AP English Literature and Composition Vocabulary List 2

unit 2 words and defintions w/ examples

Aesthetic

(adjective) concerning or characterized by an appreciation of beauty or good taste

“In the theater, passion and perfectionism and insistence on __ standards are prized qualities, not unruly and unwelcome traits.”

Aloof

(adjective) remote in manner; (adverb) away from another or others

“His manner was not constrained—he had left shyness a long way behind him if he ever had any—but it was restrained: tentative, __.”

Assuage

(verb) provide physical relief, as from pain; satisfy, gain the good will of

“At night, before she slept, Kira held the scrap of cloth that had so often ___ed her fears and even answered her questions.”

Callous

(adjective) emotionally hardened

“Yeah. So, sorry if I come across __ sometimes. Or, I don’t know, defensive. Most of the time I’m just confused.”

Censure

(noun) harsh criticism or disapproval; the state of being excommunicated; (verb) rebuke formally

““I deserve neither such praise nor such __” cried Elizabeth; “I am not a great reader, and I have pleasure in many things.””

Corpulent

(adjective) excessively large; obese

“I Had expected that Mr. Gatsby would be a florid and __ person in his middle years.”

Derisive

(adjective) abusing vocally; expressing contempt or ridicule

“Simon broke off and turned to Piggy who was looking at him with an expression of __".”

Elegiac

(adjective) resembling or characteristic of or appropriate to an elegy; expression sorrow for something past

“The first songs were vigorous and then Mama Adanna’s voice broke out, husky and __.”

Fervent

(adjective) characterized by intense emotion

“They looked with __ anticipation, and the dead city lay dead for them alone, drowsing in a hot silence of summer made on Mars by a Martian weatherman.”

Inundate

(verb) to fill or cover completely, usually with water; fill beyond capacity

“Moments later we were __ed with a flood of calls from media, clients, families, and children’s rights activists.”

Malady

(noun) impairment of normal physiological function affecting part or all of an organism; any unwholesome or desperate condition

“But now their art and knowledge were baffled; for there were many sick of a __ that would not be healed; and they called it the Black Shadow, for it came from the Nazgul.”

Obdurate

(adjective) stubbornly persistent in wrongdoing; showing or unfeeling resistance to tender feelings

“To get this far one had to have an uncommonly __ personality".”

Penitent

(adjective) feeling or expressing remorse for misdeeds; ashamed; regretful

““Yes, please, but I never will again.” and he went down upon his knees, with a __ clasping of hands, and a face full of mischief, mirth, and triumph.”

Profligate

(adjective) unrestrained by convention or morality; recklessly wasteful

“He bought four pair— a __ quantity of socks—and not only were they not gray, no two pair were even the same color”

Secular

(noun) someone who is not a clergyman or a professional person; (adjective) characteristic of or devoted to the temporal world as opposed to the spiritual world; non-religious; not affiliated with a church or faith

“Maybe it was because Dad was a __ humanist, and Babou was religiously predisposed to dislike him.”

Rumination

(noun) a calm, lengthy, intent consideration

“Once Cora had gleaned what she could from the yellowed pamphlets, she started on the old almanacs, with their projections and __ about the tides and stars, and bits of obscure commentary.”

Stoic

(adjective) seeming unaffected by pleasure or pain; impassive; (noun) someone who is seemingly indifferent to emotions

“Little children stood around everywhere with their parents, as quiet and __ as the grownups.”

Trepidation

(noun) a feeling of alarm or dread

‘Neither one of us said much of anything as we walked home in __, certain that Assef and his friends would ambush us every time we turned a corner.”

Vitate

(verb) make imperfect; corrupt morally or by intemperance or sensuality; take away the legal force of or render ineffective

“And Obama couldn’t budge the Senate and House Republicans, whose brilliant tactic of blanket obstructionism defeated much of his legislation and __ed the rest.”

Vexation

(noun) anger produced by some annoying irritation; the psychological state of being irritated or annoyed; something or someone that causes anxiety; a source of unhappiness; the act of troubling or annoying someone

“Emma remained in a state of __ too; but there was more indistinctness in the causes of her’s, than in his.”