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Brit Lit Honors > Useful Vocabulary > Flashcards

Useful Vocabulary Flashcards

0
Q

syntax

A

ordering of words in a sentence and how it achieves tone, meaning, and point of view

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1
Q

Diction

A

Word choice

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2
Q

style

A

describes how author uses language to get his point across

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3
Q

tone

A

attitude and mood created by style

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4
Q

point of view

A

stance/opinion revealed by style and tone

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5
Q

imagery

A

language used for sensual perception

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6
Q

hyperbole

A

exaggeration

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7
Q

understatement

A

presenting facts in a way that makes them seem less significant than they are

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8
Q

simile

A

comparing two objects using “like” or “as.”

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9
Q

metaphor

A

comparing objects not using “like” or “as”

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10
Q

symbol

A

a word that represents something other than itself

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11
Q

denotation

A

a word’s primary meaning (definition)

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12
Q

connotation

A

the vast range of other meanings a word suggests

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13
Q

oxymoron

A

an apparent contradiction of terms

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14
Q

paradox

A

an apparent contradiction of ideas or statements

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15
Q

personification

A

giving human qualities to an inanimate objects

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16
Q

rhetorical question

A

a question with an obvious answer

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17
Q

bombast

A

pompous language

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18
Q

metonymy

A

one term substituted for another term which is closely associated

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19
Q

synecdoche

A

metonymy restricted to a part signifying the whole

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20
Q

theme

A

general ideas

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21
Q

euphemism

A

words used to avoid employing an unpleasant or offensive term

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22
Q

verbal irony

A

stating something but meaning the opposite (sarcasm)

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23
Q

situational irony

A

a situation runs contrary to what is expected

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24
Q

satire

A

something portrayed in a way that is deliberately distorted to achieve comic effect.

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25
Q

Logos

A

appealing to reason and logic with hard facts, evidence, statistics, etc.

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26
Q

ethos

A

appeal to speaker’s credibility (expert or authority)

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27
Q

pathos

A

appealing to emotions, values, or desires of the audience.

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28
Q

cogent

A

convincing; reasonable

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29
Q

didactic

A

intended to instruct

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30
Q

lucid

A

easily understood; clear

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31
Q

arbiter

A

judge who decides disputed issue

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32
Q

exculpate

A

free from guilt or pain

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33
Q

incontrovertible

A

unable to be denied or disputed

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34
Q

substantiated

A

supported with proof or evidence; verified

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35
Q

vinidicated

A

freed from blame

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36
Q

quandary

A

state of uncertainty or perplexity

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37
Q

indolent

A

lazy

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38
Q

insipid

A

uninterresting; unchallenging

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39
Q

listless

A

lacking energy

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40
Q

torpor

A

laziness; inactivity; dullness

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41
Q

disparity

A

inequality in age, rank, or degree; difference

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42
Q

impinge

A

hinder; interfere with

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43
Q

sanction

A

economic or military measure put in place to punish another country

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44
Q

florid

A

describing flowery or elaborate speech

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45
Q

opulent

A

exhibiting a display of great wealth

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46
Q

ostentatious

A

describing a showy or pretentious display

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47
Q

poignant

A

profoundly moving; touching

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48
Q

ebullience

A

intense enthusiasm

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49
Q

effusive

A

emotionally unrestrained; gushy

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50
Q

egregious

A

conspicuously bad or offensive

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51
Q

frenetic

A

wildly excited or active

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52
Q

gratuitous

A

given freely; unearned unwarranted

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53
Q

auspicious

A

favorable; promising

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54
Q

benevolent

A

well-meaning; generous

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55
Q

benign

A

kind and gentle

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56
Q

mollify

A

to calm or soothe

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57
Q

reclamation

A

act of making something useful again

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58
Q

dubious

A

doubtful; of unlikely authenticity

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59
Q

spurious

A

not genuine

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60
Q

astute

A

shrewd; clever

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61
Q

clandestine

A

secretive

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62
Q

coup

A

brilliantly executed plan

63
Q

stratagem

A

clever trick to deceive or outwit

64
Q

surreptitiously

A

done by secretive means

65
Q

wily

66
Q

ambivalent

A

simultaneously having opposing feelings; uncertain

67
Q

apathetic

A

feeling or showing little emotion

68
Q

arbitrary

A

determined by impulse rather than reason

69
Q

capricious

A

impulsive and unpredictable

70
Q

equivocate

A

to avoid making a definite statement

71
Q

whimsical

A

subject to erratic behaviour; unpredictable

72
Q

assiduous

A

hard-working

73
Q

dogged

A

stubbornly persevering

74
Q

intrepid

A

courageous; fearless

75
Q

odurate

A

stubborn; inflexible

76
Q

obstinate

A

stubbornly adhering to an opinion or course of action

77
Q

proliferate

A

to grow or increase rapidly

78
Q

tenacity

A

persistence

79
Q

assimilation

A

to absorb; to make similar

80
Q

consensus

A

general agreement

81
Q

incumbent

A

imposed as a duty; obligatory

82
Q

dogmatic

A

stubbornly adhering to unproved beliefs

83
Q

enlightening

A

informative; contributing to one’s awareness

84
Q

impression

A

feeling or understanding resulting from an experience

85
Q

profound

A

having great depth or seriousness

86
Q

inherent

A

inborn; built-in

87
Q

innate

A

possessed from birth; inborn

88
Q

inveterate

A

long established; deep-rooted; habitual

89
Q

transient

A

passing away with time

90
Q

transitory

A

short-lived; temporary

91
Q

affable

A

easy-going; friendly

92
Q

amenable

A

responsive; agreeable

93
Q

facetious

A

playfully humorous

94
Q

dilettante

A

one with amateurish or superficial understanding of a field of knowledge

95
Q

eclectic

A

made up of a variety of sources of styles

96
Q

decorous

A

proper; marked by good taste

97
Q

equanimity

A

quality of being calm and even tempered; composure

98
Q

propriety

A

appropriateness of behavior

99
Q

staid

A

unemotional; serious

100
Q

disparage

A

to speak of in slighting way or negatively; to belittle

101
Q

pejorative

A

describing words or phrases that belittle or speak negatively of someone

102
Q

vilify

A

make vicious statements about

103
Q

brusque

A

rudely abrupt

104
Q

caustic

A

bitingly sarcastic or witty

105
Q

fractious

A

quarrelsome; unruly

106
Q

incorrigible

A

unable to be reformed

107
Q

ingrate

A

an ungrateful person

108
Q

insolent

A

insulting in manner or speech

109
Q

pugnacious

A

combative; belligerent

110
Q

deleterious

A

having a harmful effect; injurious

111
Q

enmity

A

mutual hatred or ill-will

112
Q

heinous

A

hatefully evil; abominable

113
Q

malfeasance

A

wrongdoing; misconduct

114
Q

rancorous

A

hateful; marked by deep-seated ill-will

115
Q

hackneyed

A

worn out through overuse.

116
Q

austere

A

without decoration; strict

117
Q

mundane

A

commonplace; ordinary

118
Q

ponderous

A

extremely dull

119
Q

prosaic

A

unimaginative; dull

120
Q

apprehension

A

anxiety or fear about the future

121
Q

harbinger

A

something that indicates what is to come; a forerunner

122
Q

trepidation

A

uncertainty, apprehension

123
Q

naive

A

lacking sophistication

124
Q

nascent

A

coming into existence; emerging

125
Q

novel

A

strikingly new or unusual

126
Q

candor

A

sincerity; openness

127
Q

conflagration

A

a widespread fire

128
Q

sonorous

A

producing a deep or full sound

129
Q

comprehensive

A

large in scope or content

130
Q

copious

A

plentiful; having a large quantity

131
Q

pervasive

A

dispersed throughout

132
Q

prodigious

133
Q

replete

A

abundantly supplied; filled to capacity

134
Q

laudatory

A

giving praise

135
Q

facile

A

done or achieved with little effort; easy

136
Q

fastidious

A

possessing careful attention to detail; difficult to please

137
Q

hierarchy

A

a group organized by rank

138
Q

pragmatic

139
Q

solvent

A

able to pay one’s debts

140
Q

anachronism

A

something out of place in time or sequence

141
Q

anthropomorphism

A

attribution of humanlike characteristics to inanimate objects; animals, or forces of nature

142
Q

apology

A

defense of an idea

143
Q

apposition

A

a grammar construction in which a noun (or noun phrase) is placed with another as an explanation

144
Q

archetype

A

a perfect example; an original pattern or model

145
Q

chiasmus

A

an inversion in the second of two parallel phrases

146
Q

gesticulating

A

making gestures while speaking

147
Q

lexicon

A

word book describing language with definitions; a dictionary

148
Q

panegyric

A

statement of high praise

149
Q

paradigm

A

an example or model

150
Q

parallelism

A

grammar construction in which two identical syntactic constructions are used

151
Q

period

A

long, complex, grammatically correct sentence

152
Q

pernicious

A

causing great harm

153
Q

propitious

A

presenting favorable circumstances

154
Q

sardonic

A

disdainfully or ironically humorous; harsh, bitter, or caustic

155
Q

syllogism

A

form of deductive reasoning: a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion

Brit Lit Honors (24 decks)

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