AP English Language Vocabulary

Allusions

e.g. Lord of the Flies and the bible

INDIRECT REFERENCE TO SOMETHING

Characterization

PROCESS USED TO REVEAL CHARACTER'S PERSONALITY

Oxymoron

e.g. terribly wonderful

FIGURE OF SPEECH WITH OPPOSITE TERMS IN CONJUNCTION

Dichotomy

e.g. the dichotomy between war and peace

DIVISION INTO 2 GROUPS, OFTEN CONTRADICTORY

Paradox

e.g. grandfather paradox

SEEMINGLY CONTRADICTORY YET TRUE STATEMENT/SITUATION

Anaphora

e.g. I Have A Dream speech

REPETITION OF WORDS AT SENTENCE/CLAUSE BEGINNINGS

Hyperbole

e.g. so hungry you could eat a horse

EXTREME EXAGGERATION FOR EFFECT

Euphemism

e.g. gosh instead of God

A LESS OFFENSIVE WAY OF SAYING SOMETHING THAT IS CONSIDERED UNPLEASANT

Cocophany

e.g. "crisp clear words"

MIXTURE OF HARSH SOUNDING WORDS

Litotes

e.g. you won't be sorry

MAKING AN AFFIRMATIVE POINT BY DENYING ITS OPPOSITE

Consonance

e.g. The cat sat on the mat

REPETITION OF CONSONANT SOUNDS

Assonance

e.g. The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain

REPETITION OF VOWEL SOUNDS

Irony

e.g. Titanic was touted as the "unsinkable ship"

WORDS ARE THE OPPOSITE OF WHAT IS EXPECTED

Metonymy

e.g. The White House issued a statement

FIGURE OF SPEECH WHEN SOMETHING IS REFERRED TO BY USING THE NAME OF SOMETHING ASSOCIATED WITH IT

Synechdoche

e.g. "nice wheels" or "the US lost the match"

FIGURE OF SPEECH WHERE A PART IS MADE TO REPRESENT THE WHOLE (VICE VERSA)

Parallelism

e.g. Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me

REPETITION OF GRAMMATICAL STRUCTURES

Epistrophe

e.g. I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth

REPETITION OF WORDS AT SENTENCE/CLAUSE ENDINGS

Deductive vs. Inductive Reasoning

DEDUCTIVE: GENERAL TO SPECIFIC (police interview multiple people to find the 1 perpetrator)

INDUCTIVE: SPECIFIC TO GENERAL (gang network, start with one criminal to find the rest)

Allegory

e.g. Lord of the flies (impacts of social order)

STORY THAT CAN BE INPERPRETED TO REVEAL A HIDDEN MEANING

Alliteration

e.g. She sells seashells by the seashore

REPETITION OF !!-INITIAL-!! CONSONANT SOUNDS

Euphony

e.g. The wind in the willows softly sings

PLEASANT, HARMONIOUS SOUND

Anticlimax

A DISAPPOINTING END TO AN EXCITING SERIES OF EVENTS

Ellipsis

e.g. I'm not sure what to say... I just don't know

3 PERIODS (...) INDICATING THE OMISSION OF WORDS IN A THOUGHT/QUOTATION

Juxtaposition

e.g. The calm before the storm

PLACING 2 ELEMENTS SIDE BY SIDE TO COMPARE/CONTRAST

Asyndeton

e.g. He was a great leader, a wise mentor, a brave soldier

ABSENCE OF CONJUNCTION BETWEEN PARTS OF A SENTENCE

Polysyndeton

e.g. He ran and jumped and laughed for joy

DELIBERATE USE OF MANY CONJUNCTIONS

Synaethesia

e.g. The silence was as thick as a fog

IMAGERY THAT INVOLVES THE USING ONE SENSE TO EVOKE ANOTHER

Personification

GIVING HUMAN QUALITIES TO INANIMATE OBJECTS

Sarcasm

e.g. Oh, great. Another test. Just what I needed!

USING IRONY TO MOCK OR CONVEY A CONCEPT

Periphrasis

e.g. Kleenex instead of tissue

DESCRIPTIVE WORD/PHRASE USED TO REFER TO A PROPER NAME

Idiom

e.g. Spill the beans

EXPRESSION IN WHICH THE FIGURATIVE MEANING IS DIFFERENT FROM ITS LITERAL MEANING

Aphorism

e.g. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger

A CONCISE STATEMENT OF A TRUTH/PRINCIPLE