AP Literature - Vocab Unit 1

adjunct

(n.) something added to something else as helpful/useful but not essential; an assistant or helper; a valuable quality or characteristic; (adj.) added or connected in a subordinate capacity; attached to a faculty or staff in an auxiliary position

bellwether

(n.) the male sheep that leads the flock to the slaughterhouse; a leader; as in a desperate or violent undertaking; an indicator of trends

caterwaul

(v) a howl or screech like a cat; to quarrel; (n.) a harsh or noisy cry; a racket

chimerical

(adj.) absurd; wildly fantastic; impossible

effete

(adj.) lacking in wholesome vigor or energy; worn out or exhausted; sterile or unable to produce; out-of-date

fait accompli

(n.) an accomplished and presumably irreversible deed, fact, or action

hidebound

(adj.) narrow-minded and rigid, especially in opinions or prejudices; stubbornly/unthinkingly conservative

hierarchy

(n.) any system of things or people arranged or graded one above another in order of rank, wealth, class, etc.

laissez-faire

(adj.) philosophy or practice characterized by a usually deliberate abstention from direction or interference, especially with individual freedom of choice and action

liturgy

(n.) religious service or rite; the form of a ritual or other act of public worship

morass

(n.) a patch of low, soft, wet ground; a swamp; a confusing situation in which one is entrapped, as in quicksand

noisome

(adj.) offensive or disgusting; foul-smelling; harmful or injurious

oblivious

(adj.) forgetful; unaware

poltroon

(n.) a base coward

proselyte

(n.) a convert; a disciple

quasi

(adj.) resembling but not actually being; seemingly but not actually or completely

raillery

(n.) good-humored ridicule; teasing

ribald

(adj.) irreverently mocking; coarse, vulgar or indecent in language

supine

(adj.) lying flat on one’s back; listless or lethargic; apathetic or passive

vignette

(n.) a short description or sketch; a picture or illustration with edges that gradually shade off; a decorative design on the title page of a book or at the beginning or end of a chapter