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AP English Language > Tri 2 Vocab: Tone, Diction, and Style Words > Flashcards

Tri 2 Vocab: Tone, Diction, and Style Words Flashcards

1
Q

maudlin

A

weakly and effusively sentimental

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2
Q

poignant

A

painfully/deeply affecting the feelings

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3
Q

quixotic

A

foolishly impractical (especially in the pursuit of ideals)

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4
Q

acerbic

A

sharply/bitingly critical, sarcastic, or ironic in temper, mood, or tone

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5
Q

acrimonious

A

angry and bitter; destroying, biting, or deeply vicious, especially in feeling, language, or manner

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6
Q

sardonic

A

disdainfully/skeptically humorous; mocking

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7
Q

servile

A

befitting menial position; submissive

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8
Q

effusive

A

marked by the expression of great or excessive emotion or enthusiasm

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9
Q

unflagging

A

tireless (not flagging)

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10
Q

vehement

A

marked by forceful energy – powerful; intensely emotional – impassioned

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11
Q

zealous

A

eager (in the pursuit of something)

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12
Q

hectoring

A

to behave in an arrogant/mean way; to play the bully

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13
Q

pedantic

A

to show off knowledge; a formalist/precisionist in teaching

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14
Q

admonitory

A

expressing a warning/counsel

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15
Q

scathing

A

bitterly severe

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16
Q

cynical

A

distrustful of human nature; a critic

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17
Q

implacable

A

not placable; not capable of being pleased

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18
Q

intractable

A

not easily governed, managed, manipulated (inflexible)

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19
Q

parochial

A

confined/resticted; limited in range/scope; relating to church parish

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20
Q

bellicose

A

favoring or inclined to start quarrels or wars

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21
Q

contentious

A

likely to cause disagreement or argument

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22
Q

jingoistic

A

extreme chauvinism or nationalism marked especially by a belligerent foreign policy

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23
Q

querulous

A

habitually complaining

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24
Q

strident

A

characterized by harsh, insistent, and discordant sound (used to command attention)

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25
Q

droll

A

having a humorous, whimsical, or odd quality

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26
Q

flippant

A

lacking proper respect of seriousness

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27
Q

irreverent

A

lacking proper respect or seriousness

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28
Q

satiric

A

relating/constituting to satire: wit, irony, or sarcasm used to folly

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29
Q

wry

A

made by a deliberate distortion of the facial muscles often to express irony or mockery; cleverly, ironically/grimly humorous

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30
Q

inflammatory

A

tending to excite anger, disorder, or tumult; cause inflammation

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31
Q

insolent

A

insultingly contemptuous in speech or conduct; overbearing, boldness, impudent

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32
Q

petulant

A

insolent or rude in speech or behavior; peevish

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33
Q

elegiac

A

expressing sorrow often for something now past
(comprising elegy or an elegy)

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34
Q

dour

A

gloomy, sullen

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35
Q

lamenting

A

to express sorrow, mourning, or regret for often demonstratively; mourn, to wail

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36
Q

plaintive

A

expressive of suffering or woe; melancholy

37
Q

imperious

A

marked by arrogant assurance; domineering, commanding

38
Q

incensed

A

to arouse the extreme anger or indignation of

39
Q

indignant

A

feeling or showing anger because of something unjust or unworthy; filled with or marked by indignation

40
Q

vitriolic

A

bitterly harsh or caustic language or criticism

41
Q

insular

A

characteristic of an isolated people; narrow viewpoint

42
Q

diffident

A

hesitant in acting or speaking through lack of self-confidence; reserved, unassertive

43
Q

ambiguous

A

doubtful or uncertain especially from obscurity or indistinctness; inexplicable

44
Q

ambivalent

A

having or showing simultaneous and contradictory attitudes or feelings toward something or someone; characterized by ambivalence

45
Q

audacious

A

daring, adventurous, recklessly bold, rash

46
Q

introspective

A

characterized by examination of one’s own thoughts and feeling; thoughtfully reflective; employing, marked by, or tending to introspection

47
Q

cajoling

A

to persuade with flattery or gentle urging especially in the face of reluctance; coax

48
Q

benevolent

A

organized for the purpose of doing good; showing goodwill

49
Q

contrite

A

feeling or showing sorrow and remorse for improper or objectionable behavior, actions, etc.

50
Q

capricious

A

governed or characterized by caprice; impulsive, unpredictable

51
Q

histrionic

A

deliberately affected; overly dramatic or emotional; theatrical; relating to the theater

52
Q

incisive

A

impressively direct and decisive (as in manner or presentation)

53
Q

macabre

A

having death as a subject; gruesome

54
Q

mock-serious

A

pretending to be serious; as in a joke

55
Q

sanctimonious

A

acting self-righteous/morally superior (hypocritically/insincere)

56
Q

laudatory

A

relating to/expressing praise

56
Q

clinical

A

direct observation; clinical

57
Q

colloquial

A

using informal/conversational style

58
Q

esoteric

A

requiring or exhibiting knowledge that is restricted to a small group; having a specialty

59
Q

euphemistic

A

the substitution of an agreeable or inoffensive expression for one that may offend or suggest something unpleasant

60
Q

insipid

A

lacking in qualities that interest, stimulate, or challenge; dull, flat

61
Q

jargon

A

obscure and often pretentious language marked by long words

62
Q

Latinate

A

of, relating to, resembling, or derived from Latin

63
Q

pedantic

A

an excessive amount of big words to show off one’s intellect

64
Q

picturesque

A

resembling a picture; suggesting a painted scene

65
Q

lucid

A

suffused with light; clear to understanding

66
Q

palpable

A

capable of being touched or felt; tangible

67
Q

convoluted

A

complicated, intricate

68
Q

idyllic

A

pleasing or picturesque in natural simplicity; relating to poetry

69
Q

pastoral

A

relating to rural areas and livestock

70
Q

prosaic

A

characteristic of ordinary as distinguished from poetry; factual, dull, unimaginative

71
Q

unvarnished

A

unadorned, plain, straightforward

72
Q

bombastic

A

marked by or given to speech/writing that is given exaggerated importance by artificial or empty means; overblown

73
Q

decorous

A

marked by propriety and good taste; correct

74
Q

florid

A

flowery style, ornate, emotional

75
Q

flowery

A

marked by or given to rhetorical elegance

76
Q

urbane

A

notably polite or polished in manner

77
Q

ponderous

A

oppressively or unpleasantly dull; lifeless

78
Q

laconic

A

using or involving the use of a minimum of words; concise to the point of seeming rude or mysterious

79
Q

pithy

A

having substance and point; tersely convincing

80
Q

taciturn

A

temperamentally disinclined to talk

81
Q

loquacious

A

full of excessive talk; wordy

82
Q

protracted

A

to prolong in time or space; continue

83
Q

verbose

A

containing more words than necessary; wordy

84
Q

vociferous

A

marked by or given to vehemence and noisiness

85
Q

pedestrian

A

comonplace, unimaginative

86
Q

perfunctory

A

characterized by routine or superficiality; mechanical; lacking interest or enthusiasum

87
Q

unvaried

A

not varied or diverse; homogenous

AP English Language (2 decks)

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