AP Lang Vocab list

Core Rhetoric / Style

  • Myriad – countless, many

  • Ineluctable – unavoidable

  • Sybarite – self-indulgent in fondness for sensuous luxury  

  • Modality – (method, form or mode) manner of expression 

  • Exigence – stimulus for the text

  • Denotative – literal meaning
    Connotative – implied meaning

  • Syntax Types:

    • Declarative – statement

    • Imperative – command

    • Exclamative – strong feeling

    • Interrogative – question

Language / Word Choice

  • Esoteric – specialized, obscure (understood by a few– confuses the majority)

  • Provincial – narrow-minded, unsophisticated

  • Obtuse – slow to understand

  • Colloquial – informal, conversational

  • Grotesque – distorted, repulsive

  • Vulgar – crude, offensive

  • Trite – overused, cliché

  • Idiomatic – natural to native speech (“it’s raining cats and dogs”)

  • Obscure – unclear, hidden (confuses everyone)

  • Jargon – specialized vocabulary

  • Homespun – simple, folksy

  • Neologistic – new word/expression

  • Pedantic – overly detail-focused (um actually…) 

  • Insipid – dull, bland

  • Stark – severe, bare

Positive Tones

  • Sanguine – hopeful, optimistic in a dark time 

  • Amicable – friendly, agreeable (relationships) 

  • Exultant – triumphantly joyful (connotation of winning)  

  • Jubilant – extremely joyful (connotation of spontaneity) 

  • Jovial – cheerful “happy go lucky” 

  • Vivacious – lively, spirited

  • Serene – calm, peaceful

  • Amiable – kind, pleasant (qualities) 

  • Exuberant – energetic, enthusiastic 

Negative Tones

  • Vexed – annoyed, frustrated

  • Virile – manly, vigorous (sexual) 

  • Admonitory – warning, reprimanding

  • Mortified – deeply embarrassed

  • Belligerent – aggressive, hostile

  • Condemnatory – strongly disapproving

  • Factious – causing division 

  • Quarrelsome – argumentative

  • Dubious – doubtful, suspicious

  • Sardonic – GRIMLY mocking & sarcastic

Neutral / Analytical Tones

  • Allusive – indirect reference

  • Candid – honest, open

  • Discursive – rambling

  • Evocative – brings strong images/feelings

  • Frank – direct, straightforward

  • Lyrical – poetic, emotional

  • Naive – innocent, inexperienced

  • Nostalgic – longing for past

  • Apathetic – uninterested

  • Dejected – depressed, disheartened

  • Dispirited – discouraged, hopeless

  • Foreboding – sense of doom

  • Somber – dark, gloomy






UNIT 2

  • Avuncular: Acting like an uncle, as in being kind, patient, generous, etc., especially to younger people.

  • Beleaguered: Beset, surrounded, or overburdened by troubles.

  • Capricious: Subject to, led by, or indicative of a sudden, odd notion or unpredictable change; erratic.

  • Debonair: Courteous, gracious, and having a sophisticated charm.

  • Fastidious: Excessively particular, critical, or demanding; hard to please.

  • Ebullient: Overflowing with fervor, enthusiasm, or excitement; bubbly; high-spirited.

  • Gauche: Lacking social grace, sensitivity, or acuteness; awkward; crude; tactless.

  • Hedonist: A person whose life is devoted to the pursuit of pleasure and self-gratification.

  • Inimitable: Incapable of being imitated or copied; surpassing imitation; matchless.

  • Jocular: Given to, characterized by, intended for, or suited to joking or jesting; waggish; facetious.

  • Knave: A deceitful and unreliable scoundrel.

  • Lascivious (& Licentious): Inclined to lustfulness; wanton; lewd.

  • Magnanimous: Generous in forgiving an insult or injury; free from petty resentfulness or vindictiveness.

  • Neophyte: A beginner or novice.

  • Obsequious: Characterized by or showing servile obedience and excessive eagerness to please; fawning; deferential.

  • Panache: A grand or flamboyant manner; verve; style; flair.

  • Quixotic: Extravagantly chivalrous or romantic; impractical or impracticable.

  • Recidivist: A person who relapses, especially by returning to criminal or illicit behavior.

  • Saturnine: Sluggish in temperament; gloomy; taciturn; solemn

  • Truculent: Aggressively hostile; belligerent; brutally harsh; vitriolic; scathing.

  • Urbane: Having the polish and suavity regarded as characteristic of sophisticated social life in major cities.

  • Vainglorious: Excessively proud of oneself or one’s achievements; overly vain.

  • Wanton: (Of a cruel or violent action) deliberate and unprovoked. [Archaic: Sexually unrestrained]

  • Xenophobe: A person who fears or hates foreigners, people from different cultures, or strangers.

  • Yokel: An unsophisticated person from a rural area; a country bumpkin.

  • Zealot: An excessively zealous person; fanatic; uncompromising.




Sentence types: 

  • Simple sentence: subject and verb, makes one point. 

  • Compound sentence: two or more linked clauses that have equal status, could be separated into two dif sentences, joined by conjunction or comma/semicolon. 

  • Complex sentence: Subordinate clause- A complex sentence with a subordinate clause consists of an independent clause that can stand as a sentence on its own and a dependent or subordinate clause that modifies it. Embedded clause- An embedded clause is a subordinate clause that interrupts the independent clause in the sentence. 

  • Compound-complex sentence: at least two independent clauses and at least one subordinate clause. 

📚 Literary Techniques

Anaphora – Repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or sentences.
Symploce – Combination of anaphora and epistrophe: repetition at both the beginning and end of successive clauses.
Epistrophe – Repetition of a word or phrase at the end of successive clauses.
Amplification – Adding more detail or description to emphasize a point.
Mesodiplosis – Repetition of a word or phrase in the middle of successive clauses.
Adnomination – Repetition of words with the same root (e.g., “move,” “movement”).
Zeugma – One word (usually a verb) governs or modifies two or more others, often in different ways (e.g., “She broke his car and his heart”).
Anadiplosis – Repetition of the last word of one clause at the beginning of the next.
Apostrophe – Direct address to an absent person, object, or abstract idea (e.g., “O Death, where is thy sting?”).
Synaesthesia – Blending of sensory experiences (e.g., “a loud color” or “sweet sound”).
Tricolon – Series of three parallel words, phrases, or clauses (e.g., “I came, I saw, I conquered”).
Asyndeton – Omission of conjunctions between parts of a sentence (e.g., “I came, I saw, I conquered”).
Metonym – Substitution of a related word for the thing meant (e.g., “the crown” for “the monarchy”).
Metaphor – Direct comparison between two unlike things (e.g., “Time is a thief”).
Synecdoche – Using a part to represent the whole or vice versa (e.g., “all hands on deck”).
Personification – Giving human traits to nonhuman things.
Simile – Comparison using “like” or “as.”
Objectification – Describing an abstract idea as a physical object.
Antithesis – Contrast of ideas in a balanced structure (e.g., “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”).
Chiasmus – Reversal of grammatical structures in successive clauses (e.g., “Ask not what your country can do for you…”).
Parallelism – Repetition of grammatical structure for rhythm or balance.
Paradox – Statement that seems self-contradictory but reveals truth.
Juxtaposition – Placing two contrasting ideas side by side to highlight their difference.
Oxymoron – Two contradictory words used together (e.g., “deafening silence”).
Colloquialism – Informal, everyday language or slang.
Jargon – Specialized vocabulary used by a particular group or profession.
Idiom – Expression whose meaning isn’t literal (e.g., “kick the bucket”).
Adynaton – Extreme or impossible exaggeration (e.g., “when pigs fly”).
Hyperbole – Deliberate exaggeration for effect.
Understatement – Making something seem less important than it is.
Assonance – Repetition of vowel sounds within words (e.g., “rise high in the bright sky”).
Rhyme – Repetition of similar sounds at the ends of words.
Dissonance – Harsh, jarring sounds in writing.
Homonym – Words that sound or are spelled the same but have different meanings (e.g., “bat” the animal vs. “bat” used in baseball).
Alliteration / Consonance – Repetition of consonant sounds (alliteration at beginnings; consonance anywhere).
Onomatopoeia – Words that imitate natural sounds (e.g., “buzz,” “bang”).

🗣 Other Words

Portmanteau (n.) – A word blending two others (e.g., “brunch” = breakfast + lunch).
Pander (v.) – To cater to someone’s weaknesses or desires.
Pedagogy (n.) – The method or practice of teaching.
Perspicacious (adj.) – Having sharp insight or understanding.
Ailment (n.) – A minor illness or disorder.
Funereal (adj.) – Gloomy or mournful, like a funeral.
Laud (v.) – To praise highly.
Cogency (adj.) – Quality of being clear, logical, and convincing (note: the noun is cogency, the adjective is cogent).
Exhort (v.) – To strongly urge or encourage someone.
Peril (n.) – Serious and immediate danger.
Manifold (n./adj./v.) – Many and varied; having numerous forms.
Enormity (n.) – Great evil act (often misused to mean “enormousness”).
Crestfallen (adj.) – Sad and disappointed.
Din (n.) – A loud, unpleasant, and prolonged noise.
Lugubrious (adj.) – sad, lonely, mournful, or gloomy.
Lachrymose (adj.) – Tearful or likely to cry.