Directions: Familiarize yourself with the words below, their definitions, synonyms, and etymology. You will use each of these vocabulary words to complete Language
Activity B1. The roots and affixes in bold print are among the most common and will be emphasized on the exam.
Vocab word
P.O.S.
Definition
Example
Synonyms
abjure
v
to renounce under oath; to
abandon forever; to
abstain from
blasphemous
adj
cursing, profane;
extremely irreverent
censorious
adj
critical; tending to blame
or condemn
After having been devout for most of
his life, he suddenly abjured his
beliefs, much to his family’s
disappointment.
The politician’s offhanded comments
seemed blasphemous, given the
context of the orderly meeting.
Closed-minded people ten to be
censorious of others.
constituent
n
component, part; citizen,
voter
A machine will not function properly
if one of its constituents is defective.
component
deride
v
v
As soon as Jorge heard the others
deriding Anthony, he came to his
defense.
Patel is enjoined by his culture from
eating beef.
insult, ridicule
enjoin
febrile
adj
to laugh at
contemptuously, to make
fun of
to direct or impose with
urgent appeal, to order
with emphasis; to forbid
feverish, marked by
intense emotion or
activity
gauche
adj
lacking social refinement
imprecation
n
a curse
interregnum
n
milieu
n
a temporary halting of the
usual operations of
government or control
the physical or social
setting in which
something occurs or
develops; environment
Latin/Greek root
abdicate,
renounce
Latin/Greek
affix
ab—from, away,
apart
jurare—to swear
Related root
words
jury
disrespectful,
irreverent
blax—slack,
stupid
pheme--utterance
fame
censere—to
appraise, value,
judge
censure
census
con—with
statuere—to set
constitution
statue
de--down
rid, ris—laugh
ridicule
command,
decree, impose
jungere—to join
conjunction,
disjointed
Awaiting the mysterious
announcement, there was a febrile
excitement in the crowd.
delirious,
feverish
febris—a fever
fever
Snapping one’s fingers to get a
waiter’s attention is considered
gauche.
Spouting violent imprecations, Hank
searched for the person who had
vandalized his truck.
The new king began his reign by
restoring order that the lawless
interregnum had destroyed.
The milieu at the club wasn’t one I
was comfortable with, so I left right
away.
awkward,
unrefined
gauchir—turn
aside, swerve
carping, critical,
disparaging
precari—to beg,
ask, pray, request
precarious,
pray
hiatus, interim
inter—between
regnum--reign
reign, regal
climate,
environment,
setting
mi, medi—
middle
lieu—place
intermediary,
mediate
Vocab word
P.O.S.
Definition
Example
Synonyms
obdurate
adj
stubbornly persistent,
resistant to persuasion
The president was obdurate on the
matter, and no amount of public
protest could change his mind.
adamant,
inexorable,
stubborn
panegyric
n
elaborate praise; formal
hymn of praise
award,
enconium
pique
v
proliferate
v
saccharine
adj
to arouse anger or
resentment in; provoke
to grow by rapid
production of new parts;
increase in number
excessively sweet or
sentimental
The director’s panegyric for the
donor who kept his charity going was
heart-warming.
His continual insensitivity piqued my
anger.
The bacteria proliferated so quickly
that even the doctor was surprised.
specious
adj
having the ring of truth
but actually being untrue;
deceptively attractive
tawdry
adj
gaudy, cheap, showy
uncanny
adj
wan
adj
so keen and perceptive as
to seem supernatural,
peculiarly unsettling
sickly pale
Geoffrey’s saccharine poems
nauseated Lucy, and she wished he’d
stop sending them.
After I followed up with some
research on the matter, I realized that
the charismatic politician’s argument
has been specious.
The performer changed into her
tawdry costume and stepped onto the
stage.
Though they weren’t related, their
resemblance was uncanny.
The sick child had a wan face, in
contrast to her rosy-cheeked sister.
Latin/Greek
affix
ob—against
Latin/Greek root
an—all
agyris—place of
assembly
arouse, provoke
durare—harden
Related root
words
durable
pique—to pick,
pierce, or prick
ferre—to bear
prolific
saccharum—sugar
saccharin
beguiling,
misleading
species—
appearance, kind,
sort
special
brazen, cheap
Alteration of St.
Audrey’s Lace
increase,
reproduce
ghoulish,
remarkable
colorless, pale,
pallid
proles--offspring
un—not
canny—fortunate,
safe
cannily
wann—dark,
lacking, luster
wane
AP Language and Composition
Literary Terms, List B1
Directions: Familiarize yourself with these terms so that you can apply them to literary and writing analysis.
Term
ambiguity
anachronism
antithesis
archetype
bombast
catharsis
empathy
flashback
foil
foreshadowing
litotes
sentiment
mode
motif
verisimilitude
Definition
multiple meaning; lack of clarity in a work consciously used as a phase of the author’s view of his/her world or
characters and reflecting the vagueness of life
the incorporation of an event, scene, or person who does not correspond with the time period portrayed in the
work
the rhetorical opposition or contrast of words, clauses, or sentences
a plot that repeats basic historical or primitive life patterns; from the psychology of Carl Jung
inflated language; the use of high-sounding language for a trivial subject
a cleansing of the spirit of the spectator at a tragedy through experiencing the emotions of pity an terror, as
expressed in Aristotle’s Poetics
a feeling of association or identification with an object; experiencing its sensations and responding with similar
feelings
returning to an earlier time in a story or play for the purpose of clarifying present actions or circumstances
a character in a work of literature whose physical or psychological qualities contrast strongly with, and
therefore highlight, the corresponding qualities of another character
providing hints of things to come in a story or play
a form of understatement in which the negative of the contrary is used to achieve emphasis and intensity
refined and tender emotion in literature; sometimes used derisively to represent insincerity or mawkishness
an attribute or quality of a thing; a work of literature may be written in a particular mode
a device that serves as a unifying agent in conveying a theme; a recurrent image, phrase, or idea
similar to truth; the quality of realism in a work that persuades the reader that he/she is getting a vision of life
as it is
AP Language and Composition
Grammar Lecture B1
Directions: Completed cells indicate background information. Blank cells, which you will fill in with your own notes, indicate the focus of the lecture. Use this
information to assist you in completing Language Activity B1.
Terminology
Definition
Rhetorical purpose
Example(s)
phrase
a group of words that lacks either a subject,
functions as a single part of speech
toward the beach
predicate, or both
the gold ring
running water
noun phrase
a group of words that is composed of a noun
and a number of optional modifiers and that
lacks a subject or predicate
can serve as subject or object
My shopping cart hit that expensive Mercedes.
My poor kitty has a cold.
Pigs are filthy.
nominal
also known as “substantive”
any noun or pronoun or any word, phrase, or
clause that performs the same function as a
noun
performs the function of a noun
There is an olive in each martini glass.
I knew that she did not like meatloaf.
verb phrase
groups of verbs (helping verbs plus main verb)
expresses complete action, existence,
or condition
The mayor has remained in office for three
consecutive terms.
adjective phrase
group of words that modifies a noun
modifies a noun
That chair, destined for Good Will, has been in
my family for forty years.
adverb phrase
consists of a simple adverb and a number of
optional modifiers
modifies a verb or adjective
She dances quite well.
Tom runs quickly.
adverbial
sentence element that performs the same
function as a normal adverb; can come in the
form of an adverb phrase, noun phrase, or
prepositional phrase
indicates time, place, manner, or reason
Our plane lands late Tuesday night.
She sings quite dreadfully.
Exhausted, the tri-athlete collapsed a mere fifty
yards from the finish line.
prepositional
phrase
Terminology
verbal
infinitive
gerund
participle
appositive
absolute
Definition
Rhetorical purpose
Example(s)