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