AP Lit. Vocab

Sanctify

to set apart to a sacred purpose or to religious use : consecrate (verb)

Pugnacious

 having a quarrelsome or combative nature : truculent (adj)

Capitulation

the act of surrendering or yielding (noun)

Plethora

an ample amount or number : abundance, profusion →—usually used with of (noun)

Histrionic

deliberately affected : overly dramatic or emotional : theatrical (adj)

Proliferate

to grow by rapid production of new parts, cells, buds, or offspring (verb)

Anathema

someone or something intensely disliked or loathed (noun)

Replete

fully or abundantly provided or filled (adj)

Discomfit

to put into a state of perplexity and embarrassment : disconcert (verb)

Laconic

using or involving the use of a minimum of words : concise to the point of seeming rude or mysterious (adj)

Neologism

a new word, usage, or expression

Malapropism

the usually unintentionally humorous misuse or distortion of a word or phrase

Idiom

an expression in the usage of a language that has a meaning that cannot be understood from the combined meanings of its elements

 (such as up in the air for "undecided") or in its grammatically atypical use of words (such as give way for "retreat")

Oxymoron

a combination of contradictory or incongruous words (such as cruel kindness)