AP Lit Unit 6 Vocab

abortive

failing to accomplish an intended aim or purpose; only partially or imperfectly developed

bruit

(v.) to spread news, reports, or unsubstantiated rumors

contumelious

insolent or rude in speech or behavior; insultingly abusive; humiliating

dictum

a short saying; an authoritative statement

ensconce

to settle comfortably and firmly in position; to put or hide in a safe place

iconoclastic

attacking or seeking to overthrow popular or traditional beliefs, ideas, or institutions

in medias res

(adv.) in or into the middle of a plot; into the middle of things

internecine

mutually destructive; characterized by great slaughter and bloodshed

maladroit

(adj.) lacking skill or dexterity; lacking tact, perception, or judgment

maudlin

excessively or effusively sentimental

modulate

(v.) to change or vary the intensity or pitch; to temper or soften; to regulate, adjust

portentous

foreshadowing an event to come; causing wonder or awe; self-consciously weighty, pompous

prescience

knowledge of events or actions before they happen; foresight

quid pro quo

something given in exchange or return for something else

salubrious

(adj.) conducive to health or well-being; wholesome

syn: healthy, invigorating

ant: harmful, unhealthy, deleterious, noxious

saturnalian

characterized by riotous or unrestrained revelry or licentiousness

touchstone

(noun)

a means of testing worth or genuineness

SYN: criterion, yardstick, benchmark

traumatic

so shocking to the emotions as to cause lasting and substantial psychological damage

vitiate

to weaken, debase, or corrupt; to impair the quality or value of

waggish

(adj.) fond of making jokes; characteristic of a joker; playfully humorous or droll