AP Seminar Semester 2 Vocab Final

Epistle

a letter or literary composition in letter form

Avid

enthusiastic; extremely interested

Gadfly

an irritating and persistent person

humility

absence of vanity; humbleness

dolorous

exhibiting sorrow or pain

gargantuan

of huge or extraordinary size and power

Arduous

difficult; requiring much effort

Affable

friendly; agreeable; easy to talk to

grandiloquent

pompous or high-flown in speech

Agrarian

concerning farms, farmers, or the use of land

Grimace

a facial expression of fear, disapproval, or pain

Harangue

a long, strongly expressed speech or lecture

Formidable

arousing fear or awe

Sycophant

a flatterer; one who fawns on others in order to gain favor

explicit

clearly stated or shown; forthright in expression

altercation

a heated argument

Lexicon

a dictionary; a specialized vocabulary used in a particular field or place

Hue

a particular shade of a given color

Galvanize

to startle into sudden activity

Sanction

permission; support

Hyperbole

exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally.

Ominous

threatening; foreboding evil

Audacity

rude boldness; nerve

Evince

to demonstrate clearly; to prove

Implacable

unable to be appeased or pacified

Exhort

to urge on with stirring words

Incarcerate

to put into prison; to confine

incisive

sharp; keen; cutting straight to the heart of the matter

Expedient

practical; providing an immediate advantage (especially when serving one's self-interest)

Pertinent

having to do with the subject at hand; relevant

inert

unable to act or move; inactive; sluggish

circumvent

to get around; to bypass

clandestine

secret

acquit

to find not guilty of a fault or crime

Deprecate

to express strong disapproval of

barrister

lawyer

adulation

excessive praise or admiration

culinary

having to do with the kitchen or cooking

bawdy

indecent; humorously obscene

chastise

to punish severely

jocose

joking; humorous

myriad

(adj.) too numerous to be counted;

(n.) a very large number

latent

present, but not active; hidden

pernicious

destructive; deadly

frugal

thrifty; economical in money matters

levity

lightness of disposition; lack of seriousness

hoax

a practical joke; a trick

amicable

friendly, peaceable

obstreperous

aggressively boisterous; stubborn and defiant

enraptured

delighted beyond measure

marital

having to do with marriage

bask

to expose oneself to pleasant warmth

genial

friendly, amiable

Charlatan

one who pretends to have knowledge in order to swindle others

mundane

commonplace, earthy and not spiritual

fickle

likely to change on a whim or without apparent reason

juggernaut

a terrible destructive or irresistible force

naive

simple in outlook; not affected or worldly; especially innocent

nocturnal

having to do with the night; occurring at night

novice

a beginner; one who is inexperienced

Noxious

harmful to the health

Connive

to cooperate secretly in wrongdoing

Chutzpah

nerve; audacity

Liege

a lord, master, or sovereign

Odium

hatred

Crass

coarse; tasteless

Hypercritical

overcritical; too severe in judgement

Fallacy

a mistaken notion; a misconception

Complacent

self-satisfied; smug

Befuddle

to confuse; to perplex

Pandemonium

a wild disorder, noise, or confusion

parsimonious

excessively thrifty; stingy

verbose

using more words than are needed; wordy

Laudable

worthy of praise; commendable

Indiscreet

not wise or judicious; imprudent, as in speech or action

Pique

to cause resentment; to provoke

Linguistics

the scientific study of the structure, sounds, and meaning of language

Plebeian

(adj.) common, vulgar; belonging to the lower class;

(n.) a common person, member of the lower class

precocious

(adj.) showing unusually early development (especially in talents and mental capacity)

Predatory

inclined to prey on others

Prowess

superior skill or ability

Purloin

to steal

Pusillanimous

cowardly; fearful

Quell

to put an end to; to allay or quiet

Quixotic

very idealistic; impractical; caught up in romantic notions

Rabble

a disorderly crowd, a mob

Rabid

raging; fanatical

Raconteur

a person skilled at telling stories

Vindictive

seeking revenge; bearing a grudge

circumspect

careful; heedful; attentive to all point science

zephyr

a gentle breeze (sometimes specifically the West Wind)

Renegade

one who deserts one side in favor of another; traitor; outlaw

Retribution

something justly deserved, especially a punishment

Hurtle

to move or to fling swiftly and with great force

Scourge

a person or thing that causes great trouble or misfortune

Caustic

biting; stingingly sharp or sarcastic

Taciturn

not fond of talking; usually silent

Agnostic

(n.) one who believes that nothing can be known about God; a skeptic; (adj.) without faith, skeptical

Terse

brief and to the point

Uncanny

weird; strange; so keen or acute as to seem bizarre