english final vocab full set

Asseverate

declare or state solemnly or emphatically

Cajole

persuade (someone) to do something by sustained coaxing or flattery.

Enervate

cause (someone) to feel drained of energy or vitality; weaken.

Equivocate

use ambiguous language so as to conceal the truth or avoid committing oneself.

Inculcate

instill (an attitude, idea, or habit) by persistent instruction.

Mitigate

make less severe, serious, or painful.

Obviate

remove (a need or difficulty), avoid, prevent

Assure

tell someone something positively or confidently to dispel any doubts they may have.

make (something) certain to happen.

Behoove

it is a duty or responsibility for someone to do something; it is incumbent on.

Condone

accept and allow (behavior that is considered morally wrong or offensive) to continue.

approve or sanction (something), especially with reluctance.

Galvanize

shock or excite (someone) into taking action.

coat (iron or steel) with a protective layer of zinc.

Obfuscate

render obscure, unclear, or unintelligible.

bewilder (someone).

Requite

make appropriate return for (a favor, service, or wrongdoing).

return a favor to (someone).

respond to (love or affection); return.

Scrutinize

examine or inspect closely and thoroughly.

Venerate

regard with great respect; revere.

assiduous

Showing great care and persistence

callous

Possessing a cruel or insensitive disregard for others.

capricious

Prone to sudden or unexplained mood or behavior changes

feckless

Lacking strength of character or initiative.

magnanimous

A generous or forgiving person, especially towards less powerful or rival people.

melancholic

A person who expresses pensive sadness.

phlegmatic

A person who has an unemotional or constantly calm disposition.

sanguine

A person who is optimistic or positive, even in apparently bad or difficult situations.

Reader Response Criticism

A form of literary criticism that focuses on the reader and their experience with the literary work, rather than the author, content, or form.

Formal Criticism

A form of literary criticism that focuses mainly on the structure of a particular text, studying a text without taking into account any outside influence.

Historical Criticism

A form of literary criticism that seeks to understand and analyze a text via its historical origins and development within a historical context.

Postcolonial Criticism

A literary theory which focuses on the cultural, political, and economic legacy of colonialism and imperialism, and focuses on the impact of human control and the exploitation of colonized people/lands.

Gender Criticism

A form of literary criticism that seeks to analyze how the interactions between the different sexes impose performances of feminity of masculinity. It seeks to find the role of gender in literature and whether or not stereotypes are reinforced.

Marxist Criticism (Social Class)

A form of literary criticism that focuses on class struggle and social power within society, especially the relationship between the bourgeoisie (haves) and the proletariat (have-nots).

Biographical Criticism

A form of literary criticism that analyzes a writer's biography to show the relationship between the author's life and their literary works. Believes literature is a reflection of the author and their times.

Archetypal Criticism

A form of literary criticism that seeks to interpret a text based on recurring myths and archetypes found within the text in the form of narrative, symbols, images, and character types.

Structural Criticism

A form of literary criticism which analyzes a text by looking at its underlying structures, such as characterization or plot, to show how these patterns are universal, as well as trying to see how a work could be understood within its genre.

Deconstructionist Criticism

A form of literary criticism which seeks to understand meanings of the text in which the author seems to be unaware of, focusing how a given text has contradictory meanings, rather than being a unified whole.

Psychological Criticism

A form of literary criticism which focuses on how character actions reveal something hidden about the character. It aims to psychoanalyze a character within a work to attempt to identify Freudian concepts such as the id, ego, and superego.

Bellicose

A person who demonstrates aggression and a willingness to fight

Diffident

A person who is modest of shy b/c of a lack of self-confidence.

Fatuous

Silly and pointless

Laconic

A person, speech, or writing style that uses very few words

Moribund

Of a person: at the point of death or in terminal decline/lacking vitality or vigor

Vacuous

A person who has/shows a lack of thought/intelligence; mindless

Xenophobic

Having a dislike of or a prejudice against people from other countries.

Austere

Living in a way that is plain or simple, unadorned

Bucolic

relating to the pleasant aspects of the countryside and country life

Crepuscular

Of resembling or relating to twilight

Empyrean

Relating to heaven or the sky

Epoch

a period of time in history or a person's life, typically one marked by notable events or particular characteristics.

Lurid

Very vivid in color, especially to create a harsh or unnatural effect, or (of a description) presented in vividly shocking or sensational terms w/ explicit details

Torrid

Very hot and dry (or, british, full of difficulty)

Idyllic

extremely happy, peaceful, or picturesque

Prelapsarian

characteristic of the time before the Fall of Man; innocent and unspoiled

Protracted

lasting for a long time or longer than expected or usual.