American Literature II Vocabulary Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards for American Literature II, Trimester 3, Spring 2025.

Amoral

Being outside or beyond the moral order or a particular code of morals

Eclectic

Selecting what appears to be best in various doctrines, methods, or styles

Flounder

To proceed or act clumsily or ineffectually

Inhibit

To prohibit from doing something

Perusal

Reading over in an attentive or leisurely manner

Refute

To prove wrong by argument or evidence; show to be false or erroneous

Secular

Of or relating to the worldly or temporal; not overtly or specifically religious

Acquiesce

To accept, comply, or submit tacitly or passively

Collusion

Secret agreement or cooperation especially for an illegal or deceitful purpose

Efface

To make (oneself) modestly or shyly inconspicuous

Improvident

Not foreseeing and providing for the future

Vicissitudes

A change of circumstances or fortune, typically one that is unwelcome or unpleasant

Oscillate

To vary between opposing beliefs, feelings, or theories

Plethora

Excess, superfluity; also: profusion, abundance

Rescind

To take away: to cancel or to remove

Subvert

To pervert or corrupt by an undermining of morals, allegiance, or faith

Adhere

To bind oneself to observance

Consensus

General agreement; unanimity

Defame

To harm the reputation of by libel or slander

Grovel

To give oneself over to what is base or unworthy: wallow

Interminable

Having or seeming to have no end; especially wearisomely protracted

Mutable

Capable of change or of being changed

Parity

The quality or state of being equal or equivalent

Quiescent

Marked by inactivity or repose: tranquilly at rest

Restive

Stubbornly resisting control; marked by impatience

Superfluity

An excess or surplus of something beyond what is necessary

Unanimity

The state of being in complete agreement; harmony among all parties involved

Libel

A false and malicious statement that damages someone's reputation, often published in writing

Slander

The act of making false spoken statements that damage a person's reputation

Wallow

To indulge excessively in something, often negative emotions or circumstances