AP Lang Unit 12 Vocabulary

Level H

apposite

(adj.) appropriate; suitable; apt (SYN: relevant, pertinent, material, germane) (ANT: irrelevant, immaterial, inappropriate)

augur

(n.) a prophet or seer; (v.) to predict, foreshadow (SYN: (n.) oracle; (v.) bode)

bilk

(v.) to defraud, cheat, or swindle; to evade payment of; to frustrate, thwart (SYN: dupe, cozen)

charisma

(n.) the special personal magnetism that makes an individual exceptionally appealing to other people; a divinely bestowed gift or power (SYN: appeal, charm, mystique)

debilitate

(v.) to make weak or feeble (SYN: enervate, sap, exhaust, enfeeble) (ANT: strengthen, fortify, invigorate)

execrable

(adj.) utterly detestable, hateful, or abhorrent; extremely inferior (SYN: odious, abominable, reprehensible) (ANT: commendable, praiseworthy, meritorious)

impinge

(v.) to strike against or collide with violently (SYN: horn in, affect)

labyrinth

(n.) a bewildering maze; any confusing or complicated situation (SYN: tangle, mystery, enigma)

narcissism

(n.) excessive self self-love; absorption in oneself (SYN: egotism, conceit, vanity, amour propre)

pastiche

(n.) a dramatic, musical, or literary work made up of bits and pieces from other sources; a hodgepodge (SYN: medley, patchwork, melange, potpourri)

penultimate

(adj.) next to the last (SYN: intermediate, next

precarious

(adj.) very uncertain or unsure; dangerous or risky (SYN: perilous, dubious, ticklish) (ANT: secure, safe, sturdy, firm)

rapport

(n.) a close and harmonious relationship (SYN: bond, tie, affinity, understanding)

utilitarian

(adj.) stressing practicality over other considerations; relating to the belief that what is good or desirable is determined purely by its usefulness (SYN: practical, functional, pragmatic) (ANT: nonfunctional, ornamental, decorative)

vacuous

(adj.) devoid of matter, substance, or meaning; lacking ideas or intelligence; purposeless (SYN: inane, insipid, fatuous, void, empty) (ANT: incisive, trenchant, perceptive, intelligent)

vagary

(n.) an unpredictable, erratic, or seemingly purposeless action, occurrence, or notion (SYN: caprice, whim, quirk)

viable

(adj.) capable of living or developing under normal circumstances (SYN: practicable, workable, feasible) (ANT: impracticable, unworkable, unfeasible)

xenophobia

(n.) undue or unreasonable fear, hatred, or contempt of foreigners or strangers or of what is foreign or strange (SYN: provinciality, parochialism, chauvinism) (ANT: cosmopolitan)

zany

(adj.) clownish or funny in a crazy, bizarre, or ludicrous way; (n.) one who plays the clown (SYN: (adj.) comical, daffy; (n.) buffoon) (ANT: (adj.) sedate, decorous, prim, sober, grave)

zealot

(n.) a fanatical partisan; an ardent follower (SYN: fanatic, extremist)