AP Lang Vocab List 6

homily

literally means "sermon;” more informally, it can include any serious talk, speech, or lecture involving moral or spiritual advice.

idiom

a use of words, a grammatical construction peculiar to a given language, or an expression that cannot be translated literally into a second language.

formal diction

refers to the level of usage common in serious books and lofty discourse.

informal diction

refers to the level of usage found in the relaxed but polite and cultivated conversation.

colloquial diction

refers to everyday usage and may include terms and constructions accepted in that group but not universally acceptable.

slang

refers to a group of newly coined words that are not yet a part of formal usage.

pun

a play on words. it exploits the multiple meanings of a word, or else replaces one word with another that is similar in sound but has a very different meaning. sometimes used for serious purposes, but more often used for comic effect.

auditory imagery

the representation through language of an experience pertaining to sound.

gustatory imagery

the representation through language of an experience pertaining to taste.

kinesthetic imagery

the representation through language of an experience pertaining to the movement of the body's muscles, tendons, and joints.

olfactory imagery

the representation through language of an experience pertaining to smell.

tactile imagery

the representation through language of an experience pertaining to touch.

visual imagery

the representation through language of an experience pertaining to sight.

alliteration

the repetition of initial consonant sounds in words, as in "rough and ready.”

assonance

the repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds, especially in stressed syllables, without repetition of consonants.

consonance

the repetition of consonant sounds--not limited to the first letters of words.

onomatopoeia

the use of a word whose sound suggests its meaning: bang, clang, buzz, sigh, murmur.

conceit

an elaborate, usually intellectually ingenious poetic comparison or image, such as an analogy or metaphor in which, say a beloved is compared to a ship, planet, etc.

euphemism

a mild word or phrase that substitutes for another that would be undesirable because it is too direct, unpleasant, or offensive. (the word 'joint' is a _________ for the word prison.)

hyperbole

overstatement; figurative language that greatly overstates or exaggerates facts, whether in earnest or for comic effect.

litotes

understatement; purposefully represents a thing as much less significant than it is, achieving an ironic effect.

metaphor

a word is identified with something different from what the word literally denotes; distinguished from a simile in that it equates different things without using connecting terms such as like or as.

metonymy

a figure of speech in which a word represents something else which it suggests; a person says that a pot is boiling. the pot is not actually boiling. only the water is boiling.

oxymoron

a type of paradox that combines two terms ordinarily seen as opposites; the combination of words which, at first view, seem to be contradictory or incongruous, but whose surprising juxtaposition expresses a truth or dramatic effect (cool fire, deafening silence, wise folly).

paradox

a statement that contains seemingly contradictory elements or appears contrary to common sense, yet can be seen as perhaps, or indeed, true when viewed from another angle; in The Incredibles, Syndrome says: “if everyone’s super, no one is.”