AP Lang Vocab Words

Apprise (v)

To inform or tell someone about something.

Belie (v)

To contradict or to deceive by hiding the truth.

Didactic (adj)

Intended for instruction; instructive; or, inclined to teach or lecture others too much.

Disparate (adj)

Distinct in kind; essentially different; dissimilar.

Exigent (adj)

Demanding immediate attention or urgently needed; pressing.

Grapple (v)

To seize another in a firm grip; to engage in a struggle or close encounter.

Inveigh (v)

To protest or complain about something or someone very strongly.

Moratorium (n)

A suspension of some activity or law for a period of time.

Obfuscate (v)

To confuse, bewilder, or stupefy, or to make obscure or unclear.

Pervasive (adj)

Spread throughout so thoroughly as to be seen or felt everywhere.

Persona (n)

The public image of one's personality; the social role one adopts; or simply a fictional character.

Polarize (v)

To divide into two sharply contrasting groups or sets of opinions or beliefs.

Posit (v)

To suggest or assume something as the basis for an argument or calculation.

Predilection (n)

A tendency to think favorably of something in particular; partiality; preference.

Qualify (v)

To prove capable or fit; meet requirements (often used in AP Lang to mean to limit or modify a statement).

Quixotic (adj)

Not sensible about practical matters; idealistic and unrealistic.

Relegate (v)

To assign to a lower position.

Sacrosanct (adj)

Treated as if holy and kept free from violation or criticism.

Sublimate (v)

To pass directly from the solid to the vapor state (literal); or to modify an impulse into a socially acceptable form.

Ubiquitous (adj)

Existing or being everywhere, especially at the same time; omnipresent.

Visceral (adj)

Felt in or as if in the internal organs of the body; deep; or, not intellectual; instinctive, unreasoning.