AP Lang Words

Alliteration

The repetition of the same consonant sound or letter at the beginning of consecutive words, primarily used for poetic effect.

Allusion

An indirect reference to a person, place, thing, or idea of historical, cultural, literary, or political significance.

Allegory

A story, poem, or picture interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically moral or political.

Ambiguity

The multiple meanings, either intentional or unintentional, of a word, phrase, sentence, or passage.

Analogy

An extended comparison between two seemingly dissimilar things, aiming to explain a complex idea.

Anaphora

The repetition of words or phrases at the beginning of successive clauses or sentences.

Anecdote

A short, often personal account of an interesting or amusing incident.

Antecedent

The noun, phrase, or clause to which a later pronoun refers.

Antithesis

The juxtaposition of contrasting ideas in balanced phrases or clauses.

Aphorism

A short, astute statement of a general truth, observation, or principle.

Apostrophe

A figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or a personified abstraction.

Appositive

A word or phrase that renames or further identifies a nearby noun or pronoun.

Archaic diction

The use of words or phrases that are no longer in common use today.

Assertion

An emphatic statement or declaration presented as a fact.

Asyndeton

The omission of conjunctions between parts of a sentence.

Authority

A reliable, respected source or expert in a particular field.

Bias

A prejudice or predisposition toward or against one side of a subject or issue.

Chiasmus

A figure of speech by which the order of the terms in the first of two parallel clauses is reversed in the second.

Clause

A grammatical unit that contains both a subject and a verb.

Colloquial/Colloquialism

An informal or conversational use of language, often specific to a particular region.

Common ground

Shared beliefs, values, or positions between different parties.

Complex sentence

A sentence that includes one independent clause and at least one dependent clause.

Concession

A reluctant acknowledgment or yielding to a point made by an opponent.

Connotation

That which is implied by a word, beyond its literal dictionary definition.

Coordination

Grammatical equivalence between parts of a sentence, often achieved through coordinating conjunctions.

Counterargument

A challenge to a position; an opposing argument that seeks to refute another's claim.

Cumulative sentence

An independent clause followed by a series of subordinate clauses or phrases.

Declarative sentence

A sentence that makes a statement or expresses a fact.

Deduction

A method of reasoning that moves from general principles to specific conclusions.

Denotation

The literal dictionary meaning of a word.

Diction

A writer's or speaker's distinctive choice and arrangement of words.

Didactic

Works primarily aimed at teaching or instructing moral or ethical principles.

Documentation

Bibliographic information about the sources used in a piece of writing.

Elegiac

Having a mournful or sorrowful tone, often expressing lamentation.

Epigram

A brief and witty statement or observation.

Ethos

A term referring to the character or credibility of a speaker or writer.

Exigence

An event or catalyst that prompts the speaker or writer to create discourse.

Expletive

A figure of emphasis in which a word or phrase lends emphasis to surrounding words.

Euphemism

A more agreeable or less offensive substitute for an unpleasant word.

Hyperbole

Exaggeration for the purpose of emphasis or literary effect.

Imagery

Vivid and descriptive language that appeals to the senses.

Imperative sentence

A sentence that gives a direct command, request, invitation, warning, or instruction.

Induction

A method of reasoning that moves from specific observations to a general conclusion.

Inversion

A sentence construction in which the normal grammatical order of words is reversed.

Irony

A contradiction between what is said and what is meant, or between expectations and reality.

Juxtaposition

The placement of two things side by side for comparison or contrast.

Line of Reasoning

The logical progression of ideas in an argument.

Logos

An appeal to logic or reason, one of Aristotle’s three rhetorical appeals.

Metaphor

A figure of speech that makes an implicit comparison between two things.

Metonymy

Use of the name of an attribute closely associated with something to represent it.

Oxymoron

A figure of speech that combines contradictory terms.

Paradox

A statement that appears self-contradictory but reveals a deeper truth upon examination.

Parallelism

The repetition of similar grammatical or syntactical patterns.

Parody

A literary or musical work that imitates another work for comic effect.

Pathos

An appeal to emotion, one of Aristotle’s three rhetorical appeals.

Persona

The speaker, voice, or character assumed by the author.

Personification

Assigning human characteristics to inanimate objects or abstract ideas.

Polysyndeton

The deliberate use of a series of repetitive conjunctions for emphasis.

Propaganda

Writing designed to sway opinion rather than present objective information.

Purpose

One’s intention or objective in a piece of writing.

Refute

To discredit an argument by proving it to be wrong or false with evidence.

Rhetoric

The study of effective and persuasive language use.

Rhetorical modes

Patterns of organization developed to achieve a specific purpose.

Rhetorical question

A question asked to produce an effect rather than to summon an answer.

The Rhetorical triangle

A diagram representing the relationship between speaker, subject, and audience.

Satire

An ironic or witty composition that criticizes people's stupidity or vices.

Scheme

A pattern of words or sentence construction used for rhetorical effect.

Simile

A figure of speech that uses 'like' or 'as' to compare two things.

Simple sentence

A statement containing a single subject and predicate; an independent clause.

Speaker

A term used for the author or the narrative voice in a piece of writing.

Style

The distinctive quality of expression in writing shaped by diction and syntax.

Subordinate clause

A clause that modifies an independent clause and cannot stand alone.

Subordination

The grammatical dependence of one syntactical element on another.

Syllogism

A form of deductive reasoning with general and specific premises.

Syntax

The arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences.

Synthesize

Combining or bringing together elements to produce something complex.

Tone

The speaker's or writer's attitude toward the subject conveyed through language.

Trope

Artful diction; the use of language in a nonliteral, figurative way.

Understatement

A figure of speech that presents something as smaller or less important for effect.

Voice

The distinctive quality in the style and tone of writing that reveals the author's personality.