AP Language Units 1-5

abate

To reduce or lessen

abstain

to refrain from doing something

arid

very dry

brazen

bold

capitulate

surrender

condescending

patronizing

demagogue

A person who leads by intimidation and fear

divergent

moving apart, going in different directions

evanescent

not lasting long

fortitude

strength

hackneyed

cliched

impute

to assign or attribute to someone

jubilation

extreme happiness, joy

opulent

wealthy

pragmatic

practical

prosperity

wealth

reclusive

withdrawn

sagacity

wisdom

substantiate

to confirm, prove

tactful

polite

abdicate

to give up a position

adversity

hardship, misfortune

asylum

sanctuary, place of safety

brusque

short, rude

clairvoyant

can predict the future

conditional

contingent upon something else, contingent upon

digression

straying from main point

empathy

feeling someone else’s feeling

exemplary

outstanding

haughty

being arrogant, talking down to people

inconsequential

without consequence, trivial, doesn’t matter

fortuitious

lucky

lobbyist

person who takes one side or the other, and persuades government officials

orator

speaker

precocious

gifted/talented beyond one’s years

provocative

causes a fuss, inflammatory, likely to get people riled up

reconciliation

coming back together after a disagreement

scrutinize

to look at carefully

subtle

shy, small, not showy

tenacious

persistent/stubborn

aberration

something unusual, different from the norm

aesthetic

pertaining to beauty

benevolent

friendly, helpful

camaraderie

togetherness, trust, group dynamic of trust

collaborate

work together

conformist

someone who follows the maority

diligent

hard-working, dedicated

emulate

following someone else’s example

extenuating

something that makes the situation not as bad

foster

promote, aid

hedonist

person who acts in pursuit of pleasure

inevitable

unavoidable, definitely going to happen

longevity

life span( usually referring to a long life)

ostentatious

flaunting wealth

pretentious

being self important, thinking you are better than others

prudent

careful, wise

renovation

being new, being redone

spontaneous

being impulsive, acting without thinking

superficial

shallow

transient

temporary, impermanent

abhor

to really hate

amicable

agreeable

bias

a prejudice towards something or against something

canny

careful

compassion

sympathy

convergence

coming together

discredit

dishonor someone, prove something untrue

enervating

tiring

florid

overly fancy or complicated

fraught

filled with

hypothesis

unproven theory, educated guess

intrepid

fearless

mundane

boring, ordinary

parched

freed from water, dried up

procrastinate

to delay, often unnecessarily

querulous

irritable, prone to argument

restrained

controlled, not free

spurious

false, untrue

surreptitious

secret

venerable

respectable because of its age

anachronistic

out of the context of time, out of date

boisterous

enthusiastic, loud

capacious

very large, spacious

compromise

meeting in the middle, settling differences

deleterious

harmful

disdain

to regard with scorn

ephemeral

fleeting, temporary

forbearance

patience, restrain

frugal

thrifty

impetuous

rash, impulsive

intuitive

knowing something by instinct

nonchalant

casual, calm, at ease

perfidious

disloyal

prosaic

ordinary

rancorous

hateful, unpleasant

reverence

deep respect

submissive

milk, meek

superfluous

unnecessary, too much

vindicate

to free from blame

wary

carefull, watchful