acerbic

sharp, sour

aloof

indifferent, disinterested

ambiguous

doubtful, uncertain from obscurity or indistinctiveness

ambivalent

mixture of opposite feelings

antagonistic

hostile, unfriendly

apprehensive

uneasy about the future

audacious

fearless, recklessly daring, unrestrained, insolent

austere

stern, strict, frugal

banal

pointless, uninteresting

bantering

good-humored, playful in conversation

baroque

elaborate, ornamental

belligerent

aggressively hostile, warlike

bemused

preoccupied, deep in thought

blithe

joyous, merry, glad

bombastic

pretentious, pompous

brusque

blunt

callous

emotionally hardened

candid

open, sincere, straightforward, honest

choleric

easily angered

cogent

convincing, reasonable

colloquial

ordinary, informal (usually refers to conversation)

conciliatory

agreeable, characterized by appeasement

contemptuous

scornful, expressing in disgrace

contentious

involving or likely to cause contention (heated disagreement)

cultured

high degree or taste

cynical

tendency to believe human behavior is selfish and opportunistic

decadent

marked by a decay in morals and values, indulgent

derisive

ridiculing, mocking

didactic

inclined to teach or moralize (often excessively)

diffident

timid, reserved in manner

discursive

moving pointlessly from one subject to another, rambling

effusive

unrestrained and excessive in emotional expression

elegaic

of, relating to, or involving mourning or expressing sorrow

erudite

learned, scholarly

euphoric

beyond earthly happiness

evocative

having the ability to call forth memories or other responses

facetious

lightly amusing, unserious, frivolous, especially at the wrong time

fervent

warmth, intensity of spirit

flippant

lacking in seriousness, disrespectfully casual, uncaring

foreboding

to have inward conviction of

haughty

proud and vain to the point of arrogance

iconoclastic

inclined to attack cherished beliefs and emotions

imperious

arrogantly domineering, overbearing

incredulous

unbelieving

indignant

marked by anger, aroused by justice

inflammatory

likely to stir up anger or trouble

insipid

vapid, bland

insolent

rude, not showing proper respect, arrogant

irreverent

showing disrespect for things that are normally respected

jocund

cheery, joyful, happy

laudatory

containing and expressing praise

lucid

easily understood, clear

ludicrous

ridiculous, laughable, outlandish, silly

lugubrious

mournful, dismal, gloomy, especially to a ludicrous degree

mock-heroic

satiric imitation of heroic traits

mundane

ordinary, common, everyday

objective

uninfluenced by emotions

obscure

not clearly expressed, ambiguous, vague

patronizing

to treat in a condescending manner

pedantic

concerned with unimportant details

pensive

dreamily thoughtful

petulant

easily irritated or annoyed

pious

displaying a reverence for God

pretentious

exaggerated show of dignity or importance

provincial

limited in perspective, self-centered

puritanical

strict or severe in matters of morality

sardonic

scornfully or cynically mocking, sarcastic

satiric

characterized by satire, the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices

sentimental

colored by emotion rather than realism

skeptical

showing doubt

stark

plain, harsh, bleak, grim

stolid

having or revealing little emotion

terse

effectively concise, brief

timorous

timid

trite

stale, worn out, overused

turgid

pompous, excessively ornate or complex in style or language

urbane

sophisticated

whimsical

playful, humorous, fanciful, unpredictable

wry

satiric, bitter

zealous

highly motivated, fervent

ethos

refers to the audience's perception of the speaker's credibility; how the author gets us to trust them

pathos

refers to the orator's attempt to appeal to an audience's sense of identity, their self, interest, and their emotions

logos

logic, reason, argument

anaphora

the repetition of a word or phrase to provide emphasis

conceit

a fanciful expression in writing or speech; an elaborate metaphor

colloquialism

a word or phrase that is not formal or literary, typically used in ordinary conversation

chiasmus

a rhetorical or literary device in which words, grammatical constructions, or concepts are repeated in reverse order

asyndeton

the absence of a conjunction between parts of a sentence

antithesis

a contrast between two things

apostrophe

an exclamatory passage addressed to a person who is dead or absent

parallel structure (parallelism)

the use of verbal constructions in poetry that correspond in grammatical structure, sound, meter, meaning, etc. (does not need repetition)

simile

comparison of unlike things using "like" or "as"

analogy

comparison of similar things using "like" or "as" in order to show the main features of the first thing

allusion

an outside reference that gives greater meaning to the thing you're trying to describe

repetition

repeating words to add emphasis

anecdote

a short story

hyperbole

an exaggeration

alliteration

repetition of the same consonant

symbolism

using symbols to represent a bigger meaning

imagery

words that create a specific image

rhythm

a strong, regular, repeated pattern; the measured flow of words and phrases determined by stressed and unstressed syllables

metaphor

when a word or phrase is applied to an object or action

diction

word choice

tone

the attitude or feeling of a situation

understatement

the presentation of something as smaller than it actually is

rhetoric

the art and study of using language persuasively

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