AP English Vocabulary - 3rd Set

Provocative

adj. tending to excite or stimulate
SYN: provoking, exciting
ANT: dull, boring

Bumpkin

n. an unsophisticated, awkward person
SYN: yokel, hayseed, rube
ANT: intellectual

Toady

n. a person who flatters for personal gain
SYN: sycophant, flatterer

Hortatory

adj. encouraging, inciting
SYN: exhorting
ANT: discouraging, dampening

Penultimate

adj. next to last

Blithe

adj. carefree and lighthearted
SYN: cheerful, radiant
ANT: burdened, worried, troubled

Soporific

adj. tending to induce sleep
SYN: somniferous, monotonous
ANT: dramatic, exciting, stimulating

Pervasive

adj. permeating; spreading throughout
SYN: sweeping, persistent
ANT: contained, restricted, limited

Frenetic

adj. wildly excited
SYN: frenzied, frantic
ANT: calm, composed

Recrimination

n. a counter-accusation
SYN: countercharge

Untenable

adj. impossible to defend or justify
SYN: groundless, unsupported, indefensible
ANT: sound, irrefutable

Veneer

n. a thin, attractive layer that conceals something common or coarse
SYN: disguise, gloss, facade

Timorous

adj. timid
SYN: bashful, sheepish, reticent
ANT: bold, confident, courageous

Circuitous

adj. indirect, roundabout
SYN: roundabout, meandering
ANT: direct, straight

Perquisite

n. a tip or payment in addition to regular wages
SYN: fringe benefit, perk, benefit

Probity

n. confirmed integrity; respectability
SYN: rectitude, decency, trustworthiness
ANT: wickedness, impiety

Polemical

adj. relating to controversy or argument
SYN: controversial, contentious
ANT: indisputable, agreeable

Largesse

n. generosity
SYN: magnanimity, munificence
ANT: stinginess

Indolent

adj. lazy
SYN: torpid, idle, lethargic
ANT: industrious, busy, productive

Depredate

v. to plunder and pillage
SYN: pilfer, ransack, ravage
ANT: donate, improve, enhance