AP Lang and Comp Vocab 3

philanthropy

a desire to improve the material, social, and spiritual welfare of humanity, especially through charitable activities  

charity

misanthropy

a hatred or distrust of humankind.

hatred, dislike for humankind

idiosyncrasy

a way of behaving, thinking, or feeling that is peculiar to an individual or group, especially an odd or unusual one

peculiarity, quirk

ideology

a closely organized system of beliefs, values, and ideas forming the basis of a social, economic, or political philosophy or program

belief, ideals

microcosm

a miniature copy of something, especially when it represents or stands for a larger whole

*no synonym

gregarious

very friendly and sociable

outgoing, sociable

aggregation

collected together from different sources and considered as a whole

collection, cluster

egregious

conspicuously bad or offensive

shocking, apalling

abdicate

to give up a high office formally or officially, especially the throne      

   to relinquish, to resign

vindicate

to clear somebody or something of blame, guilt, suspicion, or doubt

to clear, to absolve

syndicate

a group of people who combine to carry out a business, enterprise, or some other common purpose

*no synonym

verbose

expressed in or using too many words

wordy, long-winded

remonstrate

to reason or argue forcefully with somebody about something

to argue, to protest, to object

uncanny

too strange or unlikely to seem merely natural or human; unexpectedly accurate or precise

weird, eerie

voracious

desiring or consuming food in great quantities; unusually eager or enthusiastic about an activity

greedy, insatiable, hungry

attribute

to think of something as caused by a particular circumstance; to give credit for something such as a work of art or a saying to a particular person, often wrongly; a quality, property, or characteristic of somebody or something

to accredit

obliterate

to destroy something so that nothing remains

destroy, demolish

renunciation

a denial or rejection of something or somebody, usually for moral or religious reasons; 

an official declaration giving up a title, office, claim, or privilege

assuage

to provide relief from something distressing or painful 

 to ease, to lessen

prevaricate

to avoid giving a direct and honest answer or opinion, or a clear and truthful account of a situation, especially by quibbling or being deliberately ambiguous or misleading.

to hedge, to evade, to stall

indicative

showing, suggesting, or pointing out that something exists or is true

suggestive

laconic

using very few words

brief, terse

caustic

sarcastic in a scathing and bitter way

cutting, biting, venomous

dilate

to become, or cause something to become, wider, larger, or stretched; to talk or write at great length

to enlarge, to widen

prudent

having good sense in dealing with practical matters; using good judgment to consider consequences and act accordingly

careful, cautious, sensible

pedantic

too concerned with what are thought to be correct rules and details, e.g. in language

perfectionist, fussy

militant

extremely active in the defense or support of a cause, often to the point of extremism; regimented 

combative, aggressive

erratic

not predictable, regular, or consistent, especially in being likely to depart from expected standards at any time  

unpredictable, inconsistent

qualm

a sudden feeling of uncertainty or apprehension, especially a misgiving about an action or conduct

doubt, misgiving

quintessence

the purest or most perfect example of something
ideal, essence