AP Language Terminology Flashcards

6298806252	allegory	The device of using character and/or story elements symbolically to represent an abstraction in addition to the literal meaning.	0
6298812651	alliteration	The repetition of sounds, especially initial consonant sounds in two or more neighboring words.	1
6298818811	allusion	A direct or indirect reference to something which is presumably commonly known, such as an event, book, myth, place, or work or art.	2
6298826541	ambiguity	The multiple meanings, either intentional or unintentional, of a word, phrase, sentence, or passage.	3
6298831463	analogy	A similarity or comparison between two different things or the relationship between them.	4
6298834658	antecedent	The word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun.	5
6298841956	antithesis	The opposition or contrast of ideas; the direct opposite.	6
6298845120	aphorism	A terse statement of known authorship which express a general truth or a moral principle.	7
6298849995	apostrophe	A figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or a personified abstraction, such as liberty or love.	8
6298856088	atmosphere	The emotional nod created by the entirety of a literary work, established partly by the setting and partly by the author's choice of objects that are described.	9
6298862945	caricature	A verbal description, the purpose of which is t exaggerate or distort, for comic effect, a person's distinctive physical features or other characteristics.	10
6298869934	clause	A grammatical unit that contains both a subject and a verb.	11
6298872819	colloquial/colloquialism	The use of slang or informalities in speech or writing.	12
6298876911	conceit	A fanciful expression, usually in the form of an extended metaphor or surprising analogy between seemingly dissimilar objects.	13
6298881470	connotation	The non-literal, associative meaning of a word; the implied, suggested meaning.	14
6298885478	denotation	The strict, literal, dictionary definition of a word, devoid of any emotion, attitude, or color.	15
6298889444	diction	The writer's word choices, especially with regard to their correctness, clearness, or effectiveness.	16
6298893477	didactic	Having the primary aim of teaching or instructing, especially the teaching of moral or ethical principles.	17
6298900128	euphemism	A more agreeable or less offensive substitute for a generally unpleasant word or concept.	18
6298908068	extended metaphor	A metaphor developed at great length, occurring frequently in or throughout a work.	19
6298912262	figurative language	Writing or speech that is not intended to carry literal meaning and is usually meant to be imaginative and vivid.	20
6298917299	figure of speech	A device used to produce figurative language.	21
6298922071	generic conventions	Traditions for each genre.	22
6298924633	genre	The major category into which a literary work fits.	23
6298929608	homily	Any serious talk, speech, or lecture involving moral or spiritual advice.	24
6298942266	hyperbole	A figure of speech using deliberate exaggeration or overstatement.	25
6298945799	imagery	The sensory details or figurative language used to describe, arouse emotion, or represent abstractions.	26
6298953619	inference/infer	To draw a reasonable conclusion from the information presented.	27
6298956759	invective	A emotionally violent, verbal denunciation or attack using strong, abusive language.	28
6298962802	irony/ironic	The contrast between what is stated explicitly and what is really meant, or the difference between what appears to be and what is actually true.	29
6298969916	litotes	A form of understatement that involves making an affirmative point by denying its opposite.	30
6298978289	loose sentence/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.	31
6298985977	metaphor	A figure of speech using implied comparison or seemingly unlike things or the substitution of one for the other, suggesting some similarity.	32
6298992406	metonymy	a figure of speech in which the name of one object is substituted for that of another closely associated with it.	33
6298997940	mood	The prevailing atmosphere or emotional aura of a work.	34
6299000002	narrative	The telling of a story or an account of an event or series of events.	35
6299003109	onomatopoeia	A figure of speech in which natural sounds are imitated in the sounds of words.	36
6299007140	oxymoron	A figure of speech wherein the author groups apparently contradictory term to suggest a paradox.	37
6299014813	paradox	A statement that appears to be self-contradictory or opposed to common sense but upon closer inspection contains some degree of truth or validity.	38
6299021212	parallelism	The grammatical or rhetorical framing of words, phrases, sentences, or paragraphs to give structural similarity.	39
6299029452	anaphora	A sub-type of parallelism, when the exact repetition of words or phrases occurs at the beginning of successive lines or sentences.	40
6299035553	parody	A work that closely imitates the style or content of another with the specific aim of comic effect and/or ridicule.	41
6299039524	pedantic	An adjective that describes words, phrases, or general tone that is overly scholarly, academic, or bookish.	42
6299043545	periodic sentence	A sentence that presents its central meaning in a main clause at the end.	43
6299047564	personification	A figure of speech in which the author presents or describes concepts, animals, or inanimate objects by endowing them with human attributes or emotions.	44
6299054800	point of view	The perspective from which a story is told.	45
6299058549	prose	One of the major divisions of genre; refers to fiction and nonfiction, including all forms.	46
6299063621	repetition	The duplication, either exact or approximate, or any element of language, such as a sound, word, phrase, clause, sentence, or grammatical pattern.	47
6299070016	rhetoric	The principles governing the art of writing effectively, eloquently and persuasively.	48
6299078178	rhetorical modes	The variety, the conventions, and the purposes of the major kinds of writing.	49
6299083287	sarcasm	Bitter, caustic language that is meant to hurt or ridicule someone or something.	50
6299086461	satire	A work that targets human vices and follies or social institutions and conventions for reform or ridicule.	51
6299090139	semantics	The branch of linguistics that studies the meaning of words, their historical and psychological development, their connotations, and their relations to one another.	52
6299095289	style	Style.	53
6299099429	subject complement	The word or clause that follows a linking verb and complements, or completes, the subject or the sentence by either renaming it (predicative nominative) or describing it (predicative adjective).	54
6299108896	subordinate clause	A clause that cannot stand alone and does not express a complete thought.	55
6299114534	syllogism	A deductive system of formal logic that presents two premises that inevitably lead to a sound conclusion.	56
6299121102	symbol/symbolism	Anything that represents itself and stands for something else.	57
6299123800	synecdoche	A figure of speech in which a part of something is used to represent the whole or, occasionally, the whole si used to represent a part.	58
6299133260	synesthesia	Wen one kind of sensory stimulus evokes the subjective experience of another.	59
6299136972	syntax	The way an author chooses to join words into phrases, clauses, and sentences.	60
6299139573	theme	The central idea or message of a work, the insight it offers into life.	61
6299142414	thesis	The sentence or group of sentences that directly expresses the author's opinion, purpose, meaning, or position.	62
6299146524	tone	The author's attitude toward his/her material, the audience, or both.	63
6299152412	transition	A word or phrase that links different ideas.	64
6299154444	understatement	The ironic minimalizing of fact, presents something as less significant than it is.	65
6299160804	wit	Intellectually amusing language that surprises and delights.	66