AP LANG A-B Vocabulary

These are words that come up on many collegeboard exams, especially Lang and Lit. They sometimes come up on the SAT too

absolve

absolve

(v) free from sin or blame

aggrandize

(v) to exaggerate, put on a false front, and make something look greater than it really is

accost

(v) to warn or fault; usually in a mean tone

amendable

(adj) open and responsive to suggestion

austere

(adj) severely simple; unadorned

auspicious

(adj) favoring success

antithesis

(n) the exact opposite

archetype

(n) an original model that is widely imitated

anodyne

(adj) serving to soothe, calm, or alleviate pain or discomfort

assuage

(v) to relieve or ease

acquiesce

(v) to comply or submit

acrimonious

(adj.) bitter

apathy

(n) insensibility to emotion, lack of effort

anomaly

(n) something different, abnormal, peculiar, or not easily classified

acumen

(n) keen insight

ambivalence

(n) the state of having contradictory or conflicting emotional attitudes

ameliorate

(v) to make better

aloof

(adj) distant, disinterested

affable

(adj) friendly, good natured

ascetic

(adj) a person who deliberately chooses to live a plain and simple life

acute

(adj) very refined or sharp

abate

(v) to decrease in force or intensity

ad hominem

(adj) appealing to one's prejudices, emotions, or special interests rather than one's intellect or reason

apocryphal

(adj) full of doubtful authenticity, although widely circulated as being true

antecedent

(n) a model or stimulus for later developments

bedlam

(n) a scene or great uproar; asylum

bellicose

(adj) favoring or inclined to start quarrels or wars

bauble

(n) a showy, usually cheap, ornament; a knickknack

byzantine

(adj) excessively complicated and typically involving a great deal of administrative detail

bastion

(n) an institution, place, or person strongly upholding particular principles, attitudes, or activities

bucolic

(adj) pleasantly natural and simple; rural

bombastic

(adj) high sounding but with little meaning

blasphemy

(n) an act of insulting religion or anything held dearly to a person

brusque

(adj.) somewhat rough in manner or speech

boorish

(adj). rude

bleak

(adj) without hope

barrage

(n) a concentrated outpouring

bolster

(v.) to support, give a boost to

beleaguer

(v) to surround with troubles

brandish

(v) to wave or shake as a weapon

bravado

(n) an aggressive display of boldness

balk

(n) to stop, as at an obstacle, and refuse to proceed or do something specified

bilious

(adj) having a nasty temperament or disagreeable disposition

burgeon

(adj) to sprout, to grow, to blossom and flourish

belittle

(v) to attack or make lower in significance

barring

(prep) excluding by exception

banal

(adj) lacking originality or freshness

baleful

(adj) malignant, threatening

bureaucracy

(n) an administration characterized by excessive procedure and routine

brevity

(n) shortness of duration