AP Literature Vocab

Litany

A repetitive series of prayers or petitions, often used in religious contexts, characterized by a call-and-response format.

Ostentatious

Characterized by vulgar or pretentious display; designed to impress or attract notice.

Vehement

Showing strong feeling; passionate or intense.

Lament

To express sorrow, mourning, or regret, often in a vocal or written form.

Contentious

Causing or likely to cause an argument; controversial.

Incongruous

Not in harmony or keeping; inappropriate or out of place.

Illicit

Forbidden by law, rules, or custom; illegal.

Fervor

Intense and passionate feeling.

Crass

lacking sensitivity, refinement, or intelligence; vulgar.

Piety

The quality of being religious or reverent; devotion to God or a sacred worldview.

Bellicose

demonstrating aggression and willingness to fight; militaristic.

Discourse

Written or spoken communication; a formal discussion of a topic.

Vacillate

To alternate or waver between different opinions or actions; indecision.

Profound

deeply insightful or meaningful; having strong effect.

Superficial

lacking depth or meaning; concerned only with surface appearances.

Strident

loud and harsh; forcefully assertive in tone.

Idyllic

charmingly simple and picturesque; representing a peaceful or idealized scene.

Sublime

of such excellence or beauty that it inspires great admiration or awe.

Reprieve

a temporary delay or cancellation of punishment or undesirable situation.

Approbation

approval or praise, often expressed formally.

Alliteration

the repetition of the same initial consonant sounds in a sequence of words.

Assonance

the repetition of vowel sounds within nearby words, creating a rhythm or flow.

Consonance

the repetition of consonant sounds in close proximity within a phrase or sentence, often enhancing the musicality of a piece.

Cacophany

a harsh, discordant mixture of sounds.

Euphony

Musical, or pleasing, qualities of words.

Fervent

having or displaying a passionate intensity

Aesthetic

concerned with beauty or the appreciation of beauty

Vexation

the state of being annoyed, frustrated, or worried

Rumination

a deep or considered thought about something

Aloof

not friendly or forthcoming; cool and distant

elegiac

relating to or characteristic of an elegy

obdurate

stubbornly refusing to change one’s opinion or course of action

callous

showing or having an insensitive and cruel disregard for others

stoic

enduring pain and hardship without showing one’s feeling or complaining

assuage

make (an unpleasant feeling) less intense

Profligate

recklessly extravagant or wasteful in the use of resources

Vitiate

spoil or impair the quality or efficiency of

Trepidation

a feeling of fear or agitation about something that may happen

Malady

a disease or ailment

Corpulent

(of a person) fat

Derisive

expressing contempt or ridicule

Penitent

feeling or showing sorrow and regret for having done wrong; repentant

Inundate

overwhelm (someone) with things or people to be dealt with

Secular

denoting attitudes, activities, or other things that have no religious or spiritual basis

Censure

express severe disapproval of (someone or something,) especially in a formal statement

Hyperbole

exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally

Synecdoche

a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa.

Conceit

excessive pride in oneself

Allusion

an expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicity; an indirect or passing reference

Apostrophe

speaker directly addresses someone or something that is not present or cannot respond.

Defray

provide money to pay

Interloper

a person who becomes involved in a place or situation where they are not wanted or are considered not to belong:

Fatuous

silly and pointless

Aloof

not friendly or forthcoming; cool and distant

Patronizing

apparently kind or helpful but betraying a feeling of superiority condescending

Incensed

very angry; enraged

Accede

agree to a demand, request, or treaty

Errant

erring or straying from the proper course or standards

Phlegmatic

having an unemotional and stolidly calm disposition

Prostrate

a gland surrounding the neck of the bladder in male mammals and releasing prostatic fluid

Jocund

cheerful and lighthearted

Sanguine

optimistic or positive, especially in an apparently bad or difficult situation

Hegemony

leadership or dominance, especially by one country or social group over others

Lassitude

a state of physical or mental weariness; lack of energy

Licentious

promiscuous and unprincipled in sexual matters

Presumptuous

failing to observe the limits of what is permitted or approriate

Indolent

wanting to avoid activity or exertion;lazy

Chasten

having a restraining or moderating effect on

Corporeal

relating to a person’s body, especially as opposed to their spirit

Enumerate

mention one by one

Caesura

a rhythmic pause in a line of poetry, often marked by punctuation, that enhances the poem’s rhythm and meaning.

Didactic Poetry

a genre that serves an educational or instructional purpose, aiming to impart knowledge, moral lessons, or practical advice to its audience.

Elegy

a poem of serious reflection, often mourning the loss of someone who has died, and typically follows a thematic arc from grief to consolation.

End-Stopped line

a line that concludes with a punctuation mark, indicating a pause at the end of a syntactic unit, such as a sentence or phrase.

Enjambment

a poetic device where a line of poetry continues into the next line without a grammatical pause, creating a sense of flow and urgency