AP Lang Slang #1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6

Set of words commonly used to describe writing - how we write about literature.

Anecdote (n)

• Anecdotal (adj)

• Anecdotally (adv)

short story/event, often proposed to support or demonstrate a point

Conceit (n)

literary device that uses an extended metaphor to compare two dissimilar things

Dogma (n)

• Dogmatic (adj)

• Dogmatically (adv)

belief or set of beliefs that is accepted without question or doubt; belief or set of beliefs taught by a religious organization

Enumeration (n)

• Enumerate (v)

• Enumerative (adj)

rhetorical device used that occurs when a writer chooses to list out items, events, ideas, or other parts of a story or setting

Expository (adj)

• Exposition (n)

intended to explain or describe something

Didactic (adj)

• Didactically (adv)

designed or intended to teach

Pedantic (adj)

• Pedant (n)

• Pedantically (adv)

overly concerned with minute details or formalisms, especially in teaching

Connotation (n)

• Connotative (adj)

idea or feeling that a word invokes in addition to its literal or primary meaning

Denotation (n)

• Denotative (adj)

direct, specific meaning as distinct from an implied or associated meaning

Aphorism (n)

• Aphoristic (adj)

• Aphoristically (adv)

a short phrase that expresses a true or wise idea

Colloquialism (n)

• Colloquial (adj)

• Colloquially (adv)

word or phrase that is used mostly in informal speech

Contemplative (adj)

• Contemplation (n)

• Contemplate (v)

• Contemplatively (adv)

involving, allowing, or causing deep thought

Euphemism (n)

• Euphemistic (adj)

• Euphemistically (adv)

mild or pleasant word or phrase that is used instead of one that is unpleasant or offensive

Illustrative (adj)

• Illustration (n)

• Illustrated (v)

• Illustratively (adv)

serving as an example or explanation

Invective (n)

• Invective (adj)

• Invectively (adv)

or, relating to, or characterized by insult or abuse

Diatribe (n)

an angry speech or piece of writing that strongly criticizes someone or something

Elegiac (adj)

• Elegy (n)

• Elegiacally (adv)

of, relating to, or comprising of an elegy; expressing sorrow for often something now past, especially in reference to people who have died

Homily (n)

sermon, lecture, or discourse on or of a moral theme

Syllogism (n)

• Syllogistic

type of logical reasoning where the conclusion is drawn from two linked premises

Diction (n)

choice of words, especially with regards to correctness, clearness, or effectiveness

Digression (n)

• Digress (v)

• Digressive (adj)

a temporary departure from the main subject in speech or writing

Epiphany (n)

• Epiphanical (adj)

a moment in which one suddenly sees or understands something in a new or very clear way

Jargon (n)

language used for a particular activity or by a particular group of people

Juxtapose (v)

• Juxtaposition (n)

to place different things/ideas/characters together in order to create an interesting effect or to show how the are the same or different

Prosaic (adj)

commonplace, factual, matter of fact

Prose (n)

written or spoken language in its ordinary from, without metrical structure

Semantics (n)

the meanings of words and phrases in a particular context

Solecism (n)

mistake in speech or writing; an impolite or improper way of behaving

Treatise (n)

systematic exposition or argument that includes a methodical discussion of the facts and principles involved and conclusions reached

Convey (v)

• Conveyance (n)

to impact or communicate by statement suggestion, gesture, appearance

Qualify (v)

• Qualification (n)

• Qualified (adj)

to limit or modify the meaning of

Rebuttal (n)

• Rebutting (v)

the act of refuting something by making a contrary argument or presenting another point of view

Refute (v)

• Refutation (n)

to disprove an idea, statement, or theory

Paradox (n)

• Paradoxical (adj)

• Paradoxically (adv)

statement or proposition that seems senseless, logically unacceptable, or self contradictory

Syntax (n)

• Syntactic (adj)

the way in which words are put together to from phrases, clauses, or sentences

Abstract (adj)

existing as an idea, feeling, or quality; as opposed to concrete

Allusion (n)

• Allude (v)

implied or indirect reference, especially in literature

Cliché (n)

phrase or expression that has been overly used or commonplace

Concrete (adj)

pertaining to or concerned with realities or actual instances rather than abstractions

Deductive (adj)

• Deduce (v)

of, relating to, or provable by deriving conclusions by reasoning

Farcical (adj)

• Farce (n)

ludicrous or nonsensical

Hypothetical (adj)

• Hypothesis (n)

involving or being based on a suggested idea or theory that something that might happen

Narrative (n)

• Narrate (v)

report of related events presented to listeners or readers, in words arranged in a logical or sequential way, (a story)

Pun (n)

a play on words that produces a humoirous effect that suggests 2 or more meanings, or by exploiting similair sounding words that have different meanings

Satire (n)

• Satirical (adj)

technique employed by writers to expose and criticize fooolisness and corruption or and individual or society, by using humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule

Cynical (adj)

• Cynic (n)

contemptuously distrustful of human nature and motives

Anticlimax (n)

• Anticlimatic (adj)

an event, period, or outcomr that is strikingly less important or dramatic than expected

Ambiguity (n)

• Ambiguous (adj)

condition of having a word or expression that can be understood in 2 or more possible ways

Excerpt (n)

passage (as from a book or musical composition) selected, performed, or copied

Mood (n)

literary element that evokes certain feelings in readers through words and descriptions; sometimes referred to as the atmosphere

Stance (n)

intellectual or emotional attitude; in rhetoric more specifically, this primarily refers to the initial position one has

Style (n)

• stylistic (adj)

distinctive manner of expression (as in writing or speech)

Understatement (n)

• Understated (adj)

avoidance of obvious emphasis or embellishment

Wit (n)

• Witty (adj)

reasoning power, clever or apt humor; the ability to relate seemingly disparate things so as to illuminate or amuse

Assertion (n)

• Asserts (v)

• Assertive (adj)

declaration that something is the case

Counterclaim (n)

an opposing position

Epilogue (n)

concluding section that rounds out the design (often in works of literature or films)

Parody (n)

literary or musical work in which the style of an author work is closely imitated for comic effect or in ridicule