AP Lang Vocab Test 1

Acquisitive

adj. able to get and retain ideas or information; concerned with acquiring wealth or property

Animadversion

n.) a comment indicating strong criticism or disapproval

Banal

(adj.) hackneyed, trite, commonplace

Cacophonous

(adj.) harsh-sounding, raucous, discordant, dissonant

Celerity

n.) swiftness, rapidity of motion or action

Dissemble

v.) to disguise or conceal, deliberately give a false impression

Eschew

v.) to avoid, shun, keep away from

Evince

v.) to display clearly, to make evident, to provoke

Feckless

(adj.) lacking in spirit and strength; ineffective, weak;

Halcyon

n.) a legendary bird identified with the kingfisher; (adj.) of or relating to that bird; calm, peaceful; happy, golden; prosperous, affluent

Intransigent

(adj.) refusing to compromise; irreconcilable

Maelstrom

n.) a whirlpool of great size and violence; a situation

resembling a whirlpool in violence and destruction

Nefarious

(adj.) wicked, depraved, devoid of moral standards

Pejorative

(adj.) tending to make worse; expressing disapproval or disparagement, derogatory, deprecatory, belittling

Piquant

(adj.) stimulating to the taste or mind; spicy, pungent; appealingly provocative

Progeny

n.) descendants, offspring, children, followers, disciples

Summarily

(adv.) without delay or formality; briefly, concisely

Temporize

(v.) to stall or act evasively in order to gain time, avoid a confrontation, or postpone a decision; to compromise

Unwonted

(adj.) not usual or expected; not in character

Verbiage

(n) language that is too wordy or inflated in proportion to the sense or content, wordiness; a manner of expression

accost

v: to approach/speak to first; to confront in a challenging or aggressive way

affinity

n: a natural connection to a person, thing, or activity; a relationship, connection

brackish

adj: having a salty taste or unpleasant to drink

carping

adj: tending to find fault, esp in a petty, nasty, or hairsplitting way OR n: petty, nagging criticism

coherent

adj: holding or sticking together; making a logical whole; comprehensible, meaningful

commensurate

adj: equal in size, extent, duration or importance; proportionate; measurable by the same standards

dichotomy

n: a division into 2 contradictory or mutually exclusive parts; branching or forking into an ancestral line

ensconce

v: to settle comfortably + firmly in position; to put or hide in a safe place

faux pas

n: a slip in manners or conduct; a social blunder

iconoclastic

adj: attacking or seeking to overthrow popular or traditional beliefs, ideas, or institutions

incendiary

adj: deliberately setting or causing fires; designed to start fires; tending to stir up strife/rebellion OR n: one who deliberately sets fires; arsonist; one who causes strife

largesse

n: generosity in giving; lavish or bountiful contributions

malleable

adj: capable of being formed into diff shapes; capable of being altered, adapted, influenced

noisome

adj: offensive or disgusting; foul-smelling; harmful or injurious

portentous

adj: foreshadowing an event to come; causing wonder or awe; self consciously weighty, pompous

raconteur

n: a person who tells stories and anecdotes with great skill

tenable

adj: capable of being held or defended

truncate

v: to shorten by or as if by cutting off, lop

unconscionable

adj: not guided or restrained by conscience, prudence, or reason; unscrupulous, immoderate

vacuous

adj: devoid of matter, substance, or meaning; lacking ideas or intelligence; purposeless

arrogate

(v.) to claim or take without right (seize arrogantly)

 articulate

(v.) to pronounce distinctly; to express well in words; to connect by a joint or joints (adj.) expressed clearly and forcefully; able to employ language clearly and forcefully; jointed

  belabor

(v.) to work on excessively; to thrash soundly 

 cavort

(v.) to romp or prance around exuberantly; to make merry

 credence

(n.) belief, mental acceptance

invidious

(adj.) offensive, hateful; tending to cause bitterness and resentment 

myopic

(adj.) nearsighted; lacking a broad, realistic view of a situation; lacking foresight or discernment

primordial

(adj.) developed or created at the very beginning; going back to  the most ancient times or earliest age; fundamental, basic

propriety

(n.) the state of being proper, appropriateness; (pl.) standards of what is proper or socially acceptable 

sacrilege

(n.) improper or disrespectful treatment of something held sacred

decry

(v.) to condemn, express strong disapproval; to officially depreciate

emulate

(v.) to imitate with the intent of equaling or surpassing the model

econmium

(n.) a formal expression of praise, a lavish tribute

gambit

(n.)in chess, an opening move that involves risk or sacrifice of a minor piece in order to gain a later advantage; any opening move of this type 

germane

(adj.) relevant, appropriate, apropos, fitting

histrionic

(adj.) pertaining to actors and their techniques; theatrical, artificial; melodramatic

suppliant

(adj.) asking humbly and earnestly;  (n.) one who makes a request humbly and earnestly, a petitioner, a suitor

taciturn

(adj.) habitually silent or quiet, inclined to talk very little  

talisman

(n.) an object that serves as a charm or is believed to confer  magical powers, an amulet

viscous

(adj.) having a gelatinous or gluey quality, lacking in easy movement or fluidity