AP Literature Analytical Verbs and Sentence Structure

Vocabulary flashcards defining analytical verbs used to replace 'This shows...' along with the AP Lit sentence formula.

Illustrates

To make clear by using examples or pictures.

Reveals

To make a secret or hidden truth known to the reader.

Evokes

To bring a strong feeling, memory, or image to the mind.

Conveys

To transport a specific message or meaning to the audience.

Manifests

To show or display a quality or feeling by one's acts.

Elucidates

To explain something clearly that was previously confusing.

Encapsulates

To express the essential features of something succinctly.

Delineates

To describe or portray something with precision and detail.

Explicates

To analyze a text or idea in great detail, piece by piece.

Underscores

To emphasize or draw a line under a key point.

Exacerbates

To make a problem, feeling, or bad situation worse.

Solidifies

To make an abstract idea firm, concrete, or certain.

Parallels

To show how two different things are similar or connected.

Mirrors

To reflect the state of one thing through another (e.g., setting reflecting mood).

Catalyzes

To cause or accelerate a major change or event.

Bifurcates

To divide a plot, theme, or character path into two branches.

Culminates

To reach a climax or point of highest development.

Nullifies

To make something legally void or technically of no value.

Complicates

To make a situation or argument more intricate or layered.

Interrogates

To deeply question or challenge an idea or social norm.

Subverts

To undermine the power or authority of an established custom.

Juxtaposes

To place two unlike things together to create a contrast.

Contradicts

To deny the truth of a statement by asserting the opposite.

Deconstructs

To break down a belief or system to expose its flaws.

Oscillates

To swing back and forth indecisively between two states.

Transcends

To rise above or go beyond the usual limits of something.

Paradoxes

To present a statement that seems self-contradictory.