KAP English II Cumulative Vocabulary & Allusions Test, Units 1-5

Flashcards for vocabulary and allusions from KAP English II, Units 1-5.

Assuage

To make milder or less severe; relieve; ease; mitigate.

Coalition

A combination or alliance, especially a temporary one between persons, factions, states, etc.

Decadence

Moral or cultural decline as characterized by excessive indulgence in pleasure or luxury.

Hackneyed

Lacking in freshness or originality

Hiatus

A gap or interruption in continuity; a break.

Jaded

Dulled or satiated by overexposure.

Lurid

Gruesome; horrible; revolting.

Prerogative

An exclusive right, privilege, etc., exercised by virtue of rank, office, or the like.

Transcend

To rise above or go beyond; exceed.

Umbrage

Offense or resentment

Ameliorate

To make or become better, more bearable, or more satisfactory; improve

Bombastic

High-sounding; high-flown; inflated; pretentious.

Drivel

Saliva flowing from the mouth or nose; childish, silly, or meaningless talk or thinking; nonsense.

Epitome

A person or thing that is typical of or possesses to a high degree the features of a whole class; a brief summary of a book or written work; abstract.

Exhort

To urge, advise, or caution earnestly; admonish urgently.

Infringe

To commit a breach or infraction of; violate or transgress.

Intrinsic

Belonging to a thing by its very nature; inherent.

Permeate

To pass into or through every part of; to be diffused through; pervade; saturate.

Stringent

Rigidly binding or exacting; strict.

Surmise

To think or infer without certain or strong evidence; conjecture; guess.

Abominate

To regard with intense aversion or loathing; abhor; detest.

Adventitious

Associated with something by chance rather than as an integral part; extrinsic.

Ascribe

To credit or assign, as to a cause or source; attribute; impute.

Commiserate

To feel or express sorrow or sympathy for; empathize with; pity.

Expedite

To speed up the progress of; hasten.

Nominal

Being such in name only; so-called; minimal.

Proclivity

Natural or habitual inclination or tendency; propensity; predisposition.

Seditious

Pertaining to or consisting of sedition; arousing to action or rebellion.

Tenuous

Thin or slender in form, as a thread; lacking a sound basis, as reasoning; unsubstantiated; weak.

Vitriolic

Virulent; bitterly critical or sarcastic.

Affable

Pleasantly easy to approach or talk to; friendly; cordial; warmly polite.

Amorphous

Lacking definite form; having no specific shape; formless.

Archetype

The original pattern or model from which all things of the same kind are copied or on which they are based; a model or first form; prototype.

Erudite

Characterized by great knowledge; learned or scholarly.

Inscrutable

Incapable of being investigated, analyzed, or scrutinized; impenetrable.

Insular

Pertaining to an island; detached; standing alone; narrow-minded.

Querulous

Complaining; peevish; expressing complaint or grievance; grumbling.

Remonstrate

To say or plead in protest, objection, or disapproval.

Scurrilous

Grossly or obscenely abusive; coarse; vulgar.

Sedulous

Diligent in application or attention; persevering; assiduous.

Amnesty

A general pardon for offenses, especially political offenses, against a government, often granted before any trial or conviction.

Caveat

A warning or caution; admonition.

Equitable

Characterized by equity; just or fair; reasonable.

Filch

To steal (especially something of small value); pilfer.

Fractious

Refractory or unruly; readily angered; irritable; quarrelsome.

Salutary

Favorable to or promoting health; healthful.

Sepulchral

Of, relating to, or serving as a tomb; dismal; gloomy; suggestive of the grave.

Soporific

Causing or tending to cause sleep.

Transient

Lasting only a short time; existing briefly; temporary.

Vapid

Lacking or having lost life, sharpness, or flavor; insipid; flat; without liveliness or spirit; dull or tedious.

Achilles’ Heel

A deadly weakness in spite of overall strength, that can lead to downfall.

Benedict Arnold

A traitor.

Ivory Tower

A place or situation remote from worldly or practical affairs

Sirens

Dangerous but tempting thing/person that lures you in

Burning Bush

A medium through which the voice of absolute authority speaks.

Narcissus

Someone obsessed with their own beauty and self-image.

Holy Grail

An object or goal of great desire or value that is difficult to obtain

Judas

A traitor; one who betrays another

Job

Someone who suffers a great deal but remains faithful

Phoenix

A symbol of rebirth; rising from the ashes; triumph over adversity