Language Proficiency: Diction and Vocabulary

Flashcards covering vocabulary, analogies, and diction rules found in the English III Language Proficiency lecture notes.

Obstreperous

Describing children who are so noisy and difficult to control that a teacher has to yell to be heard.

Exhort

To strongly encourage or urge a team to try harder in the face of overwhelming odds.

Indigenous

Originating or occurring naturally in a particular place, such as flowers native to New England.

Dilettante

A person who cultivates an area of interest, such as the opera, without real commitment or knowledge; a pretender.

Dogmatic

Inclined to lay down principles as incontrovertibly true; being forceful in the expression of opinions.

Instigating

To bring about or initiate an action or event, often used in the context of starting trouble.

Pejorative

Expressing contempt or disapproval; derogatory remarks.

Philistine

A person who is hostile or indifferent to culture and the arts, or who has no understanding of them.

Exonerated

To be officially absolved from blame or cleared of all wrongdoing, such as by a jury.

Malaise

A general feeling of discomfort, illness, or unease that can befall a community upon hearing horrid news.

Metamorphosis

A change of the form or nature of a person or thing into a completely different one, such as a student suddenly becoming serious.

Esoteric

Intended for or likely to be understood by only a small number of people with a specialized knowledge or interest.

Tenuous

Very weak or slight; used to describe an uncertain hold on a job or position.

Culminated

To reach a climax or point of highest development, such as a basketball season ending in a championship win.

Specious

Superficially plausible, but actually wrong; misleading, like certain legal arguments.

Obtuse

Annoyingly insensitive or slow to understand even simple directions.

Adverse

Preventing success or development; harmful or unfavorable weather conditions.

Enigma

A person or thing that is mysterious, puzzling, or difficult to understand.

Replete

Filled or well-provided with something, such as an essay full of punctuation errors.

Obsequiously

Behaving in an obedient or attentive way to an excessive or servile degree.

Exacerbated

To make a problem, bad situation, or negative feeling worse.

Temerity

Excessive confidence or boldness; audacity.

Banal

So lacking in originality as to be obvious and boring, like a predictable lecture.

Ruminated

To think deeply about something; to meditate upon a future decision for months.

Enormity

The great size, scale, or seriousness of a task.

Ethereal

Extremely delicate and light in a way that seems too perfect for this world; mysterious or heavenly music.

Salient

Most noticeable or important; the primary facts of a matter.

Edify

To instruct or improve someone morally or intellectually.

Mitigate

To make less severe, serious, or painful; to lessen the effects of a bad year.

Lethargy

A lack of energy and enthusiasm; the state of being well known for inaction.

Miniscule : Gargantuan

An analogy representing an antonymous relationship between something very small and something very large.

Impecunious : Impoverished

An analogy representing a synonymous relationship regarding the state of having little or no money.

Surreptitious : Candid

An analogy representing an antonymous relationship between being secretive and being truthful/straightforward.

Erudite : Scholarly

An analogy representing a synonymous relationship for showing great knowledge or learning.

Exigent : Demanding

An analogy representing a synonymous relationship meaning pressing or requiring immediate action.

Immutable : Impermanent

An analogy representing an antonymous relationship between something unchanging and something temporary.

Virulent : Deadly

An analogy representing a synonymous relationship describing something extremely severe or harmful.

Abstruse : Straightforward

An analogy representing an antonymous relationship between something difficult to understand and something easy.

Arduous : Easy

An analogy representing an antonymous relationship between a strenuous task and a simple one.

Exuberant : Ebullient

An analogy representing a synonymous relationship describing high-spirited energy and excitement.

Affect vs. Effect

In diction, "affect" is normally used as a verb (to influence), while "effect" is typically used as a noun (the result).

Farther vs. Further

In diction, "farther" refers to physical distance (down the road), while "further" refers to figurative or metaphorical distance.

Alumnus vs. Alumna

In diction, "alumnus" is used for a male graduate, whereas "alumna" is the correct term for a female graduate.

Infer vs. Imply

In diction, "imply" means to suggest something indirectly, while "infer" means to deduce or conclude information from evidence or remarks.