AP Lit Semester 1 Vocabulary

Abjure

A_____ verb: to recant, to repudiate

Bailiwick

B_____ noun: a person’s area of skill, knowledge, authority, or work

Colloquial

C_____ adj: used in ordinary or familiar conversation; not formal or literary

Defenestration

D_____ noun: the act of throwing someone out of a window

Didactic

D_____ adj: intended for instruction; inclined to teach or lecture

Dissemble

D_____ verb: to give false, misleading appearance to; to feign

Egregious

E_____ adj: extraordinary in a bad way; glaring and flagrant

Façade

F_____ noun: a superficial appearance or illusion of something

Harangue

H_____ noun: a scolding or long and intense verbal attack

Imperturbable

I_____ adj: incapable of being upset or agitated; not easily excited; calm

Labile

L_____ adj: apt or likely to change

Lachrymose

L_____ adj: suggestive of tears or mournful

Nadir

N_____ noun: the lowest point; the point of great adversity or despair

Obdurate

O_____ adj: 1) hardhearted; unmoved by persuasion; 2) stubborn or resistant

Paucity

P_____ noun: smallness of quantity; scarcity

Penchant

P_____ noun: a strong inclination, taste, or liking for something

Serendipity

S_____ noun: an aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident

Tawdry

T_____ adj: gaudy; showing, cheap

Tempestuous

T_____ adj: tumultuous; turbulent

Unbridled

U_____ adj: not controlled or restrained

Abscond

A_____ to run away and hide; to avoid arrest

Anachronism

A_____ something that is not correct in its historical or chronological time

Baleful

B_____ full of menacing or malign influences; pernicious

Depravity

D_____ the state of moral corruption

Eschew

E_____ to abstain or keep away from; to shun or avoid

Facile

F_____ moving, acting, or proceeding with ease; easy in manner

Fastidious

F_____ finicky and picky; hard to please

Hackneyed

H_____ made commonplace or trite; banal

Immutable

I_____ not changeable

Impasse

I_____ a position or situation from which there is no escape; a deadlock

Lackadaisical

L_____ without interest or vigor; lazy; indolent

Lagniappe

L_____ a gratuity or tip; an unexpected benefit

Obliterate

O_____ to remove or destroy all traces of

Pedantic

P_____ ostentatious in one's learning; acting superior when teaching small details

Panache

P_____ a grand and flamboyant manner; flair; style

Savant

S_____ a profound scholar; a person of extensive learning

Temerity

T_____ recklessness; boldness; rashness

Trenchant

T_____ vigorous or incisive in expression or style

Unfathomable

U_____ not able to be comprehended

Unheralded

U_____ appearing without fanfare or prior announcement

analogous

A_____ corresponding to something in particular

banal

B_____ devoid of freshness or originality; hackneyed and trite

bombastic

B_____ high sounding; inflated; pretentious (of speech and writing)

capacious

C_____ spacious or roomy

capricious

C_____ erratic; unpredictable; constantly changing

copious

C_____ large in quantity or number; abundant or plentiful

deprecate

D_____ to express disapproval

diatribe

D_____ a bitter, sharply abusive attack or criticism

esprit de corps

E_____ a sense of unity and common interest developed among a group of people closely associated in a task

euphemism

E_____ the substitution of a mild, indirect, or vague expression for one that is too harsh or blunt

ferment

F_____ agitation, unrest; excitement; commotion; tumult

impressionable

I_____ easily impressed or influenced; susceptible

largesse

L_____ a generous bestowal of gifts

leaven

L_____ an element that produces an altering or transforming influence; to permeate with an altering or transforming element

neophyte

N_____ a beginner or novice

noisome

N_____ having an offensive odor; harmful or injurious to health

perfidious

P_____ deliberately faithless; deceitful; treacherous

perfunctory

P_____ performed as a routine duty; hasty and superficial

scurrilous

S_____ grossly and obscenely abusive

unsolicited

U_____ given or supplied without being requested or asked for

acerbic

A_____ 1) sour and acidic in taste 2) harsh or severe in temper

bray

B_____ 1) any harsh, loud sound 2) to utter a loud and harsh cry (like a donkey)

coalesce

C_____ to grow together into one body; to unite; to blend together

contrite

C_____ caused by showing sincere remorse; filled with a sense of guilt

cupidity

C_____ eager or excessive desire to possess something; greed; avarice

depredation

D_____ the act of plundering or robbery

dissonant

D_____ disagreeing or harsh in sound; discordant

ex post facto

E_____ subsequently; retrospectively

exacerbate

E_____ to increase the severity of; to aggravate

feign

F_____ to represent fictitiously; to imitate deceptively

impunity

I_____ exemption from punishment

incendiary

I_____ tending to arouse strife; tending to cause flame (literal and figurative)

kiosk

K_____ a small structure with one or more sides open used as a newsstand, refreshment stand, or a place on which advertisements are posted

limpid

L_____ clear or transparent as water

nether

N_____ 1) lying or believed to lie beneath the earth's surface 2) lower or under

officious

O_____ offering one's unrequested and unwanted services; meddlesome

pejorative

P_____ belittling; having a disparaging effect

prosaic

P_____ commonplace or dull; matter-of-fact; unimaginative

sophomoric

S_____ suggestive of being immature but overly confident and conceited

soporific

S_____ causing sleep

apogee

A_____ highest or most distant point; the climax

bevy

B_____ 1) a group of birds or animals 2) a large group or collection

breach

B_____ an infraction or violation of law

carmine

C_____ a crimson or purplish-red color

categorical

C_____ unambiguously direct and explicit

diffident

D_____ timid and shy; reserved in manner or conduct; lacking confidence

disingenuous

D_____ insincere; lacking in candor or sincerity

excoriation

E_____ the act of denouncing or berating severely; the act of stripping or removing skin

exculpate

E_____ to clear from a charge of guilt; to free from blame; to vindicate

fey

F_____ supernatural; unreal; enchanted; whimsically strange and otherworldly

incense

I_____ to inflame with wrath; to make angry; to enrage

incisive

I_____ intelligently analytical and clear-thinking

noxious

N_____ harmful to health or well-being

omnipotent

O_____ almighty or infinite in power

perfuse

P_____ to overspread with moisture and color; to diffuse

quotidian

Q_____ daily; usual or customary; everyday and ordinary

rancid

R_____ having a rank, unpleasant smell or taste

sequester

S_____ to remove or withdraw into solitude or retirement; to separate

tremulous

T_____ timid or shaking; quivering in fear

upbraid

U_____ to find fault with; to censure; to reproach severely