AP Lang Vocab - Unit 2

recapitulate

verb 

summarize and state again the main points of

• Biology repeat (an evolutionary or other process) during development and growth.

supercilious

adjective

behaving or looking as though one thinks one is superior to others

respiration

noun

the action of breathing

• chiefly Medicine a single breath.

• Biology a process in living organisms involving the production of energy, typically with the intake of oxygen and the release of carbon dioxide from the oxidation of complex organic substances.

lugubrious

adjective

looking or sounding sad and dismal.

abstemious

adjective

not self-indulgent, esp. when eating and drinking

loquacious

adjective

talkative

diffident

adjective

modest or shy because of a lack of self-confidence

polymer

adjective

a substance that has a molecular structure consisting chiefly or entirely of a large number of similar units bonded together, e.g., many synthetic organic materials used as plastics and resins.

kowtow

verb 

kneel and touch the ground with the forehead in worship or submission 

• figurative act in an excessively subservient manner

evanescent

adjective - chiefly poetic/literary

soon passing out of sight, memory, or existence; quickly fading or disappearing

• Physics: denoting a field or wave that extends into a region where it cannot propagate and whose amplitude therefore decreases with distance.