Ms. Taylor's Cumulative Vocab. Units 12-15
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Created by:
eramire on April 26, 2012
Subjects:
AP English III, AP English Language and Composition
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80 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 non sequitur | (n) an interference or conclusion that does not follow logically from the facts or premises |
| narcissism | (n) excessive self-love; absorption in oneself; vanity, egotism |
| labyrinth | (n) a bewildering maze; any confusing or complicated situation |
| fulsome | (adj) offensively insincere or excessive; disgusting, sickening |
| augur | (n) a prophet or seer; (v) to predict, foreshadow, bode |
| impinge | (v) to encroach, intrude, or infringe upon; to make an impression upon; to strike against or collide with violently |
| apposite | (adj) appropriate, suitable; apt |
| debilitate | (v) to make weak or feeble, incapacitate |
| vagary | (n) whim; an unpredictable, erratic, or seemingly purposeless action, occurrence, or notion |
| xenophobia | (n) undue or unreasonable fear, hatred, or contempt of foreigners or strangers or of what is foreign or strange |
| viable | (adj) capable of living or developing under normal circumstances, practical, feasible |
| rapport | (n) a close and harmonious relationship of mutual trust or affinity |
| pastiche | (n) a dramatic, musical, or literary work made up of bits and pieces from other sources, a medley; an imitation; a hodgepodge |
| utilitarian | (adj)/(n) stressing practicality over other considerations; relating to the belief that what is good or desirable is determined purely by its usefulness |
| precarious | (adj) very uncertain or unstable; dangerous or risky; dependent on and liable to be lost at the will of another |
| parsimonious | (adj) excessively frugal, miserly, stingy |
| classify | (v) to arrange or organize into categories or classes, categorize; to limit the availability of (something) to authorized persons |
| expound | (v) to explain in detail |
| immaculate | (adj) spotless; pure; without blemish or fault |
| bromide | (n) a platitude, cliché; a trite or commonplace remark; a boring unoriginal person; a sedative; any compound of bromide and another element, such as sodium bromide, NaBr, or potassium bromide, KBr, both if which are sedatives |
| acerbity | (n) sourness or bitterness of taste; harshness or severity of manner or expression |
| imprecation | (n) a curse, malediction; the act of cursing |
| attrition | (n) a reduction or decrease in numbers, size, or strength; the process of wearing down by friction or gradual impairment |
| ineluctable | (adj) inescapable, inevitable, not able to be avoided, changed, or overcome |
| stigmatize | (v) to mark with a stigma, to brand or mark as disgraceful or ignominious |
| mercurial | (adj) changeable, volatile, fickle, flighty, erratic, inconstant, characterized by rapid and unpredictable changes of mood |
| vestige | (n) a trace or visible evidence of something that once existed but is now lost or vanished |
| resplendent | (adj) shining or gleaming brilliantly; splendid or magnificent |
| complement | (n) something that completes a whole; that which is needed to make up a whole; a counterpart (v) to complete |
| cynical | (adj) skeptical, negative, bitterly or sneeringly distrustful and pessimistic; believing only selfishness motivates human actions |
| naïve | (adj) inexperienced, unsophisticated, gullible, simple, unrealistic due to not yet seeing the harsh adult world, blindly optimistic; characterized by naïveté |
| palliate | (v) to mitigate, extenuate, alleviate; to excuse or make less serious or severe by glossing over; to relieve without actually curing |
| volition | (n) free will, discretion; the power to choose; the act of deciding |
| sub rosa | (adv) in secret; confidentially; privately (adj) secretive |
| apogee | (n) the point in the orbit of a heavenly body or artificial satellite farthest from the earth; pinnacle, apex, zenith, peak, the farthest or highest point |
| cull | (v) to pick out or select; to gather or collect |
| apropos | (adj) appropriate, opportune (adv) at the right time; relevantly |
| contretemps | (n) an inopportune or embarrassing occurrence; a mishap |
| dogmatic | (adj) certain of the truth of unprovable ideas; inclined to state opinions as if they were indisputable facts |
| enumerate | (v) to list; to mention separately as if in counting; name one by one |
| coalesce | (v) to blend together or fuse so as to form one body or substance |
| derisive | (adj) disdainful, contemptuous, scornful, mocking, characterized by derision |
| convolution | (n) a rolled up or coiled condition; a rolling up, coiling, or twisting together |
| truncate | (v) to shorten by or as if by cutting off; lop, abridge, abbreviate, trim |
| probity | (n) complete and confirmed honesty, decency, virtue, and honor; total integrity |
| noxious | (adj) harmful to physical health; morally corrupting |
| unimpeachable | (adj) beyond doubt or reproach, above suspicion; impossible to discredit, impeccable, unquestionable |
| licentious | (adj) morally or sexually unrestrained; having no regard to accepted rules, customs, or laws; lascivious, dissolute, profligate |
| polemic | (n) controversy; a controversial argument, an aggressive attack on or refutation of a specific opinion or doctrine; a person who makes controversial claims (adj) controversial |
| repartee | (n) a swift, witty reply; conversation full of such remarks, banter; skill in making such remarks |
| populous | (adj) full of people; filled to capacity; densely populated; having a large population |
| supervene | (v) to ensue, to take place or occur as something additional or unexpected; to follow immediately after, either as a consequence or in contrast |
| mete | 1. (v) to distribute or apportion by or as if by measure, to allot, dole. 2. (n) a limit or boundary line |
| curmudgeon | (n) a bad-tempered, difficult, cantankerous, irascible, churlish person |
| beguile | (v) to mislead or deceive through trickery, flattery, etc.; to cheat; to charm or divert; to cause to vanish unnoticed |
| ascetic | (adj) practicing strict self-denial for the sake of personal or spiritual discipline (n) one who leads a life of self-discipline, especially to express religious devotion |
| adumbrate | (v) to outline or sketch broadly, produce a faint image of; to foreshadow or prefigure; to darken, disclose partially, overshadow |
| apotheosis | (n) the elevation of a person to the rank of a god; the ideal example, epitome, quintessence |
| contumacious | (adj) stubbornly or willfully disobedient, openly rebellious, obstinately defiant, pigheaded, intractable, contrary |
| burgeon | (v) to grow or develop quickly, to flourish, thrive; to put forth new buds, leaves, greenery, or shrubbery |
| didactic | (adj) intended to instuct, especially morally, inclined to moralize too much [Gk. didak-to teach] |
| hauteur | (n) haughtiness of bearing or attitude, arrogance [Fr. haut-high] |
| jeremiad | (n) an eleborate or prolonged lamentation; any tale of woe; a usually pejorative term for a pessimistic work of prose which condemns a society and prophesizes its downfall [Jeremiah, author of the Book of Lamentations in the Hebrew Bible] |
| unscrupulous | (adj) unrestrained by scruples; corrupt, immoral, conscienceless, unprincipled [L. un-not + scrupulous-small sharp stone] |
| juxtapose | (v) to place side by side, especially for comparison or contrast [L. juxta-near + ponere-to put] |
| antithesis | (n) oppposition, contrast; the juxtaposition of contrasting phrases using parallel structure [Gk. anti-against + thesis- a setting down] |
| faux pas | (n) a slip in manners or conduct, a social blunder, gaffe [Fr. faux-false + pas-step] |
| disingenuous | (adj) insincere, lacking sincerity or candor; faux-naïf, marked by a flase pretense of innocence and sincerity [dis-away + ingenuous-sincere, innocent] |
| fulminate | (v) to denounce or condemn vehemently (used with "against"); to explode, detonate [L. fulmin-thunderbolt] |
| pedantic | (adj) characterized by a narrow, often ostentatious concern for trivial bookish facts and formal rules; overly concerned with minute details, nit-picky [It. pedante-teacher] |
| exculpate | (v) to clear of guilt or blame, vindicate, absolve, exonerate [L. ex-out/from + culpa-guilt] |
| magnanimous | (adj) generous in forgiving an insult or injury; free from petty resentfulness or vindictiveness; high-minded, noble, fair [L. magnus-great + animus-soul] |
| reiterate | (v) to repeat; to say or do again repeatedly [L. re-again + iterare-to repeat] |
| anon | [OE- "at once"] (adv) soon, in a short while; at another time ("ever and _____"=occasionaly) |
| strident | (adj) making or having a loud or harsh sound, blaring; grating; vehement, forceful , harsh |
| uncanny | (adj) seeming to have a supernatural or inexplicable basis; beyond the ordinary or normal; extraordinary; mysterious, weird; arousing superstitious fear or dread [un-not + canny-"safe"] |
| admonition | (n) warning, counsel, advice, or caution; a gentle reproof [L. ad-toward + monere-to warn] |
| glib | (adj) showing little thought, preparation, or concern; slick, performed with off-hand ease [glibber-"slippery"] |
| euphemism | (n) the substitution of a mild or vague expression for one thought to be offensive, harsh, or blunt [Gk. eu-good + pheme-speech] |
| affectation | (n) an effort to appear to have a quality not really or fully possessed |
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