AP English Language Vocabulary List

ubiquitous (adj.)

seemingly everywhere

sophomoric (adj.)

immature; pretentious

behoove (verb)

in one’s best interest

sanguine (adj.)

optimistic; positive

hooligan (noun)

troublemaker

facetious (adj.)

making light (inappropriately) of a serious matter

lexicon (noun)

dictionary; all the words one knows

faux pas (noun)

an embarrassing social mistake

haughty (adj.)

arrogantly superior

winnow (verb)

to separate the good from the bad

whet (verb)

to sharpen or make accurate

egregious (adj.)

outstandingly bad; shocking

cabal (noun)

a secret political clique or faction

fodder (noun)

people or things that are often the material for gossip

enmity (noun)

the state of being hostile to someone or something

usurp (verb)

to take a position of power illegally of by force

psyche (noun)

the human soul, mind, or spirit

concede (verb)

to surrender or yield

omnipotent (adj.)

all-powerful

obsequious (adj.)

overly attentive or servile

quarter (verb)

to be stationed or lodged in a specific place

evince (verb)

to reveal or make evident

pragmatic (adj.)

sensible or realistic

hallow (verb)

to honor as holy

magnanimity (noun)

generosity

poignant (adj.)

evoking a keen sense of sadness or regret

esoteric (adj.)

likely to be understood by only a small number of people with a specialized interest