AP Literature & Composition Short Story Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards covering literary terms and definitions from AP Literature & Composition.

[beer / bir]

bier - A stand on which a corpse or a coffin containing a corpse is placed prior to burial.

[kuh-bal / kə bal]

cabal - A conspiratorial group of plotters or intriguers; a secret scheme or plot. (Intransitive Verb: to form a cabal).

[koh-ket-ish / kou. 'ket.ɪʃ]

coquettish - (Of a woman) characteristically flirtatious, especially in a teasing, lighthearted manner.

[kuhk-uhld / 'kək.əld]

cuckold - A man whose wife has committed adultery. (Transitive Verb: to make a cuckold of).

[dep-ri-kuh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee / 'dep.ri.kə tar.i]

deprecatory - Disapproving; expressing belittlement.

[dep-yuh-tey-shuhn / 'dɛp.yə, tei.ʃ(ə)n]

deputation - The act or state of being appointed or authorized as an agent or representative; a person or group appointed to represent another or others; delegation.

[dif-i-duhnt / 'dif.ɪ, dənt]

diffident - Hesitant to assert oneself from a lack of self-confidence; timid.

[dis-puhn-sey-shuhn, -pen- / dɪs.pən' sei. ʃ(ə)n, -pen-]

dispensation - An exemption or release from an obligation or rule, granted by or as if by an authority; an exemption from a church law, a vow, or other similar obligation granted in a particular case by an ecclesiastical authority.

[dis-pep-shuh, -see-uh / dis' pɛp.ʃə, -si.yə]

dyspepsia - Indigestion.

[hang-dawg, -dog / 'haŋ.dag]

hangdog - Shamefaced or guilty; downcast, intimidated. (Noun: a sneaky or despicable person).

[jal-uh-see / 'jal.ə, si]

jalousie - A blind or shutter having adjustable horizontal slats for regulating the passage of air and light.

[liv-uh-ree / 'liv.ə, ri]

livery - The costume or insignia worn by the retainers of a feudal lord; a distinctive uniform worn by the male servants of a household, as by footmen; the boarding and care of horses for a fee.

[muh-kah-bruh, -kahb / mə'ka.brə, - 'kab]

macabre - Suggesting the horror of death and decay; gruesome; comprising or including a representation of death.

[pahr-kay / par'kei]

parquet - The part of the main floor of a theater between the orchestra pit and the parquet circle; a wooden floor, often using contrasting colors, worked into a pattern. (Transitive Verb: to furnish a room with a floor of parquetry).

[pur-pi-too-i-tee / pər.pɪ' tu.ɪ.ti]

perpetuity - The quality, state, or condition of being perpetual; time without end; eternity.

[pet-ee-koht / 'pet.i,kout]

petticoat - A skirt, especially a woman's slip or underskirt; (Slang) a woman or a girl; (Adjective) of or by women (e.g., a petticoat government).

[sev-er-uhns / 'sɛv.ər, əns]

severance - The act or process of dividing or separating into parts; separation; partition.

[svelte / svelt]

svelte - Slender or graceful in figure or outline; slim.

[ver-mil-yuhn / ver' mil yən]

vermillion - A bright red mercuric sulfide used as a pigment; a vivid red to reddish orange. (Transitive Verb: to color or dye vermillion).

[ves-tij / 'ves.tɪdʒ]

vestige - A visible trace, evidence, or sign of something that has once existed but exists or appears no more.