AP English Language and Composition

Vocab list

Allocation

the act of setting apart for a purpose or specific plan, designate

Ascetic

a person who dedicates his or her life to a pursuit of contemplative ideals and practices extreme self-denial or self-mortification for religious reasons

Beguile

to influence by trickery, flattery, etc.; mislead; delude; to take away from by cheating or deceiving

Crass

without refinement, delicacy, or sensitivity; gross; obtuse; stupid: crass commercialism; a crass misrepresentation of the facts

Defray

to bear or pay all or part of (the costs, expenses, etc.): The grant helped defray the expenses of the trip.

Dint

force; power: By dint of hard work she became head of the company. A dent.

Enjoin

to prescribe (a course of action) with authority or emphasis: The doctor enjoined a strict diet.

Envoy

a diplomatic agent; any accredited messenger or representative

Interloper

to intrude into some region or field of trade without a proper license; to thrust oneself into the affairs of others

Vicarious

performed, exercised, received, or suffered in place of another: vicarious punishment. Taking the place of another person or thing; acting or serving as a substitute. Felt or enjoyed through imagined participation in the experience of others: a vicarious thrill.

Admonish

to caution, advise, or counsel against something; to reprove or scold, esp. in a mild and good-willed manner: The teacher admonished him about excessive noise.

Akimbo

with hand on hip and elbow bent outward: to stand with arms akimbo.

Lassitude

weariness of body or mind from strain, oppressive climate, etc.; lack of energy; listlessness; languor; a condition of indolent indifference: the pleasant lassitude of the warm summer afternoon.

Licentious

sexually unrestrained; lascivious; libertine; lewd; unrestrained by law or general morality; lawless; immoral.

Muse

(verb) to think or meditate in silence, as on some subject; (noun) any of a number of sister goddesses

Pecuniary

of or involving money; involving a money penalty or fine

Plight

to pledge or promise

Presumptuous

too bold or forward; showing overconfidence; arrogance

Subversive

tending or seeking to overthrow or destroy

Vacuous

having or showing lack of intelligence, interest, or thought; empty of matter

Avocation

something one does in addition to regular work and usually for pleasure; hobby

Capricious

tending to change abruptly and without apparent reason

Disparity

inequality or difference as in rank, amount, or quality; unlikeness

Efficacy

power to produce effects of intended results

Epistle

a letter esp. a long formal instructive letter; written communication

Hospice

a place of shelter for travelers, esp. such a shelter maintained by monks

Impetus

the force with which a body moves against resistance; anything that stimulates activity

Moribund

dying; coming to an end; having little or no vital force left

Reticent

habitually silent or uncommunicative; disinclined to speak readily

Vacillate

to sway to and fro; fluctuate or oscillate

Akin

similar or closely related to something; related by blood

Corroborate

to give or represent evidence of the truth of something

Inexorable

unyielding; unalterable; relentless

Insipid

without distinctive or stimulating qualities; lacking taste

Nefarious

extremely wicked or villainous

Physiognomy

the outward (facial) appearance of anything, taken as offering some insight into its character

Retinue

a body of attendants upon an important person

Suppliant

asking humbly and earnestly; as words, actions

Tedium

the quality or state of being wearisome; boredom

Torrid

subject to parching or burning heat, esp. of the sun

Affront

deliberate act or display of disrespect; insult

Blasé

indifferent to or bored with life; apathetic to pleasure as a result of excessive indulgences

Cajole

to persuade by flattery or promises

Choleric

extremely irritable or easily angered

Encumber

burden or weigh down; to hinder

Feckless

lacking purpose or vitality, weak, ineffective, irresponsible

Impasse

a road or passage having no exit, dead end; a position or situation from which there is no escape

Indolent

disinclined to work, habitually lazy

Lugubrious

mournful, dismal, or gloomy, esp. in an affected, exaggerated, or unrelieved manner

Ribald

vulgar or indecent in language or speech; coarsely mocking, abusive, or irreverent

Adulation

excessive praise, flattery, or admiration

Censure

an expression of blame or disapproval

Dissemble

to give a false or misleading appearance to; conceal the truth or the real nature of

Dissimulation

the act or process of making or becoming dissimilar; the act of deceiving

Droll

having a humorous, whimsical, or odd quality

Expectorate

to eject from the mouth; spit

Palpate

to examine or explore by touching, esp. for the purpose of diagnosing a disease or illness

Peremptory

putting an end to or precluding a right of action, debate, or delay

Pusillanimous

lacking courage and resolution; cowardly, faint-hearted, timid

Surfeit

to feed or supply to fullness; to suffer from the effects of overindulgence in eating or drinking

Allay

to put (fear, doubt, suspicion, anger, etc.) to rest; calm; quiet.

Capacious

capable of holding much; spacious or roomy: a capacious storage bin.

Diurnal

of or pertaining to a day or each day; daily.

Extricate

to free or release from entanglement; disengage: to extricate someone from a dangerous situation.

Ignominious

marked by or attended with ignominy; discreditable; humiliating: an ignominious retreat.

Mitigate

to lessen in force or intensity, as wrath, grief, harshness, or pain; moderate

Palpitate

to pulsate with unusual rapidity from exertion, emotion, disease, etc.; flutter: His heart palpitated wildly.

Phlegmatic

not easily excited to action or display of emotion; apathetic; sluggish

Propitious

presenting favorable conditions; favorable: propitious weather.

Prostrate

lying face down

Acquiesce

to assent tacitly; submit or comply silently or without protest; agree; consent: to acquiesce halfheartedly in a business plan.

Amity

friendship; peaceful harmony.

Arduous

requiring great exertion; laborious; difficult: an arduous undertaking

Gestalt

a configuration, pattern, or organized field having specific properties that cannot be derived from the summation of its component parts; a unified whole.

Inundate

to flood; cover or overspread with water; deluge.

Perjury

willingly giving a false testimony while under oath.

Perspicuity

clearness, well expressed, not vague

Preposterous

opposite to reality and common sense, utterly ridiculous

Trepidation

trembling or quivering movement, a tremor

Voluble

characterized by a ready and continuous flow of words; fluent; talkative: a voluble spokesman for the cause

Admonish

to counsel or advise against something, to scold in a mild manner

Aplomb

unwavering assurance or poise; the vertical or perpendicular position

Barrage

overwhelming quantity, an explosion

Cognizant

to have awareness, realization, or knowledge

Collusion

a secret agreement, usually for fraud or a conspiracy

Hegemony

leadership or predominance; one power influencing another

Nebulous

cloudy, vague, confused

Paradigm

something that serves as a pattern or model, a precedent

Unctuous

unpleasantly and excessively suave or nice; excessively smooth or oily

Urbane

reflecting elegance or sophistication