AP LANG TERMS

James is a bum

Anthimeria

One part of speech, usually a noun, substitutes for another, usually a verb. Example: I needed to quiet my mind, so I decided to bed early instead of staying up late.

Onomatopoeia

Sounds of the words used are related to their meaning. Example: The sizzling bacon crackled and popped in the hot iron skillet.

Hyperbole

An overstatement. Example: I have told you a million times to clean your room before dinner!

Litotes

An understatement, often using a double negative. Example: Winning the championship game was no small feat for the underdog team.

Oxymoron

Words that have apparently contradictory meanings are placed near each other. Example: The room fell into a deafening silence as the speaker stepped up to the microphone.

Rhetorical Question

A question designed not to secure an answer but to move the development of an idea forward and suggest a point. Example: Do you really think money grows on trees?

Synecdoche

A part of something is used to refer to the whole. Example: The captain shouted for all hands on deck as the stormy waves hit the ship.

Metonymy

An entity is referred to by one of its attributes or closely associated concepts. Example: The Crown issued a statement today regarding the new national policy.

Personification

Inanimate objects are given human characteristics. Example: The wind whispered through the dark trees as night fell over the valley.

Alliteration

Repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning or in the middle of two or more adjacent words. Example: Peter picked a peck of pickled peppers for the picnic.

Assonance

Repetition of vowel sounds in the stressed syllables of two or more adjacent words. Example: The early bird catches the worm with subtle ease.

Anaphora

Repetition of the same group of words at the beginning of each successive clause. Example: We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall never surrender.

Epistrophe

Repetition of the same group of words at the end of successive clauses. Example: See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.

Anadiplosis

Repetition of the last word of one clause at the beginning of the following clause. Example: Fear leads to anger; anger leads to hate; hate leads to suffering.

Climax

Repetition of words, phrases, or clauses in order of increasing importance. Example: Out of the struggle comes strength, out of strength comes courage, and out of courage comes victory.

Asyndeton

Omission of conjunctions between related clauses. Example: I came, I saw, I conquered.

Ellipsis

Omission of words. Example: John brought apples to the picnic; Sarah, oranges.

Appositive

Two coordinating elements are set side by side and the second explains why or modifies the first. Example: My sister, a talented artist, drew a beautiful landscape portrait.

Parenthesis

To set off an interruptive word, phrase, or clause. Example: The final exam —which was surprisingly easy— was graded within an hour.

Zeugma

More than one item in a sentence is governed by a single word, usually a verb. Example: She broke his heart and his favorite coffee mug in the same afternoon.

Antithesis

Parallelism is used to juxtapose words, phrases, or clauses that contrast. Example: That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.

Antimetabole

Words are repeated in different grammatical forms or transposed order. Example: Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.

Scheme

Artful variation from the typical arrangement of words in a sentence. Example: "Grown old have you" alters standard word order for emphasis.

Trope

Artful variation from the typical way a word or idea is expressed. Example: Calling a slow runner a "thoroughbred racehorse" alters the literal meaning of the words for dramatic effect.

Periphrasis

A descriptive word or phrase is used to refer to a proper name. Example: The Big Apple never sleeps during the holiday season.

Irony

Words are meant to convey the opposite of their literal meaning. Example: Staring out at the pouring rain, she smiled and said, "What lovely weather we are having today."

Denotation

Literal meaning of a word. Example: The word home denotes the physical structure or location where a person resides.

Connotation

The emotional association a word evokes. Example: The word home connotes feelings of warmth, safety, family, and comfort.

Jargon

Specialized vocabulary used for communication among people within a special group or community. Example: The developer said we need to refactor the codebase to fix the null pointer exception.

Loose Sentence

Basic sentence with details added at the end of the basic sentence elements. Example: Abraham Lincoln wept, fearing that the Union would not survive if the southern states seceded.

Periodic Sentence

Additional details are placed either before or in the middle of the basic sentence elements. Example: Alone in his study, lost in somber thoughts about his beloved country, Abraham Lincoln wept.

Simple Sentence

A sentence consisting of a single independent clause. Example: Abraham Lincoln struggled to save the Union.

Compound Sentence

A sentence containing two independent clauses joined by a conjunction. Example: Abraham Lincoln struggled to save the Union, and Andrew Johnson assisted him.

Complex Sentence

A sentence containing one independent clause and at least one subordinate clause. Example: When the leaders of the Confederacy insisted on states' rights, Abraham Lincoln struggled to save the Union.

Compound-Complex Sentence

A sentence containing two or more independent clauses and at least one subordinate clause. Example: When the leaders insisted on states' rights, Abraham Lincoln struggled to save the Union, and Andrew Johnson assisted him.

Parallelism / Parallel Structure

Expressing two or more ideas fulfilling a similar function in the same grammatical form. Example: Government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish.

Passive Voice

A sentence construction where the receiver of the action is placed before the verb, emphasizing what was done rather than who did it. Example: The chemical solution was filtered by the lab technician.

Active Voice

A sentence construction following the pattern of doer -> action -> receiver. Example: The lab technician filtered the solution.

Ladder of Abstraction

A concept describing how words range from highly general/abstract at the top to specific/concrete at the bottom. Example: Moving from "transportation" down to "automobiles" to "my 2001 green Subaru Forester".

Anglo-Saxon

Informal diction using simple, short words. Example: The dog bit the man on his leg.

Latin

Formal, long, or elaborate words. Example: The canine inflicted a severe laceration upon the individual's lower extremity.

Diction

Choice of words based on purpose, audience, and genre. Example: A scholar chooses formal, academic words, whereas a friend uses informal, casual words in an email.