11th Grade English Vocabulary Master List

A comprehensive vocabulary review deck covering terms and definitions from 11th grade literature units and SAT/ACT preparation materials.

Afflatus

creative impulse; inspiration.

Argosy

a large merchant vessel, especially one carrying valuable merchandise.

Asperity

harshness or roughness, especially of tone or manner.

Bituminous

resembling or containing bitumen.

Cacophony

a mixture of discordant and usually unpleasant sounds.

Chortle

to give or express with, a snorting chuckle.

Concupiscent

filled with sexual desire; lustful.

Excoriate

to denounce or criticize severely.

Farinaceous

having a mealy texture or surface

Fructify

to become fruitful or productive; to bear fruit or productivity

Fustian

a thick fabric of cotton, cotton and flax, or cotton and wool, with a short pile.

Homiletic

Of, or pertaining to, a short sermon

Indomitable

too strong to be subdued or discouraged; unconquerable.

Jocose

inclined to joke; jovial; merry.

Motile

capable of independent motion.

Myopia

a visual defect in which distant images are focused in front of rather than on the retina; nearsightedness.

portentous

done in a pompously or overly solemn manner so as to impress; of or like an ominous warning

Rapacious

aggressively greedy or grasping

Threnody

a poem or song of mourning; lamentation; dirge.

Wroth

in a rage; furious; wrathful.

Atrocity

an exceptionally evil, ruthless, or cruel act.

Cajole

to coax or persuade insistently, as by flattery or false promises.

Callus

a thickened, toughened area of skin or other tissue, such as bone or bark.

Clandestine

planned or occurring in a secret or surreptitious manner, especially for subversive or illicit purposes.

Culvert

a man-made channel for drainage or the like that passes under a street or other thoroughfare.

Extort

to extract or obtain (money or the like) by force, threats, or abuse of authority.

Goad

something that spurs a person to action; stimulus.

Impetus

something that urges or impels; a driving force.

Lacerate

to rip, mangle, or injure by tearing or ripping.

Mottle

to create a pattern of variegated color and tone on (a surface).

Mundane

of or pertaining to what is common and everyday; ordinary; commonplace.

plight

a state or situation, especially an unhappy or unlucky one; predicament.

Quell

to overpower or suppress with force; put down; quash.

Ramshackle

poorly constructed or in disrepair; rickety.

Refectory

an institutional dining hall, as in a monastery or a college.

Scarcity

shortage; dearth.

Semaphore

a device for or method of signaling, as on a railroad, by means of lights and symbolic signs or flags.

Tourniquet

any device that uses pressure to stop the flow of blood, usually through the arteries of an arm or leg, as after a serious injury.

Trough

a long narrow open container used for serving food or water to animals.

Tutelage

the act or function of a teacher, especially one who gives lessons to individuals; instruction; teaching.

Aphasia

partial or total loss of the ability to use or to understand spoken or written language, usually as a result of damage to the brain.

Aficionado

a person who is very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about an activity, subject, or pastime.

Asphyxiate

to cause unconsciousness or death by cutting off oxygen to; suffocate.

Daunt

to lessen the determination of; intimidate; discourage.

Dishevel

to make (hair or clothing) untidy.

Embody

to visibly represent or personify; give tangible form to.

Entomology

the science concerned with insects.

Enunciate

to pronounce words, especially in a clear and distinct voice.

Exert

to exercise or bring to bear (power, influence, or the like); put into action.

Facilitate

to make (something) easier; to help bring something about

Gambol

to run, leap, or skip about; frisk; frolic.

Gibe

a mocking or derisive comment.

Incongruous

not suitable or fitting; out of place.

Intervene

to enter a situation so as to change what is happening.

Irrefutable

impossible to disprove; indisputable.

Mausoleum

a large, elaborate tomb, or the structure that houses such a tomb.

Protégé

a person under the care or sponsorship of an influential patron.

raison d'être

(French) reason or justification for existence.

reconnaissance

: a preliminary survey to gain information

Regurgitate

to surge or pour back or out, especially from of a place of containment, as gases, liquids, or undigested food.

Trivet

a short-legged metal or ceramic stand or plate used to hold a hot dish above a table top.

Altruism

unselfish concern for the well-being of others.

Amiable

diffusing warmth and friendliness; friendly

Carapace

a covering or shield on the back of certain animals such as turtles, crustaceans, insects.

Derelict

(adj) failing to fulfill one's responsibilities or obligations; remiss; abandoned, usually because of failure to function. (noun) someone without a home or means of support; vagrant.

derring-do

daring or courageous deeds.

Enigma

something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained

Harangue

(noun) a long, vehement, and often pompous speech or piece of writing, especially such a speech delivered in public; tirade; (verb) to address at length and with vehemence; deliver a tirade to.

Histrionic

done in a theatrical, emotional, or affected manner; overly dramatic.

Lambaste

to scold harshly.

Moniker

a familiar name, especially a nickname or alias, that is given to a person or thing.

Naivete

a lack of sophistication or worldliness; a lack of lack experience and knowledge; ignorance, an inability to grasp a situation, or a tendency to oversimplify complex things. (nigh-eve-i-tay)

Nonchalantly

to behave or act in a composed or unconcerned manner; to be calm and casual in completing actions

Odyssey

a long wandering and eventful journey; reference to Homer’s The Odyssey, a story about an epic, challenging journey

Paucity

smallness of number or amount; scarcity.

Recalcitrant

stubbornly disobedient; refractory.

Renunciation

the act of sacrificing or giving up or surrendering

Rubicon

a bounding or limiting line, the point of no return (often used in the expression “crossing the Rubicon”, a reference to Julius Caesar’s famous act of war)

Stasis

inactivity resulting from a balance between opposing forces

Transcendent

exceeding or surpassing limits

Unbridled

not restrained or controlled, not held back (like “unleashed”)

Affidavit

a written statement that is sworn in the presence of an authorized official to be true, used as legal evidence.

Alienation

the act of alienating or the condition of being alienated.

Amorphous

lacking definite form, shape, or character.

Bilious

ill-tempered; irritable.

Blight

a plant disease characterized by rapid destruction of parts or all of a plant.

Dissimulate

to hide one's true feelings, intentions, or the like by pretense or hypocrisy.

Dissonance

lack of harmony; discord, especially of musical sounds.

Imperceptible

so gradual or subtle as to be unnoticed or unnoticeable.

Imperturbable

not easily excited or disturbed; calm.

Impunity

exemption or immunity from harm, especially punishment or retribution, as a result of one's actions or words.

Intercede

to act as a mediator in a dispute or disagreement.

Languid

lacking or not showing strength, energy, or spirit; weak, slow, or listless.

Lull

to calm, soothe, or cause to sleep, as by sounds, movements, or the like.

Pragmatist

one who takes a practical approach to problems and issues.

Prone

inclined or disposed; tending (usually followed by "to").

Recant

to withdraw from commitment to (a former position or statement), especially publicly; retract.

Rigor

strictness, severity, inflexibility, or harshness, as of manner, judgment, or law.

Severance

the act, process, or result of breaking off or separating.

Surreal

of, like, involving, or typical of surrealism; surrealistic.