| Term | Definition |
|---|
| connotation | what a word suggests beyond its basic dictionary definition |
| onomatopoeia | word that imitates a sound associate with an object or word that sounds like how it sounds |
| satire | ridicules people's flaws or advices using irony, wit, or sarcasm |
| oxymoron | phrase that combines normally contridictory terms |
| antecedent | the noun that a pronoun is describing |
| hyperbole | obvious or intention exaggeration |
| figures of speech | metaphor, simile (any use of words or speech to express something) |
| metonymy | substituting one word or phrase from another and they both mean similar |
| metonymy (2nd definition) | part of speech that is used in speech to mean the opposite |
| prose | ordinary language NOT POETRY |
| apostrophe | a figure of speech in which someone absent or dead or something nonhuman is addressed as if it were alive and present and could reply |
| invective | abusive language (insulting) |
| point of view | the perspective in which a story is told |
| parallelism | balance of 2 or more similar words, phrases or clauses |
| euphemism | mild word or phrase that is used in place of a word thats offensive |
| ambiguity | a word, phrase, sentence that can be interpreted the other way |
| colloquialism | word or writing style used in everyday speech but not considered informal |
| periodic sentence | the sentence that doesnt make sense till the very end (main clause at the end) |
| loose sentence | main idea in beginning and supported by detailed information |
| atmosphere | the tone in the writing thats made clear in a phrase |
| didactic | teaches a moral or lesson |
| allusions | indirect reference to a piece of literature or art |
| parody | liter device often uses to fundal something else; take something completely out of context |
| aphorism | a clever observation exemplifying a general truth |
| alliteration | the occurance of the same word or sound |
| conceit | more unusual than what you would say; completely strange comparison |
| wit | form of intellectual humor |
| paradox | statement that is contridictory and meaning but often conveys a possible truth |
| genre | category of literary words |
| allegory | a story with two meanings: symbolic meaning and literary meaning |
| extended metaphor | metaphor that lasts for awhile |
| syllogism | deductive reason that usually uses if, or, is |
| syntax | order in which they are put together in a sentence |
| Instructive | serving to instruct or inform |
| admonitory | tending to counsel against something |
| condemnatory | serving to express an unfavorable judgment on |
| indignant | expressing strong displeasure at something insulting |
| wistful | characterized by yearning |
| pensive | dreamily or wistfully thoughtful |
| deliberate | careful or slow in deciding |
| guileless | sincere, honest, straightforward |
| frank | direct and unreserved in speech |
| incredulous | disinclined or indisposed to believe; skeptical |
| critical | inclined to find fault or to judge w/ severity |
| cynical | distrusting the motives of others |
| insinuating | tending to instill doubts, distrust |
| coaxing | to persuade by pleading or flattery |
| oracular | ambiguous |
| contended | pleased, happy, gratified |
| sprightly | animated, vivacious, or gay; lively |
| jubilant | showing great joy, satisfaction, or triumph |
| elated | very happy or proud |
| enraptured | to move to rapture; delight beyond measure |
| dismal | causing gloom or dejection; gloomy |
| melancholy | a gloomy state of mind; depression |
| plaintive | expressing sorrow; mournful |
| fretful | irritable or peevish; quick to fret |
| querulous | full of complaints; complaining |
| sulky | given to sulking; gloomy or dull |
| impulsive | having the power or effect of impelling |
| impetuous | characterized by a sudden rash action or emotion |
| frantic | desperate or wild with excitement, passion, fear, pain |
| solemn | serious or earnest |
| serene | calm or peaceful |
| imperturbable | incapable of being upset or agitated |
| nonchalant | coolly unconcerned, indifferent, or unexcited |
| wary | watchful; being on one's guard against danger |
| cordial | gracious, friendly, and warm |
| indulgent | showing a yield to a desire |
| tolerant | inclined to put up with |
| solicitous | anxious or concerned |
| accommodating | easy to deal with; eager to help or please |
| obliging | willing or eager to do favors |
| courteous | polite; showing good manners |
| confiding | trustful or unsuspicious |
| sever | to separate from the whole |
| boorish | unmannered; crude; insensitive |
| pitiless | feeling or showing no pity |
| disparaging | tending to belittle (portray as less impressive) |
| derisive | mocking |
| uproarious | characterized by a state of violence & noisy disturbance |
| vigorous | strong or active |
| ardent:having, expressive of, or characterized by intense feeling | passionate |
| rapturous | feeling ecstatic joy or delight |
| exalted | raised or elevated as in rank or character |
| brisk | quick and active; lively |
| inert | having no inherent power of motion, action, or resistance |
| languid | slack or slow |
| stoical | impassive; characterized by calm |
| resigned | acquiescent (acquiesce: to submit silently/ w/o protest) |
| dry monotonous | in a mono tone, bland |
| feeble | physically weak; frail |
| blase | indifferent to or bored with life; unimpressed |
| sophisticated | not naive |
| profound | showing intellectual penetration or emotional depth |
| exalted | of high moral or intellectual value |
| imperious | Domineering, arrogant, or overbearing |
| peremptory | autocratic: offensively self-assured or given to exercising usually unwarranted power |
| bombastic | Pompous or overly wordy; Inflated, overfilled |
| sententious | pithy: concise and full of meaning |
| arrogant | Having excessive pride in ones self |
| pompous | Affectedly grand, solemn or self-important |
| boastful | exhibiting self-importance |
| exultant | joyful and proud especially because of triumph or success |
| insolent | insulting in manner or words; rude |
| flippant | showing inappropriate levity (levity:feeling an inappropriate lack of seriousness) |
| saucy | Impertinent or disrespectful |
| resolute | Firm, unyielding, determined |
| haughty | disdainful |
| condescending | Assuming a tone of superiority, or a patronizing attitude |
| defiant | boldly resisting authority or an opposing force |
| contemptuous | expressing extreme contempt |
| meek | humble in spirit or manner |
| docile | willing to be taught or led or supervised or directed |
| unpretentious | something is simple and straightforward |
| devout | This adjective means that someone has a strong belief in a religion |
| reverent | feeling or showing profound respect or veneration |
| servile | submissive or fawning in attitude or behavior |
| groveling | cringing: totally submissive |
| contrite | feeling or expressing pain or sorrow for sins or offenses |
| sycophantic | bootlicking: attempting to win favor by flattery |
| ingratiating | calculated to please or gain favor |
| deprecatory | That deprecates; apologetic or disparaging |
| submissive | inclined or willing to submit to orders or wishes of others or showing such inclination |
| aghast | struck with fear, dread, or consternation |
| astounded | surprised, amazed, astonished or bewildered |
| anaphora | repetition of an opening word or phrase in a series of lines |
| approximate rhyme | a term used for words in a rhyming pattern that have some kind of sound correspondence but are not perfect rhymes |
| assonance | repetition at close intervals of vowel sounds of accented syllables or important words |
| blank verse | unrhymed iambic pentameter |
| cacophony | harsh, discordant, unpleasant-sounding choice and arrangement of sounds |
| caesura | speech pause occurring within a line |
| consonance | repetition at close intervals of the final consonant sounds of accented syllables or important words |
| denotation | basic definition or dictionary meaning of a word |
| end rhyme | rhymes that occur at ends of lines |
| euphony | smooth, pleasant-sounding choice and arrangement of sounds |
| iambic meter | a meter in which the majority of feet are iams (unstressed/stressed; unstressed/stressed) |
| dimeter/trimeter/tetrameter/pentamenter | a metrical line containing 2 (3, 4, 5) feet (foot = basic unit used in measuring the metrical verse) |
| verbal irony | what is meant is the opposite of what is said |
| situational irony | when there is an incongruity b/t actual circumstances and those that would seem appropritate, or b/t what is anticipated and what actually comes to pass |
| dramatic irony | when the author implies a different meaning from that intended by the speaker in a literary work. often the audience knows more than the character |
| metonymy | figure of speech where some significant aspect or detail of an experience is used to represent the whole experience. the use of something closely related for the thing actually meant ("the white house says..." meaning the president says) |
| overstatement (hyperbole) | figure of speech in which exaggeration is used in the service of truth |
| paradox | a statement or situation containing apparently contradictory or incompatible elements |
| rhyme scheme | any fixed pattern of rhymes characterizing a whole poem or its stanzas |
| synecdoche | a figure of speech in which a part is used for the whole |
| synesthesia | presentation of one sense experience in terms usually associated with another sensation. the stimulation of two or more senses simultaneously |
| understatement | a figure of speech that consists of saying less than one means, or of saying what one means w/ less force than the occasion warrants |
| verse | metrical language (poetry); the opposite of prose |
Combine with other sets
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