AP English Language Vocab List A-C

For Dr Abrams' class

Abashed

ashamed or embarrassed; disconcerted

Abhorring

to regard with extreme repugnance or aversion; detest utterly; loathe; abominate

Abstruse

difficult to understand

Absurd

ridiculous; silly

Accusing

to charge with the fault, offense, or crime

Acerbic

harsh or severe, as of temper or expression

Admiring

to regard with wonder, pleasure, or approval

Admonishing

cautioning, advising, or counseling against something; reproving or scolding, especially in a mild and good-willed manner; reminding

Adoring

to regard with utmost esteem, love, and respect; honor

Affectionate

showing, indicating, or characterized by affection or love; fondly tender

Afraid

feeling fear or apprehension; worried about potential danger or harm.

Ambiguous

open to or having several possible meanings or interpretations

Ambivalent

uncertainty or fluctuation, esp. when caused by inability to make a choice or by a simultaneous desire to say or do two opposite or conflicting things

Amused

pleasurably entertained, occupied, or diverted

Angry

feeling or showing strong annoyance, displeasure, or hostility.

Annoyed

To cause slight irritation to (another) by troublesome, often repeated acts

Antagonistic

acting in opposition; opposing, esp. mutually/hostile; unfriendly

Anxious

full of mental distress or uneasiness because of fear of danger or misfortune; greatly worried; solicitous/earnestly desirous; eager

Apathetic

having or showing little or no emotion/not interested or concerned; indifferent or unresponsive

Apologetic

containing an apology or excuse for a fault, failure, insult, injury

Appreciative

feeling or expressive of gratitude

Apprehensive

uneasy or fearful about something that might happen

Approving

to speak or think favorably of; pronounce or consider agreeable or good; judge favorably

Ardent

characterized by intense feeling; passionate; fervent; intensely devoted, eager, or enthusiastic; zealous; vehement; fierce

Arrogant

making claims or pretensions to superior importance or rights; overbearingly assuming; insolently proud

Audacious

extremely bold or daring; recklessly brave; fearless

Authoritarian

having an air of authority; accustomed to exercising authority; positive; peremptory; dictatorial

Baffled

to confuse, bewilder, or perplex

Bantering

Good-humored, playful conversation

Belligerent

warlike; given to waging war

Bemused

bewildered or confused/lost in thought; preoccupied

Benevolent

characterized by or expressing goodwill or kindly feelings

Bewildered

completely puzzled or confused; perplexed

Biting

nipping; smarting; keen/ cutting; sarcastic

Bitter

having a harsh, disagreeable acrid taste, like that of aspirin, quinine, wormwood, or aloes/ characterized by intense antagonism or hostility/ hard to admit or accept

Blithe

joyous, merry, or gay in disposition; glad; cheerful

Blunt

abrupt in address or manner/ slow in perception or understanding; obtuse

Bold

not hesitating or fearful in the face of danger or rebuff; courageous and daring; not hesitating or break the rules of propriety; forward; impudent

Bored

feeling weary and impatient because one is unoccupied or lacks interest in one's current activity.

Brisk

quick and active; lively/ sharp and stimulating

Brusque

abrupt in manner; blunt; rough

Burlesque

an artistic composition, esp. literary or dramatic, that, for the sake of laughter, vulgarizes lofty material or treats ordinary material with mock dignity

Calm

without rough motion; still or nearly still/ free from excitement or passion; tranquil

Candid

frank; outspoken; open and sincere/ free from reservation, disguise, or subterfuge; straightforward

Capricious

flighty; led by whims; erratic

Casual

without definite or serious intention; careless or offhand; passing

Caustic

making biting, corrosive comments

Celebratory

seeming or tending to be indifferent to what is happening; apathetic; unconcerned

Censorious

severely critical; faultfinding

Ceremonial

of, pertaining to, or characterized by ceremony; formal; ritual

Cheerful

characterized by or expressive of good spirits or cheerfulness

Cheery

in good spirits

Childish

of, like, or befitting a child/ puerile; weak; silly

Choleric

extremely irritable or easily angered; irascible

Clinical

concerned with or based on actual observation and treatment of disease in patients rather than experimentation or theory/ extremely objective and realistic; dispassionately analytic; unemotionally critical

Cold

lacking in warmth, enthusiasm, or emotion; unfeeling or detached.

Colloquial

characteristic of or appropriate to ordinary or familiar conversation rather than formal speech or writing; informal.

Comforting

To soothe in time of affliction or distress.

Comic

funny; humorous

Commanding

appreciably superior or imposing; winning; sizable

Compassionate

having or showing compassion

Complex

characterized by a very complicated or involved arrangement of parts, units, etc.

Complicated

composed of elaborately interconnected parts; complex

Complimentary

of the nature of, conveying, or expressing a compliment, often one that is politely flattering

Conceited

having an excessively favorable opinion of one’s abilities, appearance, etc.

Concerned

interested or affected/ troubled or anxious; having a connection or involvement; participating

Conciliatory

To overcome the distrust or animosity of; appease

Condemnatory

To express strong disapproval

Condescending

showing or implying a usually patronizing descent from dignity or superiority

Confident

having strong belief or full assurance; sure/ sure of oneself; having no uncertainty about one’s own abilities, correctness, successfulness, etc.; self-confident; bold

Confused

to perplex or bewilder/ to make unclear or indistinct

Contemptuous

showing or expressing contempt or disdain; scornful

Contented

Desiring no more than what one has; satisfied./ Ready to accept or acquiesce; willing

Contentious

tending to argument or strife; quarrelsome/ causing, involving, or characterized by argument or controversy

Conversational

The spoken exchange of thoughts, opinions, and feelings; talk

Critical

inclined to find fault or to judge with severity, often too readily

Curt

rudely brief in speech or abrupt in manner/ brief; concise; tense; laconic

Cynical

scornful of the motives or virtues of others; bitterly or sneeringly distrustful, contemptuous, or pessimistic