword).
221402773	theme	a unifying idea that is a recurrent element in a literary or artistic work
221402774	anaphora	repetition of a word or phrase as the beginning of successive clauses
221402775	polysyndeton	using several conjunctions in close succession, especially where some might be omitted (as in 'he ran and jumped and laughed for joy')
221402776	epigraph	a saying or statement on the title page of a work, or used as a heading for a chapter or other section of a work
221402777	didactic	instructive (especially excessively)
221402778	asyndeton	a construction in which elements are presented in a series without conjunctions
221402779	epistrophe	repetition of the ends of two or more successive sentences, verses, etc.
221402780	pun	a humorous play on words
221402781	assonance	the repetition of similar vowels in the stressed syllables of successive words
221402782	consonance	the repetition of consonants (or consonant patterns) especially at the ends of words
221402783	antimetabole	Repitition of words in succussive clauses in reverse grammatical order ("You can take the boy out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the boy.")
221402784	belligerent	characteristic of an enemy or one eager to fight
221402785	bitter	very difficult to accept or bear
221402786	arrogant	having or showing feelings of unwarranted importance out of overbearing pride
221402787	cynical	believing the worst of human nature and motives
221402788	amiable	diffusing warmth and friendliness
221402789	mournful	filled with or evoking sadness
221402790	sardonic	disdainfully or ironically humorous
221402791	facetious	cleverly amusing in tone
221402792	inert	slow and apathetic
221402793	bombastic	(adj.) pompous or overblown in language; full of high-sounding words intended to conceal a lack of ideas
221402794	monotonous	tediously repetitious or lacking in variety
221402795	rapturous	feeling great rapture or delight
221402796	monomaniacal	obsessed with a single subject or idea
221402797	ad populum	Latin for "to the crowd." A fallacy of logic in which the widespread occurrence of something is assumed to make it true.
221402798	ad vericundium	an appeal to authority, citing the opinions of an "expert" who has no claim to expertize on the subject. i.e. Sports personalities advertising razors.
221402799	post hoc ergo propter hoc	Assuming that an incident that precedes another is the cause of the second incident
221402800	circular reasoning	an argument which says "P is true because Q is true, and Q is true because P is true"
221402801	reductio ad absurdum	the Latin for "to reduce to the absurd." This is a technique useful in creating a comic effect and is also an argumentative technique. It is considered a rhetorical fallacy because it reduces an argument to an either/or choice
221402802	non sequitor	a statement that does not follow logicaly from what has been said; that is a conclusion that does not follow from the premises
221402803	red herring	Something that draws attention away from the main issue
221402804	straw man	a logical fallacy that involves the creation of an easily refutable position; misrepresenting, then attacking an opponent's position
221402805	slippery slope	a fallacy that assumes that taking a first step will lead to subsequent steps that cannot be prevented.
221402806	ad hominem	In an argument, this is an attack on the person rather than on the opponent's ideas. It comes from the Latin meaning "against the man."
221402807	hasty generalization	A fallacy that presents a generalization that is either not supported with evidence or is supported with only weak evidence
221402808	ad ignorantium	attempts to establish that an argument is true by claiming that its opposite has not yet been proven
221402809	ad misericordium	an appeal to the audience's sympathy; an attempt to persuade another, using a hard-luck story rather than logic or reason; pathos
221402810	ad nauseum	repeated too many times, over kill
221402811	appeal to tradition	trying to get someone to accept something because it has been done or believed for a long time. Example: This is the way we've always done it. Therefore, it is the right way.Example: The Catholic church's tradition demonstrates that this doctrine is true.
221402812	perfect solution fallacy	where an argument assumes that a perfect solution exists and/or that a solution should be rejected because some part of the problem would still exist after it was implemented Post hoc ergo propter hoc: also known as false cause, coincidental correlation or correlation not causation.
221402813	tu quoque	("you too"). This is the fallacy of defending an error in one's reasoning by pointing out that one's opponent has made the same error. An error is still an error, regardless of how many people make it. For example, "They accuse us of making unjustified assertions. But they asserted a lot of things, too!"
221402814	false dichotomy	argues there are only two options when really there may be many
221402815	special pleading	The argument that the rules should not apply to this special case
221402816	equivocation	a statement that is not literally false but that cleverly avoids an unpleasant truth
221402817	loaded question	"Do you no longer support the death penalty?" The assumption is that a person did support the death penalty at one time.
221402818	ad baculum	appeal to fear/threat/absence of something you want; "if you do not agree to this, something bad will happen"
221402819	appeal to novelty	This argument deduces that because something is new, it is automatically better
221403329	parallelism	the use of a series of words, phrases, or sentences that have similar grammatical form