AP Lit Vocab 1

Diaphanous

(adj) - very sheer and light; almost completely transparent or translucent

Promontory

(noun) - a high point of land or rock projecting into the sea

Tenuous

(adj) - thin or slender in form; lacking in clarity; vague

Demur

(verb) - to object; especially on the ground of scruples; take exception; to object

Prodigious

(adj) - extraordinary in size, amount, extent, degree; wonderful, marvelous

Redolent

suggestive; reminiscent (usually followed by of)

Transmute

(verb) to change from one nature, substance, form, or condition to another; transform

Torrid

(adj) - oppressively hot, parching, or burning, as climate, weather, or air

Frenetically

(adv) - frantically or frenzied

Indolent

(adj) - having or sharing a disposition to avoid exertion; slothful

Atavistic

(adj) - reverting to or suggesting the characteristics of a remote ancestor or primitive type

Syncopation

(noun) - a rhythm or passage of music, shifting the normal accent, usually by stressing the normally unaccented beats

Laconic

(adj) - using few words; expressing much with few words; concise

Wraith

(noun) - a visible spirit; ghost

Nefarious

(adj) - extremely wicked or villainous; iniquitous

Evanescence

(noun) - the quality of being fleeting or vanishing quickly; impermanence

Coruscate

(verb) - to emit vivid flashes of light; sparkle; scintillate; gleam

Imperious

(adj) - domineering in a haughty manner; dictatorial; overbearing

Melange

(noun) - a mixture; medley

Lugubrious

(adj) - mournful, dismal, or gloomy, especially in an affected, exaggerated, or unrelieved manner

Dissipated

(adj) - indulging in or characterized by excessive devotion to pleasure; intemperate; dissolute

Taciturn

(adj) - inclined to silence; reserved in speech; reluctant to join conversation

Internecine

(adj) - characterized by great slaughter; deadly; mutually destructive

Nexus

(noun) - the core or center, as of a matter or situation

Plangent

(adj) - resounding loudly, especially with a plaintive sound, as a bell

Acquiesce

(verb) - to assent tacitly; submit or comply silently or without protest, to agree; consent

Cataclysm

(noun) - any violent upheaval, especially one of a social or political nature

Indefatigable

(adj) - incapable of being tired out; not yielding to fatigue; untiring

Inveigle

(verb) - to entice, lure, or ensnare by flattery or artful talk or inducement

Praxis

(noun) - practice, as distinguished from theory; application or use; as of knowledge or skills