AP Language and Composition Vocabulary Flashcards
Terms : Hide Images [1]
14566298742 | abstract | existing in thought or as an idea but not having a physical or concrete existence | 0 | |
14566298743 | allusion/alludes/classical allusion | an expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference | 1 | |
14566455497 | ambiguity | the multiple meanings, either intentional or unintentional, of a word, phrase, sentence, or passage. | 2 | |
14566455498 | anecdote/anecdotal | a short amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person | 3 | |
14566455499 | antithesis/antithetical | direct contrast; opposition | 4 | |
14566455500 | 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 | 5 | |
14566455501 | author's purpose | the author's reason for or intent in writing | 6 | |
14566455502 | analogy | a comparison of two different things that are similar in some way | 7 | |
14566455503 | antecedent | the word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun | 8 | |
14566455504 | aphorism | a brief, cleverly worded statement that makes a wise observation about life | 9 | |
14566455505 | clause | a grammatical unit that contains both a subject and a verb | 10 | |
14566455506 | cliché | a worn-out idea or overused expression | 11 | |
14566455507 | colloquialism | informal words or expressions not usually acceptable in formal writing | 12 | |
14566455508 | concrete | existing in a material or physical form; not abstract | 13 | |
14566455509 | connotation | an idea or feeling that a word invokes in addition to its literal or primary meaning | 14 | |
14566455510 | comtemplative | expressing or involving prolonged thought | 15 | |
14566455511 | convey | make (an idea, impression, or feeling) known or understandable to someone | 16 | |
14566455512 | deductive | characterized by or based on the inference of particular instances from a general law | 17 | |
14566455513 | denotation | the literal or primary meaning of a word, in contrast to the feelings or ideas that the word suggests | 18 | |
14566455514 | device | technique a writer uses to produce a special effect in their writing | 19 | |
14566455515 | dichotomy/dichotomous | divides a thing into two equal and contradictory parts, or between two opposing groups | 20 | |
14566455516 | dictation | transcription of spoken text | 21 | |
14566455517 | didactic | intended to instruct | 22 | |
14566455518 | elegiac | expressing sorrow or lamentation | 23 | |
14566455519 | euphemism | an indirect, less offensive way of saying something that is considered unpleasant | 24 | |
14566455520 | excerpt/excerpted | a quoted selection removed from a longer piece and presented to the reader, often in support of a point or as an example | 25 | |
14566455521 | expository | explanatory | 26 | |
14566455522 | extended metaphor | a metaphor developed at great length, occurring frequently in or throughout a work | 27 | |
14566455523 | extended simile | a simile in which something is compared using a whole story instead of a single word or phrase | 28 | |
14566455524 | figures of speech | expressions, such as similes, metaphors, and personifications, that make imaginative, rather than literal, comparisons or associations | 29 | |
14566455525 | footnote | a note at the bottom of the page used to cite references or give more information | 30 | |
14566455526 | homily | a sermon | 31 | |
14566455527 | hyperbole | exaggeration | 32 | |
14566455528 | hypothetical example | an example that describes an imaginary or fictitious situation | 33 | |
14566455529 | illustrate/illustrative | to make something more clear or visible | 34 | |
14566455530 | imagery | description that appeals to the senses (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste) | 35 | |
14566455531 | inference | a conclusion reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning | 36 | |
14566455532 | invective | denotes speech or writing that attacks, insults, or denounces a person, topic, or institution | 37 | |
14566455533 | irony (especially verbal) | a figure of speech in which words are used in such a way that their intended meaning is different from the actual meaning of the words. It may also be a situation that may end up in quite a different way than what is generally anticipated. In simple words, it is a difference between the appearance and the reality | 38 | |
14566455534 | jargon | special words or expressions that are used by a particular profession or group and are difficult for others to understand | 39 | |
14566455535 | juxtaposition | placement of two things closely together to emphasize comparisons or contrasts | 40 | |
14566455536 | lyrical | expressing a poet's inner feelings; emotional; full of images; song-like | 41 | |
14566455537 | metaphor | a comparison without using like or as | 42 | |
14566455538 | mood | feeling or atmosphere that a writer creates for the reader | 43 | |
14566455539 | narrative | the telling of a story or an account of an event or series of events | 44 | |
14566455540 | oxymoron | a figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase | 45 | |
14566455541 | paradox/paradoxical | a statement that appears to be self-contradictory or opposed to common sense but upon closer inspection contains some degree of truth or validity | 46 | |
14566455542 | parallelism/parallel structure | the repetition of words or phrases that have similar grammatical structures | 47 | |
14566455543 | pedantic | someone who is concerned with precision, formalism, accuracy, and minute details in order to make an arrogant and ostentatious show of learning | 48 | |
14566455544 | personification | a figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes | 49 | |
14566455545 | point of view | the perspective from which a story is told | 50 | |
14566455546 | prosaic | dull | 51 | |
14566455547 | prose | form of language that has no formal metrical structure | 52 | |
14566455548 | pun | a play on words | 53 | |
14566455549 | purpose | the goal the speaker wants to achieve | 54 | |
14566455550 | qualify | measure up; change something slightly, limit it or add a condition to it | 55 | |
14566596234 | rebuttal | a refutation or contradiction | 56 | |
14566596235 | refute/refutation | to discredit an argument, particularly a counterargument | 57 | |
14566596236 | rhetoric/rhetorical purpose/rhetorical | how writers and speakers use words to influence an audience | 58 | |
14566596237 | strategy | technique of several specific methods the creator of a narrative uses to convey what they want | 59 | |
14566596238 | sarcasm | the use of irony to mock or convey contempt | 60 | |
14566596239 | satire/satirical/satirize | sarcastic imitation | 61 | |
14566596240 | solecism | nonstandard grammatical usage; a violation of grammatical rules | 62 | |
14566596241 | stance | the attitude that the writer has towards the topic of his or her message | 63 | |
14566596242 | style/stylistic | any specific way of using language, which is characteristic of an author, school, period, or genre | 64 | |
14566596243 | subordinate clause | created by a subordinating conjunction, a clause that modifies an independent clause | 65 | |
14566596244 | symbol | a thing that represents or stands for something else, especially a material object representing something abstract | 66 | |
14566596245 | syntax/syntactical | the way in which words are put together to form phrases, clauses, or sentences | 67 | |
14566596246 | tone | a writer's attitude toward his or her subject matter revealed through diction, figurative language, and organization on the sentence and global levels | 68 | |
14566596247 | understatement | the presentation of something as being smaller, worse, or less important than it actually is | 69 | |
14566596248 | wit | intellectually amusing language that surprises and delights | 70 | |
14566596249 | allegory | a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one | 71 | |
14566596250 | alliteration | repetition of initial consonant sounds | 72 | |
14566596251 | anticlimax/anticlimactic | an event or experience that causes disappointment because it is less exciting than was expected or because it happens immediately after a much more interesting or exciting event | 73 | |
14566596252 | assertion (qualified, unqualified) | making a statement investing strong beliefs in it, as if it is true, though it may not be | 74 | |
14566596253 | apostrophe (poetry) | a figure of speech in which the poet addresses an absent person, an abstract idea, or a thing | 75 | |
14566596254 | climax | most exciting moment of the story; turning point | 76 | |
14566596255 | conceit | a fanciful expression, usually in the form of an extended metaphor or surprising analogy between seemingly dissimilar objects | 77 | |
14566596256 | counterexample | an example used to support a claim or statement that is the opposite of another claim or statement | 78 | |
14566596257 | cynicism | an attitude or quality of belief that all people are motivated by selfishness | 79 | |
14566596258 | diatribe | a bitter verbal attack | 80 | |
14566596259 | digression | straying from main point | 81 | |
14566596260 | dogma | an unproven principle or belief held to be true | 82 | |
14566596261 | enumerate | list | 83 | |
14566596262 | enunciate | to pronounce clearly | 84 | |
14566596263 | epilogue | short speech at conclusion of dramatic work | 85 | |
14566596264 | epiphany | a moment of sudden revelation or insight | 86 | |
14566596265 | ethos | credibility | 87 | |
14566596266 | fallacy | a mistaken belief, especially one based on unsound argument | 88 | |
14566596267 | farce | a comedy that contains an extravagant and nonsensical disregard of seriousness, although it may have a serious, scornful purpose | 89 | |
14566596268 | genre | a major category or type of literature | 90 | |
14566596269 | imperative mood | give commands | 91 | |
14566596270 | inversion | inverted order of words in a sentence (variation of the subject-verb-object order) | 92 | |
14566596271 | logos | appeal to logic | 93 | |
14566596272 | metonymy | a figure of speech in which something is referred to by using the name of something that is associated with it | 94 | |
14566596273 | simile | a comparison using "like" or "as" | 95 | |
14566596274 | onomatopoeia | a word that imitates the sound it represents. | 96 | |
14566596275 | parody | a work that closely imitates the style or content of another with the specific aim of comic effect and/or ridicule | 97 | |
14566596276 | pathos | appeal to emotion | 98 | |
14566596277 | periodic structure | a particular placement of sentence elements such as the main clause of the sentence and/or its predicate are purposely held off and placed at the end instead of at the beginning or their conventional positions | 99 | |
14566596278 | prepositional phrase | a group of words that begins with a preposition and ends with a noun or pronoun | 100 | |
14566596279 | semantics | the set of rules by which we derive meaning from morphemes, words, and sentences in a given language; also, the study of meaning | 101 | |
14566596280 | syllogism | a form of deductive reasoning consisting of a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion | 102 | |
14566596281 | theme | central idea of a work of literature | 103 | |
14566596282 | treatise | a methodically and thoroughly written discussion of a topic | 104 |