Vocab Quiz #1 Flashcards
Cacophany
harshness in the sounds of words or phrases
EX: Sometimes, it seems as though the dogs in our neighborhood bark together to create a cacophony that wakes me up every morning.
discursive
passing from one topic to another; rambling
EX: A bad comedian will talk about so many random discurvise stories during his time on stage.
surreptitious
stealth
EX: The little boy surreptitiously grabbed the cookies above the jar.
perennial
continuing without interruption
EX: Every election seems to continue to deal with the same perennial issues that have been the focus of all the previous elections
cavalcade
procession of vehicles or ships
EX: When the cavalcade of tanks rolled into the city, it was followed by soldiers who were eager to end the war
circuitous
having a circular or winding course
EX: Some of the younger children got confused by the circuitous design of the maze and began to cry for their parents.
euphemism
using a mild, neutral, or vague term in place of one considered offensive
EX : He used a euphemism to disguise his real feelings about the incident.
facile
easily accomplished
EX : Since Jack had studied for the exam, he earned a perfect score on the facile test.
fiat
command or order
EX : The dictator rules his country by fiat and expects everyone to obey his orders.
flippant
lacking proper respect or seriousness
EX : The student’s flippant actions towards the teacher got him suspended from school.
nexus
connection; link
EX : Today Facebook seems to be the nexus of communication.
melee
a hand-to-hand fight among several people
EX : A wild melee broke out in the lunchroom, with kids throwing water bottles and lunch boxes at each other.
Anastrophe
words in an unexpected order
EX: “Ten thousand I saw at a glance”
Anthimeria
using a noun as a verb
EX: I am snapchatting my friend
Antithesis
contrasting ideas in parallel form
EX: “Better to reign in hell, than to serve in Heaven”
Anaphora
repetition in beginning
EX: X________,X______
Anadiplosis
repetition at end and beginning of the next
EX: _______X,X________
Allusion
short informal referance to something (event place, fictional character…)
EX: Dude why do you play ball like a girl?
Apostrophe
rhetorical direct address to a person or personified thing
EX: O mysterious priest…
Asyndeton
ommiting conjunctions between words
EX: I came, I saw, I conquered
Aposiopesis
breaking off a statement midway in order to creat a rhetorical effect
EX: Don’t go there, or else…!
Alliteration
repetition of sound at the beginning of the words
EX: Sally sells sea shells down by the sea shore
Assonance
repetition of vowel sounds within words
EX: hEar the mEllow wEdding bElls
Abusive Ad Hominem
sidetracks the issue by attacking the person
EX: How can Jones stand up there and tell us to be generous when he cant even match his tie with his jacket?
Tu Quo Que
attempts to disredit an argument based on a person’s hypocracy
EX: “Yeah, but officer haven’t you ever rolled through a stop sign”
Ad Populum
band wagon
EX: I don’t know why I’m the one in trouble when many others cheated on the test too.
Straw Man
make the opposite side look weaker to defeat them easier
EX: Samsung commercia showing how bad an iPhone is compared to the new samsung phone.
Guilt by Association
uses bad reputations to discredit
EX: Yeah, that’s a great idea; didn’t Hitler say the same thing?
