AP Lang Quarter 4 Vocab

Termagant

An overbearing or nagging woman

Torpid

Sluggish in functioning or action; numb, dormant, apathetic, or dull

Unilateral

Done or undertaken by one person, side, or party

Uxorious

Excessively fond or submissive to a wife

Venal

Capable of being bought or obtained for money or other valuable consideration, especially in the sense of corrupt influence or bribery

Venerate

To regard with reverential respect or admiring deference

Verbose

Containing more words than necessary

Verisimilitude

The quality or state of appearing truthful or probable

Vernacular

Of, relating to, or characteristic of a period, place, or group, especially in respect to language

Vicissitude

The quality or state of being mutable: a favorable or unfavorable situation or event that occurs by chance

Vilify

To utter slanderous and abusive statements against: to lower in estimation or importance

Lugubrious

Exaggeratedly or affectedly mournful

Vitiate

To render defunct: to debase in moral or aesthetic status

Vociferous

Marked by or given to vehement insistent outcry

Pyrrhic Victory

A desired outcome that is not worth attaining because so much is lost to achieve it

Fell

Fierce, cruel, terrible, sinister, malevolent, or deadly

Fleer

A laugh or grimace in a coarse derisive manner; sneer

Kibitzer

One who looks on and often offers unwanted advice or comment: one who offers opinions

Lucubration

Laborious or intense study, or the product of such study

Scrofulous

Having a diseased, run-down appearance

Sophomoric

Conceited or overconfident of knowledge but poorly informed and immature: lacking in maturity, taste, or judgement

Pavid

Showing fear

Lassitude

A condition of weariness or debility, apathy, or listlessness

Mensch

A person of integrity and honor

Churlish

Vulgar or marked by a lack of civility or graciousness

Abjure

To reject solemnly, renounce upon oath, or abstain from

Inculate

To teach or impress by frequent repetitions or admonitions

Polemic

Argument against an idea, usually regarding philosophy, politics, or religion

Polysyndeton

Deliberate use of a series of conjunctions

Ponderous

Extremely dull

Proliferate

To grow or increase rapidly

Propriety

Appropriateness of behavior

Prosaic

Dull (but not extremely dull)

Prudent

Exercising good judgement

Pugnacious

Combative and/or belligerent

Quandary

State of perplexity or uncertainty

Querulous

Complaining in a petulant or whining manner

Replete

Abundantly supplied; filled to capacity

Sanction

To give official authorization or approval

Serene

Calm

Servile

Submissing in a servant-like manner

Spurious

Not genuine

Staid

Unemotional, serious

Stratagem

Clever trick designed to deceive or outwit

Substantiated

Supported with proof or evidence; verified

Surrepticiously

Done by secretive means

Syllogism

A form of deductive reasoning: a major or minor premise, a conclusion

Tenuous

Having little substance: shaky, unsure, weak

Truncuated

Shortened, cut-off

Ardent

Characterized by warmth of feeling typically expressed in eager, zealous support or activity

Bombastic

Overly rhetorical and pompous: those who use the learning ostentatiously

Buoyant

Capable of quick recovery; having positive indication

Circumspect

Careful to consider all circumstances and possible consequences: cautious

Chauvinistic

An act of superiority towards those of the opposite sex

Consternation

Amazement or dismay that hinders or throws into confusion

Enamored

Inflamed with love or passion

Exultant

Filled with or expressing great joy or triumph

Halcyon

Calm, peaceful, golden

Impious

Lacking respect

Inept

Unfit; lacking sense or reason; foolish; generally incompetent

Inane

Empty and insubstantial; lacking point; silly

Insular

Characterized by isolation; having a narrow, provincial viewpoint

Ire

Intense and usually openly displayed anger

Lofty

Elevated in status; superior

Maudlin

Weakly and effusively sentimental

Mendacious

Characterized by deception, falsehood, or divergence from absolute truth

Pollyannaish

Characterized by irrepressible optimism and a tendency to find good in everything

Rueful

Exciting pity or sympathy: pitiable, mournful, regretful

Upbraiding

Criticising severely; finding fault with; reproaching severely; scolding vehemently

Wry

Cleverly and often ironically or grimly humorous

Purge

To clear of guilt; to free from moral or ceremonial defilement; to rid of; to clear of something unwanted

Redundant

Exceeding what is necessary or normal

Condone

To regard or treat something bad or blameworthy as acceptable, forgivable, or harmless

Auspicious

Showing or suggesting that future success is likely

Hubris

Exaggerated pride or self-confidence

Egregious

Very noticeable, especially with respect to something glaringly bad

Feisty

Full of nervous energy; having or showing a lively aggressiveness

Altruistic

Having or showing an unselfish concern for the welfare of others

Innate

Belonging to the essential nature of something

Condescend

To assume an air of superiority

Aggravate

To make something worse, more serious, or more severe: to intensify unpleasantly

Anxious

Characterized by extreme uneasiness of mind or brooding fear about some contingency

Chronic

Continuing or occurring again and again for a long time

Preclude

To make impossible by necessary consequence: to rule out in advance

Prodigal

Characterized by profuse or wasteful expenditure: lavish; yielding abundantly

Hypocritical

Characterized by behavior that contradicts what one claims to believe or feel

Apathy

Lack of feeling, emotion, interest, or concern

Incoherent

Lacking in normal clarity or intelligibility in speech or thought, or in orderly continuity, arrangement, or relevance

Heresy

An opinion, doctrine, or practice contrary to the truth or to generally accepted beliefs or standards

Adamant

Unshakable or insistent especially in maintaining a position or opinion

Complacent

Marked by satisfaction to the status quo especially when accompanied by unawareness of actual dangers or deficiencies

Nefarious

Flagrantly wicked or corrupt: evil

Germane

Relating to a subject in an appropriate way

Reprehensible

Worthy of or deserving to be disapproved or rejected

Digress

To speak or write about something that is different from the main subject of attention or course of argument

Incongruous

Not harmonious or conforming; inconsistent with itself; lacking propriety

Atrophy

Decrease in size or wasting away of a body part or tissue; a progressive decline

Profound

Having intellectual depth and insight; very great or significant; characterized by intensity of feeling or quality

Congenial

Pleasant, especially when agreeably suited to one's nature, tastes, or outlook: sociable

Discriminate

To unfairly treat a person or group differently from other people or groups on a class or categorical basis