ELA final vocab

Theme

The central message or idea in a literary work.

 Irony

 contrast between expectation and reality (verbal, situational, dramatic).

Personification

Giving human traits to nonhuman things.

Anaphora

Repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses.

Chiasmus

A rhetorical structure where concepts are repeated in reverse order.

Anachronism

Something out of place in time.

 Hyperbole

Exaggeration for emphasis.

Synecdoche

A part represents the whole or vice versa.

Metaphor

– Comparisons (metaphor = direct

Simile

simile = using “like” or “as”).

Oxymoron

A contradiction in terms (e.g., “deafening silence”).

Foreshadowing

Hinting at future events.

 Pun

A play on words.

Allusion

Reference to another work or event.

Ad hominem

Attacking the person instead of the argument.

Cause and effect

 Relationship between events.

Litotes

Understatement using double negatives (e.g., “not bad”).

Aphorism

A concise statement of truth or principle.

Absolve

To clear from blame.

Accrue

To accumulate or gain.

Bedlam

A scene of uproar and confusion.

 Censurable

Deserving blame.

Clangor

Loud ringing sound.

Cupidity

Greed.

Debonair

Charming and confident.

 Deleterious

Harmful.

Efficacious

Effective.

Egregious

Outstandingly bad.

Florid

Elaborately decorated or reddish.

Fortuitous

Happening by chance.

Gist

Main point.

Paraphrase

 Restate in your own words.

Paragon

A perfect example.

Politic

Tactful.

Redundant

Unnecessarily repetitive.

Reprobate

Immoral person.

Sanctimonious

Hypocritically pious.

Winsome

Attractive or appealing.