Learn: AP Seminar Vocab List

Ambiguous

Open to more than one interpretation (adj)

Ambivalent

Having mixed feelings about something (adj)

Anecdotal

Based on personal accounts rather than facts/research (adj)

Antithesis

Direct opposite (noun)

Arbitrary

Based on random choice, not reason (adj)

Articulate

Expressing ideas clearly and effectively (adj)

Assertion

A confident statement of fact or belief (noun)

Attenuate

To weaken or reduce in force (verb)

Cogent

Clear, logical and convincing (adj)

Cogitate

To think deeply about something; to ponder or reflect carefully before drawing a conclusion (verb)

Coherent

Logical and consistent (adj)

Complacent

Uncritically satisfied with oneself (adj)

Concede

To acknowledge a point, often reluctantly (verb)

Concise

Brief and to the point (adj)

Conflate

To combine into one, often confusingly (verb)

Congruent

In agreement or harmony (adj)

Contentious

Causing disagreement (adj)

Contrive

To create with skill, or to fake artificially (verb)

Convoluted

Complicated and hard to follow (adj)

Corroborate

To confirm or support with evidence (verb)

Credible

Believable, trustworthy (adj)

Cursory

Hasty, done without attention to detail (adj)

Deduce

To reach a conclusion through reasoning (verb)

Deference

Respectful submission to another's judgement (noun)

Digress

To stray from the main topic (verb)

Discern

To perceive or recognize clearly (verb)

Discrepancy

A lack of agreement between facts (noun)

Disparage

To speak of negatively, belittle (verb)

Disparate

Fundamentally different

Dogmatic

Asserting opinions as unquestionably true

Egalitarian

Believing in equality for all

Elicit

To draw out a response

Empirical

Based on observation or experiment, not theory

Equivocal

Ambiguous or open to multiple meanings

Erroneous

Incorrect

Esoteric

Understood by only a small group

Explicit

Clearly stated

Extrapolate

To extend conclusions beyond available data

Facetious

Treating serious matters with humor, not seriously

Fallacious

Based on flawed reasoning

Feasible

Possible to accomplish

Frivolous

Not serious; trivial

Hackneyed

Overused, lacking originality (a cliché)

Hyperbole

Deliberate exaggeration

Hypothesis

A proposed explanation to be tested

Impartial

Not favoring one side; unbiased

Implicit

Implied, not directly stated

Inadvertent

Unintentional

Incisive

Sharply perceptive or clear

Inconsequential

Unimportant

Inevitable

Certain to happen

Infer

To deduce from evidence and reasoning

Ingenuous

Innocent, unsuspecting

Innovate

To introduce new ideas or methods

Insipid

Lacking flavor or interest; dull

Juxtapose

To place side by side for contrast

Lucid

Easy to understand; clear

Meticulous

Showing great attention to detail

Mitigate

To make less severe

Nuance

A subtle distinction or shade of meaning

Objective

Based on facts, not feelings or opinions

Obscure

Not clearly expressed or understood

Paradox

A statement that seems contradictory but may be true

Paramount

More important than anything else

Perpetuate

To cause to continue

Persuasive

Able to convince others

Plausible

Seeming reasonable or probable

Polarize

To cause division into opposing groups

Pragmatic

Dealing with things sensibly and practically

Precedent

An earlier event used as a guide for later ones

Premise

A statement forming the basis of an argument

Pretentious

Attempting to impress by affecting importance

Prevalent

Widespread

Prudent

Acting with care and thought for the future

Qualify

To modify or limit a statement's scope

Rebut

To argue against; refute

Refute

To prove wrong

Rhetoric

The art of effective or persuasive speaking/writing

Rigorous

Thorough and exacting

Salient

Most noticeable or important

Skeptical

Not easily convinced; doubting

Solicit

To ask for or try to obtain

Speculative

Based on conjecture rather than knowledge

Spurious

False, though seeming genuine

Stagnant

Not developing or progressing

Stringent

Strict, precisely controlled

Subjective

Based on personal opinion or feeling

Substantiate

To provide evidence to support a claim

Superfluous

More than necessary; excess

Tangential

Only slightly related to the main point

Tenable

Able to be defended against objection

Tentative

Not fully worked out; provisional

Transparent

Easy to see through or understand; open

Ubiquitous

Present or found everywhere

Undermine

To weaken gradually

Unequivocal

Leaving no doubt; unambiguous

Validate

To confirm the validity of

Vindicate

To clear from blame; justify

Volatile

Likely to change rapidly and unpredictably

Warrant

To justify or provide grounds for