AP Vocabulary
Vocabulary list 1-9
Terms
undefined, object
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- engender
- v - to produce or cause
- dilettante
- noun - someone who has an interest in a subject, especially art, literature or science, but does not study it very seriously or in depth
- wrest
- verb - 1 to turn or twist something. 2 to pull or wrench something away, especially from someone else's grasp or possession. 3 to extract (a statement or promise, etc) with force or difficulty
- tepid
- adj - 1 slightly or only just warm; lukewarm. 2 unenthusiastic
- ingenuous
- adj - innocent and childlike, especially in being frank, honest and incapable of deception
- benison
- n - blessing
- lassitude
- noun - a feeling of physical or mental tiredness; a lack of energy and enthusiasm
- puerile
- adj - childish; silly; immature
- inure
- v - to accustom to something unpleasant or unwelcome
- vixen
- noun - 1 a female fox. 2 a fierce or spiteful woman
- jurisprudence
- noun - knowledge of or skill in law
- histrionics
- noun - theatrical or dramatic behaviour expressing excessive emotion and insincerity
- fustian
- adj - bombastic
- importune
- adj - troublesomely urgent
- anomaly
- noun - something that is unusual or different from what is expected
- endemic
- adj - 1 said of a disease, etc: regularly occurring in a particular area or among a particular group of people. 2 biol said of a plant or animal: native to, or restricted to, a particular area
- prognosticate
- verb - to foretell
- altruistic
- adj - unselfishly concerned for the welfare of others
- truculent
- adj - aggressively defiant, quarrelsome or discourteous
- fulsome
- adj - said of praise, compliments, etc: so overdone as to be distasteful.
- expiate
- verb - to make amends for (a wrong)
- malinger
- v - to pretend to be ill
- sapient
- adj - having or showing good judgement; wise
- ostensible
- adj - said of reasons, etc: stated or claimed, but not necessarily true; apparent
- raucous
- adj - said of a sound, especially a voice, shout, etc: hoarse; harsh
- foment
- verb - to encourage or foster (ill-feeling, etc).
- curmudgeon
- noun - a bad-tempered or mean person
- elucidate
- verb - to make clear or explain
- enjoin
- verb - to order or command someone to do something
- canard
- noun - a false report or piece of news; a rumour, hoax, etc.
- discern
- verb - to perceive, notice or make out something; to judge
- specious
- adj - having a false look of truth or genuineness
- mundane
- adj - ordinary; dull; everyday
- sartorial
- adj - referring or relating to a tailor, tailoring or clothes in general
- impute
- verb - (usually impute something to someone or something) 1 to regard (something unfavourable or unwelcome) as being brought about by them. 2 to believe it to be caused by them or it; to attribute
- parley
- verb - to discuss peace terms, etc with an enemy, especially under truce
- blandishment
- noun - flattery intended to persuade
- inchoate
- adj - 1 at the earliest stage of development; just beginning. 2 not fully developed; unfinished; rudimentary
- progenitor
- noun - 1 an ancestor, forebear or forefather. 2 the founder or originator of a movement, etc.
- truculent
- adj - aggressively defiant, quarrelsome or discourteous
- acumen
- noun - the ability to judge quickly and well; keen insight
- importune
- verb - 1 to make persistent and usually annoying requests of someone. 2 to solicit for immoral purposes, eg prostitution
- supercilious
- adj 1 arrogantly disdainful or contemptuous. 2 self-importantly judgemental
- abrogate
- verb - to cancel (a law, agreement, etc) formally or officially
- macabre
- adj - 1 connected, or to do with, death in some way. 2 causing fear or anxiety; ghastly; gruesome
- supercilious
- adj - coolly and patronizingly haughty
- maelstrom
- noun - a place or state of uncontrollable confusion or destructive forces, especially one to which someone or something is inevitably drawn
- preclude
- verb - to rule out or eliminate something or make it impossible
- auspicious
- adj - promising future success; favourable
- chicanery
- noun - 1 clever talk intended to mislead. 2 a dishonest argument. 3 trickery; deception
- arcane
- adj - mysterious, secret or obscure
- spurious
- adj - false, counterfeit or untrue, especially when superficially seeming to be genuine
- impugn
- verb - to criticize or challenge
- bereft
- adj - (usually bereft of something) deprived of it; having had something precious taken away
- disparage
- verb - to speak of someone or something with contempt
- splenetic
- adj - bad-tempered; spiteful
- piety
- noun - dutifulness; devoutness
- arcane
- adj - mysterious, secret or obscure; understood only by a few; difficult to understand
- diffidence
- noun - lack of confidence; modesty or shyness
- embellish
- verb - 1 to make (a story, etc) more interesting by adding details which may not be true. 2 to beautify something with decoration
- stultify
- verb - 1 to make someone or something appear absurd, foolish, contradictory, etc. 2 to cause something to be useless, worthless, futile, etc. 3 to dull the mind of someone, eg with tedious tasks
- petulance
- noun - ill-temperedness; peevishness
- denigrate
- verb - to attack the character of; to disparage
- elan
- noun - impressive and energetic style
- perspicuity
- n - clarity and precision of presentation
- perdition
- noun - everlasting punishment after death; damnation; hell
- philistine
- adj - having no interest in or appreciation of art, literature, music, etc, and tending rather towards materialism.
- conciliatory
- adj - intended to placate or win over someone
- specious
- adj - superficially or apparently convincing, sound or just, but really false, flawed or lacking in sincerity
- poignant
- adj - 1 painful to the feelings 2 deeply moving; full of pathos
- nemesis
- noun - 1 retribution or just punishment. 2 something that brings this
- ascribe
- verb - to attribute; assign
- eclectic
- adj - selecting material or ideas from a wide range of sources or authorities
- surcease
- v - to put an end to
- cosset
- verb - to treat too kindly; to pamper
- vapid
- adj - dull; uninteresting; insipid
- pandemic
- adj - describing a widespread epidemic of a disease, one that affects a whole country, continent, etc.
- desultory
- adj - jumping from one thing to another with no plan, purpose or logical connection
- stultify
- verb - to make someone or something appear absurd, useless, worthless
- vitiate
- verb - 1 to impair the quality or effectiveness of (eg an argument); to make something faulty or defective. 2 to make (eg a legal contract) ineffectual or invalid
- euphemism
- noun - a mild or inoffensive term used in place of one considered offensive or unpleasantly direct
- chimerical
- adj - wild or fanciful
- lapidary
- adj - 1 relating to stones. 2 engraved on stone. 3 said of a writing style: concise and to the point, in the way that an inscription on a monument has to be
- relegate
- verb - to move someone down to a lower grade, position, status, etc.
- laconic
- adj - said of someone's speech or writing: using few words; neatly concise and to the point
- esoteric
- adj - secret or mysterious
- wraith
- noun - a ghost
- querulous
- adj - 1 said of someone or their disposition: inclined or ready to complain. 2 said of a voice, tone or comment, etc: complaining, grumbling or whining
- jingoism
- noun - over-enthusiastic or aggressive patriotism
- debacle
- n - total disorder
- stentorian
- adj - said of a voice: loud and strong
- redolent
- adj - 1 fragrant. 2 (usually redolent of or with something) a smelling strongly of it; b strongly suggestive or reminiscent of it
- iniquitous
- adj - 1 grossly unjust or unreasonable. 2 wicked
- gallivant
- verb - to go out looking for entertainment or amusement
- obfuscate
- verb - 1 to darken or obscure something. 2 to obscure something or make it difficult to understand. 3 to bewilder or confuse someone
- surcease
- n - a temporary respite or end
- knell
- noun - 1 the tolling of a bell announcing a death or funeral. 2 something that signals the end of anything
- dulcet
- adj - sweet and pleasing to the ear
- ramshackle
- tumbledown; rickety; badly made and likely to fall down
- bowdlerize
- verb - to remove passages or words from (a book or play, etc), especially on moral and social rather than aesthetic grounds; to expurgate, especially in an unnecessary or distorting way
- august
- adj - noble; imposing
- temerity
- noun - rashness or boldness; an unreasonable lack of fear
- wheedle
- verb - to coax or cajole someone; to persuade them by flattery
- zeitgeist
- noun - the spirit of the age; the attitudes or viewpoint of a specific period
- urbanity
- n - politeness, good manners
- littoral
- adj - on or near the shore of a sea or lake
- podium
- noun - a small platform for a public speaker, orchestra conductor
- recant
- verb - to withdraw or retract (a statement, belief, etc)
- beatific
- adj - expressing or revealing supreme peaceful happiness
- ensconce
- verb - to hide safely
- contrite
- adj - sorry for something one has done
- philologist
- noun - one who studies language, its history and development; linguist
- hegemony
- noun - authority or control, especially of one state over another within a confederation
- nebulous
- adj - vague; hazy; lacking distinct shape, form or nature
- mores
- plural noun - social customs that reflect the basic moral and social values of a particular society
- ersatz
- adj - substitute; imitation
- plenary
- adj - complete in every respect
- echelon
- noun - a level or rank in an organization, etc
- abominate
- verb - to dislike or hate something greatly; to find it loathsome
- spurious
- adj - false
- inundate
- verb - 1 to overwhelm with water. 2 to swamp
- equivocal
- adj - ambiguous
- paroxysm
- noun - a sudden emotional outburst
- importune
- v - to disturb or irritate
- vacillate
- v - to change opinions or decisions frequently
- banal
- adj - boring or trivial
- blatant
- adj - very obvious
- turgid
- adj - 1 swollen; inflated or distended. 2 said of language: sounding important but meaning very little; pompous
- desultory
- adj - jumping from one thing to another with no plan, purpose or logical connection
- putative
- adj - supposed; assumed
- ken
- n - range of knowledge
- parlay
- verb - 1 to exploit successfully. 2 to increase or otherwise transform into something of much greater value
- factotum
- n - a person employed to do a large number of different jobs
- draconian
- adj - said of a law, etc: harsh; severe
- despondent
- adj - sad; dejected; in low spirits
- reticent
- adj - not saying very much
- salient
- adj - striking; outstanding or prominent
- peremptory
- adj - made in expectation of immediate compliance
- palliative
- adj - having the effect of alleviating or reducing pain
- impecunious
- adj - having little or no money; poor; penniless
- apoplectic
- adj - red-faced and seething with anger
- compunction
- noun - a feeling of guilt, remorse or regret
- internecine
- adj - 1 said of a fight, war, etc: destructive and damaging to both sides. 2 involving or consisting of a conflict or struggle within a group or organization
- shibboleth
- noun - 1 a common saying. 2 a slogan, catchphrase, custom or belief, especially if considered outdated. 3 a peculiarity of speech. 4 a use of a word, phrase or pronunciation that characterizes members of a particular group
- contrition
- noun - remorse
- eclat
- noun - 1 striking effect; showy splendour. 2 splendid success; distinction. 3 applause; praise
- august
- adj - noble; imposing
- efficacious
- adj - producing the intended result