AP Lang Fall Final Vocab

aegis

a shield; protection

rectify

to correct; to make right

enervate

to weaken

philanthropy

the act of donating money or work to those in need

boor

a rude or impolite person

fervent

eager; earnest

besiege

to overwhelm; to surround and attack

carrion

decaying flesh

ignoble

dishonorable; shameful

amorphous

shapeless, formless; vague

factious

causing disagreement

ephemeral

lasting only a brief time; short-lived

perspicacity

keenness of judgement

erotic

pertaining to sexual love

opulent

rich, luxurious; wealthy

maelstrom

a whirlpool; turbulence; an agitated state of mind

impotent

powerless; lacking strength

emendation

a correction

gloat

to look or think about with great satisfaction

effete

worn out; barren

impale

to pierce with a pointed object; to spear

bland

mild; tasteless; dull

extenuate

to lessen seriousness by providing partial excuses

bestial

savage; brutal

diaphanous

very sheer and light

bauble

a showy but useless thing

labyrinth

a complicated network of winding passages; a maze

impediment

a barrier; an obstruction

shard

a fragment

nihilism

a total rejection of established laws

adventitious

accidental; nonessential

fecund

fertile; productive

pedestrian

ordinary or dull

edify

to improve someone morally

importune

to ask persistently; to beg

deviate

to turn aside from a course; to stray

bona fide

in good faith

glower

to stare angrily

cataclysm

a violent change

obfuscate

to confuse; to bewilder

antithesis

an exact opposite; an opposite extreme

chagrin

embarrassment; a complete loss of courage

parochial

local; narrow; limited

ambiguous

open to more than one interpretation

optimum

best; most favorable; ideal

fortuitous

happening by chance or accident

hedonism

the pursuit of pleasure, especially of the senses

celibate

abstaining from intercourse; unmarried

perfunctory

done without care; in a routine fashion

besmirch

to make dirty; to stain

demeanor

behavior; the manner of conducting oneself

imperative

extremely necessary; vitally important

sadistic

deriving pleasure from inflicting pain on other

facetious

comical; jocular; flippant

recapitulate

to summarize; to repeat briefly

baroque

overly decorated

obloquy

strong disapproval; a bad reputation resulting from public criticism

debacle

a complete failure; a total collapse

quasi-

resembling; seeming; half

sacrosanct

extremely holy

imprecation

a curse

panegyric

an expression of praise

nebulous

hazy; vague; uncertain

bowdlerize

to remove offensive passages of a play, novel, etc.

fop

an extremely fashion-conscious man

elegy

a sad or mournful poem

deference

respect; consideration

pedantic

tending to show off one’s learning

non sequitur

something that does not logically follow

sanguine

cheerful; optimistic

impair

to weaken; to cause to become worse

quandary

a puzzling situation; a dilemma

ebullient

enthusiastic

carnal

relating to physical appetite, especially sexual

rakish

dashingly stylish and confident

elucidate

to make clear

banal

common; ordinary

imminent

likely to happen; threatening

antipathy

an intense dislike

scurrilous

coarsely abusive; vulgar

bedlam

a noisy uproar; a scene of wild confusion

amoral

lacking a sense of right and wrong

sedulous

hard working; diligent

obdurate

stubborn; hardhearted

peruse

to read carefully; to scrutinize

affluence

wealth; richness

parody

a work that imitates another in a ridiculous manner

onerous

burdensome; heavy; hard to endure

eschew

to keep away from; to avoid; to shun

denouement

an outcome; a result

bovine

pertaining to cows or cattle

callow

young and inexperienced

peccadillo

a minor offense; a misdeed

dichotomy

a division into two parts

macroscopic

visible to the naked eye

rationalize

to make an excuse for

patent

evident or obvious

knell

a sound made by a bell, often rung slowly for a death or funeral

ferret

to search or drive out

fatuous

foolish; inane