AP Seminar Foundational Vocabulary

Foundational vocabulary terms and definitions from AP Seminar notes.

Ambiguous

open to more than one interpretation

Ambivalent

having mixed feelings about something

Anecdotal

based on personal accounts rather than facts/research

Antithesis

direct opposite

Arbitrary

based on random choice, not reason

Articulate

expressing ideas clearly and effectively

Assertion

a confident statement of fact or belief

Attenuate

to weaken or reduce in force

Cogent

clear, logical, and convincing

Cogitate

to think deeply about something; to ponder or reflect carefully before drawing a conclusion.

Coherent

logical and consistent

Complacent

uncritically satisfied with oneself

Concede

to acknowledge a point, often reluctantly

Concise

brief and to the point

Conflate

to combine into one, often confusingly

Congruent

in agreement or harmony

Contentious

causing disagreement

Contrive

to create with skill, or to fake artificially

Convoluted

complicated and hard to follow

Corroborate

to confirm or support with evidence

Credible

believable, trustworthy

Cursory

hasty, done without attention to detail

Deduce

to reach a conclusion through reasoning

Deference

respectful submission to another's judgment

Digress

to stray from the main topic

Discern

to perceive or recognize clearly

Discrepancy

a lack of agreement between facts

Disparage

to speak of negatively; belittle

Disparate

fundamentally different

Dogmatic

asserting opinions as unquestionably true

Egalitarian

believing in equality for all

Elicit

to draw out a response

Empirical

based on observation or experiment, not theory

Equivocal

ambiguous or open to multiple meanings

Erroneous

incorrect

Esoteric

understood by only a small group

Explicit

clearly stated

Extrapolate

to extend conclusions beyond available data

Facetious

treating serious matters with humor, not seriously

Fallacious

based on flawed reasoning