AP Language & Composition Vocabulary

Flashcards for vocabulary review.

Guileless

Innocent and Naive

Reticent

Inclined to be silent or uncommunicative in speech: Reserved

Lampoon

A harsh satire usually directed against an individual

Delineate

To describe, portray, or set forth with accuracy or in detail

Modest

Placing a moderate estimate on one’s abilities or worth

Demurely

Reserved, Modest

Forlorn

Bereft, Forsake, sad because of isolation

Lofty

Elevated in character and spirit

Sneer

To smile or laugh with facial contortions that express scorn or contempt

Peril

Exposure to the risk of being injured destroyed, or last: DANGER

Vermin

Small common harmful or objectionable animals (such as lice or fleas) that are difficult to control. Or, an offensive person

Upheaval

Extreme agitation or disorder: radical change

Listlessness

Characterized by lack of interest, energy, or spirit

Thwart

To oppose successfully: Defeat the hopes or aspirations of

Philanthropy

An act or gift done or made for humanitarian purposes

Prodigious

Causing amazement or wonder

Deplorable

Deserving censure or contempt (strong disapproval)

Hitherto

Up to this or that time

Scrupulous

Having moral integrity: acting in strict regard for what is considered right

Gibbet

To expose to infamy or public scorn

Episcopal

Of or relating to a bishop

Parismany

The quality of being careful with money or resources

Raiment

Clothing, garments

Trepidation

A nervous or fearful feeling or uncertain agitation

Licentious

Lacking legal or moral restraints

Reprimand

To reprove correct sharply or censure formally usually from a position of authority

Magistrate

An official entrusted with administration of the laws

Pallor

Deficiency of color especially of the face: PALENESS

Ameliorate

To make better or more tolerable

Jabber

To talk rapidly, indistinctly, or unintelligibly

Stallion

A uncastrated male horse: a male horse kept for breeding

Clapboard

A narrow board usually thicker at one edge than the other used for siding.

Trifle

To treat someone or something as unimportant

Conjure

To charge or entreat earnestly or solemnly

Treason

The betrayal of a trust: TREACHERY

Arduous

Hard to accomplish or achieve: DIFFICULT

Solace (Verb)

To give comfort to in grief or misfortune: CONSOLE

Beseech

To beg for urgently or anxiously

Remonstrance

An earnest presentation of reasons for opposition or grievance

Supine

Lying on the back or with the face upward

Profane

To treat (something scared) with abuse, irreverence or contempt

Altruistic

Having or showing an unselfish concern for the welfare of others

Waspish

Resembling a wasp in behavior

Urbane

Notably polite or polished in manner

Suave

Smoothly though often superficially gracious and sophisticated

Wade

To step in or through a medium (such as water) offering more resistance than air

Spewed

To come forth in a flood or gush

Unprecedented

Never done or known before

Cull

To select from a group

Perpetual (Mead)

Continuing forever

Pervasive

Existing in or spreading through every part of something

Pseudonym

A fictitious name

Moratorium

A temporary prohibition of an activity

Endearing

Inspiring love or affection

Chasm (Mead)

A profound difference between people, viewpoints, feelings, etc.

Affluent

Having an abundance of goods or riches

Twine

A strong string of two or more strands twisted together

Ghastly

Terrifyingly horrible to the senses: FRIGHTENING

Perverse

Turned away from what is right or good

Frisson

A brief moment of emotional excitement

Waning

To decrease in size, extent, or degree: DWINDLE

Guffawing

A loud or boisterous burst of laughter

Pimp

A person and especially a man who controls one or more sex workers, arranges clients for them, and take as a cut of their earnings.

Gaucheness

A lacking social experience or grace.

Flaunt

To display or obtrude oneself to public notice

Commodity

An economic good, something useful or valued

Befuddle

Make someone unable to think clearly

Futile

Incapable of producing any useful result; pointless

Coarseness

The quality of being rough or harsh

Pronouncements

Usually formal declaration of opinion

Quarry

A rich source

Wayfarer

A traveler especially on foot

Dismayed

Experiencing or showing feeling of alarmed concern

Taut

(Especially of muscles or nerves) tense; not relaxed.

Solace (Noun)

Comfort or consolation in a time of distress or sadness

Amiable

Generally agreeable, friendly, and sociable

Enrapture

To fill with delight

Querulous

Habitually complaining

Belittle

To cause (a person or thing) to seem little or less)

Fretful

Irritable, restless

Unsolicited

Not asked for; given or done voluntarily

Heady

Having a strong or exhilarating effect

Prospect

The possibility or likelihood or some future event occurring

Theatrics

Dramatic performances

Prestige

Widespread respect and admiration felt for someone based on perception of their achievements or quality

Alliterative

Relating to or marked by same letters or sound at the beginning of adjacent connected words

Stifle

Restrain (a reaction) or stop oneself acting on (an emotion)

Emasculate

Deprive (a man) of his male role or identity

Exasperated

Intensely irritated and frustrated

Subordinate

Lower in rank or position

Revelation

A surprising and previously unknown fact, made known in a dramatic way

Scorn (Verb)

Feel or express contempt for

Gruff

(Of a voice) rough and low in pitch

Linger

Stay in a place longer than necessary because of a reluctance to leave

Chasms

A deep fissure in the earth, rock, or another surface

Cardial

Warm and Friendly

Idyllic

Time or place like an idyllic extremely happy, peaceful, or picturesque

Blasé

Unimpressed to something because one has experience or seen it often before

Bantering

Characterized by good-humored teasing

Somber

Shaded as to be dark and gloomy