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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
droll
having a humorous, whimsical, or odd quality
26
flippant
lacking proper respect of seriousness
27
irreverent
lacking proper respect or seriousness
28
satiric
relating/constituting to satire: wit, irony, or sarcasm used to folly
29
wry
made by a deliberate distortion of the facial muscles often to express irony or mockery; cleverly, ironically/grimly humorous
30
inflammatory
tending to excite anger, disorder, or tumult; cause inflammation
31
insolent
insultingly contemptuous in speech or conduct; overbearing, boldness, impudent
32
petulant
insolent or rude in speech or behavior; peevish
33
elegiac
expressing sorrow often for something now past (comprising elegy or an elegy)
34
dour
gloomy, sullen
35
lamenting
to express sorrow, mourning, or regret for often demonstratively; mourn, to wail
36
plaintive
expressive of suffering or woe; melancholy
37
imperious
marked by arrogant assurance; domineering, commanding
38
incensed
to arouse the extreme anger or indignation of
39
indignant
feeling or showing anger because of something unjust or unworthy; filled with or marked by indignation
40
vitriolic
bitterly harsh or caustic language or criticism
41
insular
characteristic of an isolated people; narrow viewpoint
42
diffident
hesitant in acting or speaking through lack of self-confidence; reserved, unassertive
43
ambiguous
doubtful or uncertain especially from obscurity or indistinctness; inexplicable
44
ambivalent
having or showing simultaneous and contradictory attitudes or feelings toward something or someone; characterized by ambivalence
45
audacious
daring, adventurous, recklessly bold, rash
46
introspective
characterized by examination of one's own thoughts and feeling; thoughtfully reflective; employing, marked by, or tending to introspection
47
cajoling
to persuade with flattery or gentle urging especially in the face of reluctance; coax
48
benevolent
organized for the purpose of doing good; showing goodwill
49
contrite
feeling or showing sorrow and remorse for improper or objectionable behavior, actions, etc.
50
capricious
governed or characterized by caprice; impulsive, unpredictable
51
histrionic
deliberately affected; overly dramatic or emotional; theatrical; relating to the theater
52
incisive
impressively direct and decisive (as in manner or presentation)
53
macabre
having death as a subject; gruesome
54
mock-serious
pretending to be serious; as in a joke
55
sanctimonious
acting self-righteous/morally superior (hypocritically/insincere)
56
laudatory
relating to/expressing praise
56
clinical
direct observation; clinical
57
colloquial
using informal/conversational style
58
esoteric
requiring or exhibiting knowledge that is restricted to a small group; having a specialty
59
euphemistic
the substitution of an agreeable or inoffensive expression for one that may offend or suggest something unpleasant
60
insipid
lacking in qualities that interest, stimulate, or challenge; dull, flat
61
jargon
obscure and often pretentious language marked by long words
62
Latinate
of, relating to, resembling, or derived from Latin
63
pedantic
an excessive amount of big words to show off one's intellect
64
picturesque
resembling a picture; suggesting a painted scene
65
lucid
suffused with light; clear to understanding
66
palpable
capable of being touched or felt; tangible
67
convoluted
complicated, intricate
68
idyllic
pleasing or picturesque in natural simplicity; relating to poetry
69
pastoral
relating to rural areas and livestock
70
prosaic
characteristic of ordinary as distinguished from poetry; factual, dull, unimaginative
71
unvarnished
unadorned, plain, straightforward
72
bombastic
marked by or given to speech/writing that is given exaggerated importance by artificial or empty means; overblown
73
decorous
marked by propriety and good taste; correct
74
florid
flowery style, ornate, emotional
75
flowery
marked by or given to rhetorical elegance
76
urbane
notably polite or polished in manner
77
ponderous
oppressively or unpleasantly dull; lifeless
78
laconic
using or involving the use of a minimum of words; concise to the point of seeming rude or mysterious
79
pithy
having substance and point; tersely convincing
80
taciturn
temperamentally disinclined to talk
81
loquacious
full of excessive talk; wordy
82
protracted
to prolong in time or space; continue
83
verbose
containing more words than necessary; wordy
84
vociferous
marked by or given to vehemence and noisiness
85
pedestrian
comonplace, unimaginative
86
perfunctory
characterized by routine or superficiality; mechanical; lacking interest or enthusiasum
87
unvaried
not varied or diverse; homogenous

AP English Language (2 decks)

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