AP Lang Vocab List #4 Definitions

amorphous

adj. having no shape

vestment

n. a piece of clothing, generally ceremonial or formal

benign

adj. good or harmless

ponderous

adj. heavy or difficult to deal with

corporeal

adj. having a physical body

dormant

adj. inactive

expatriate

n. a person who has left his or her country, generally for political reasons

novitiate

n. an early probationary period for beginners, generally for religious orders

punctilious

adj. careful and exact

conjecture

n. an educated guess
v. to guess with some evidence

transition

n. a period of change or movement

localize

v. confine to a specific area

indoctrinate

v. to create a belief or bias in another

amphigory

n. a form of comedy that operates as a story and as a joke

magnanimous

adj. generous from a point of power, kind as a leader

euphemism

n. a kinder word or expression used in place of a harsh one

endothermic

adj. creating heat from within

xenophobia

n. fear of aliens or of strangers (alien fear)

orthodox

adj. traditional or accepted

putative

adj. commonly thought of as, supposed by people to be

verisimilitude

n. closeness to reality though fictional or untrue

matricide

n. the killing of one's mother (mother kill)

megalomania

n. an extreme belief in one's own importance

populist

n. a person who seeks to help the common people

sanguinary

adj. bloodthirsty or violent