| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Understatement | form of irony in which something is intentionally represented as less than it is in fact (stating an idea with restraint to emphasize what is being talked about) |
| Personification | A figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes |
| Synonym | A word having the same or almost the same meaning as some other. |
| Antonym | a word that means the opposite of another word |
| Secondary Source | An account or retelling of an event by someone who was not present at the event. (Like your history Book); Review summarizes or discusses research conducted by others. Not first hand data. Scholarly books |
| Denouement | The outcome of a complex sequence of events; That part of a play or story in which the mystery is cleared up (unraveling of the plot). |
| Initial Conflict | Element of plot, The problem in the story that sets of all of the other events |
| Hyperbole | a figure of speech that uses an incredible exaggeration, or overstatement for effect. |
| Oxymoron | conjoining contradictory terms (as in 'deafening silence') |
| Analogy | drawing a comparison in order to show a similarity in some respect |
| Imagery | used in literature to refer to descriptive language that evokes sensory experience |
| Allusion | a brief reference, explicit or indirect, to a person, place or event, or to another literary work or passage |
| Alliteration | use of the same consonant at the beginning of each stressed syllable in a line of verse...ex) "around the rock the ragged rascal ran" |
| Paradox | (logic) a self-contradiction...ex) "I always lie'" is a paradox because if it is true it must be false |
| Metaphor | a comparison without using like or as |
| Idiom | use of words in such a way that the meaning is lost if the expression is translated literally |
| Foreshadowing | the use of hints and clues to suggest what will happen later in a plot |
| Genre | particular variety (category) of art or literature |
| Irony | the use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning: the irony of her reply, “How nice!” when I said I had to work all weekend; a technique of indicating, as through character or plot development, an intention or attitude opposite to that which is actually or ostensibly stated. |
| Stigma | mark of shame or disgrace |
| Tumult | a state of commotion and noise and confusion; disorder |
| Vitiate | impair the quality of or effectiveness of; debase; corrupt morally. |
| Throes | a hard or painful struggle (violent pangs of suffering) |
| Saturnine | gloomy or sullen. |
| Assiduous | marked by care and persistent effort (hardworking or diligent) |
| Deleterious | Hurtful, morally or physically (unwholesome) |
| Factious | quarrelsome; unruly; like to cause trouble (causing disagreement) |
| Indigent | poor enough to need help from others |
| Itinerant | working for a short time in different places (traveling from place to place to work) |
| Manacle | restrain, handcuff |
| Irrefutable | impossible to deny or disprove |
| Fathom | comprehend; investigate; determine the depth of; N. unit of measurement for the depth of water |
| Cogitate | think over; ponder |
| Volition | An act or exercise of will (making a choice) |
| Aberration | a state or condition markedly different from the norm (straying away from what is normal) |
| Wane | To diminish in size and brilliancy (lessen) |
| Apostate | one who abandons his religious faith or political belief |
| Chimerical | fantastically improbable; unrealistic (imaginary) |
| Ephemeral | lasting a very short time; short-lived; transitory |
| Patently | unmistakably ('plain' is often used informally for 'plainly')" it is all patently nonsense", obvious, easily recognizable |
| Pervasive | spread throughout every part; having the quality or tendency to be everywhere at the same time |
| Plausible | likely but not certain to be or become true or real |
| Fickle | liable to sudden unpredictable change (easily swayed) |
| Motley | having sections or patches colored differently and usually brightly |
| Extenuate | lessen or to try to lessen the seriousness or extent of |
| Fractious | tending to be troublesome; difficult to control; quarrelsome; unruly |
| Banal | Commonplace; lacking originality |
| Reticent | silent or reserved in manner |
| Taciturn | habitually silent and uncommunicative; , Disinclined to conversation. |
| Prolix | tediously prolonged or tending to speak or write at great length |
| Astute | adj. clever and quick at seeing how to gain an advantage; shrewd; wise |
| Requite | make repayment for or return something |
| Furtive | marked by quiet and caution and secrecy |
| Voluble | Having great fluency in speaking. |
| Adamant | not capable of being swayed or diverted from a course; hard and inflexible |
| Augment | enlarge or increase |
| Vestige | A visible trace, mark, or impression, of something absent, lost, or gone. |
| Fortuitous | happening by luck; fortunate |
| Palliative | a remedy that improves but doesn't cure |
| Melee | a confused fight, hand to hand fight among a number of fighters which is noisy |
| Expurgate | To remove erroneous, vulgar or obscene material before publication, to censor |
| Coup | brilliant victory or accomplishment OR the violent overthrow of a government by a small internal group |
| Levity | lack of seriousness; lightness |
| Nominal | insignificantly small; named |
| Recant | To withdraw formally one's belief (in something previously believed or maintained). |
| Moot | open to argument or debate (of no legal significance) |
| Rancor | bitterness, hatred |
| Inherent | present at birth but not necessarily hereditary (firmly established by nature or habit). |
| Intristic | inherent, belonging to the essential nature of a thing, a part of you |
| Vagary | an extravagant, erratic, or unpredictable notion, action, or occurrence |
| Progeny | children, offspring |
| Subterfuge | something intended to misrepresent the true nature of an activity; a trick or scheme |
| Progenitor | An ancestor in direct lineage; forefather, founder |
| Obdurate | stubborn; refusing to change one's belief; hardened against feeling or emotional appeal |
| Ignominy | great personal dishonor or humiliation; shameful or disgraceful action, conduct, or character |
| Tortuous | devious/not straightforward; marked by repeated turns and bends ("a tortuous road up the mountain") |
| Provincial | Uncultured and dull in thought and manner; 1. rural; pertaining to the customs of non-city dwellers 2. narrow in perspective; unsophisticated |
| Peremptory | putting an end to all debate or action |
| Prerogative | Having superior rank or precedence (right or privilege) |
| Dilettante | one with an amateurish or superficial understanding of a field of knowledge |
| Denizen | an inhabitant, resident; one who frequents a place. |
| Auxiliary | providing or offering help, additional or subsidiary |
| Timorous | timid; fearful about the future (lacking courage) |
| Debonair | pleasant, courteous, lighthearted; smooth and polished in manner and appearance |
| Usury | the act of lending money at an exorbitant rate of interest (beyond what is allowed by law) |
| Equivocal | ambiguous, intentionally confusing, capable of being interpreted in more than one way |
| Conundrum | a riddle or puzzle whose answer is a play on words |
| Substantive | a noun or a pronoun that is used in place of a noun; real/not imagnary |
| Verisimilitude | appearance of truth, likelihood |
| Camaraderie | trust among friends; a spirit of friendly good-fellowship |
| Aggregate | the whole amount |
| Decorous | characterized by propriety and dignity and good taste in manners and conduct |
| Thoreau, Henry David. Walden | "Walden" was the fruit of Thoreau's two-year stay on the Walden Pond, a carefully shaped book designed to follow the natural cycle of the seasons. More than an account of life in the woods, it is a quest for personal freedom and individuality that evokes nature without being sentimental or distorting the natural world, prime requisites of the American dream. |
| Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huck Finn | Personification of American ideals (except for Horatio Alger hard work and enterprise), Huck demonstrates ingenuity, free will and his own form of morality as he and Jim, an escaped slave, wend their way down the Mississippi on a raft. Through humor and outlandish situations, Twain attacks traditions held dear by the American South, while having Huck be the spokesperson for personal freedom |
| Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby | Jay Gatsby is an enigma, a man of wealth who has the ability to transform his dreams into reality until his passion for Daisy overturns his life and the lives of others. Mirroring the emptiness and moral decay of life among the newly wealthy on the East Coast, this reflects the decay of the American Dream from a pursuit of happiness and individualism into a pursuit of money and that which it can purchase |
| Walker, Mildred. The Color Purple | From childhood rape to poverty and abuse, Celie must overcome the misogyny of the men in her life and American racism to become an independent and free individual. Through 20 years of letters to her missionary sister, the reader shares Celie’s fears and frustrations with her husband, and her joys and hopes with her friend Shug. Often perceived as an indictment of men, this is also a tribute to the indestructible human spirit as it pursues a dream. |
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