Vocabulary Lists for AP English 11 Trimester Three, 2008
Study and learn the following words. The quiz dates are indicated above each list. Once you have been quizzed on a list of words, any of those words may appear on future quizzes. For example, the quiz on Friday, April 25 may contain words from lists 1 and 2; the quiz on Wednesday, June 4 could contain any of the words on this handout.
List 1 – Quiz on Friday, April 4
1. cogent – convincing; reasonable
2. discourse – verbal expression or exchange; conversation
3. implication – the act of suggesting or hinting
4. lucid – clear; easily understood
5. incontrovertible – not able to be denied or disputed
6. penitent – expressing remorse for one’s misdeeds
7. imperious – arrogantly domineering or overbearing (She had an imperious way about her.)
8. patronizing – treating in a condescending manner
9. futile – pointless, having no useful purpose
10. torpor – laziness; inactivity; dullness (The hot, humid day filled everyone with an activity-halting torpor.)
11. florid – describing flowery or elaborate speech
12. gratuitous – given freely; unearned; unwarranted (The film was full of gratuitous sex and violence that was not essential to the story.)
13. superfluous – unnecessary; extra
14. mollify – soothe or calm
15. slander – false charges and malicious oral statements about someone
16. libel – a false publication in writing, printing, or in signs or pictures that maliciously damages a person’s reputation
17. spurious – not genuine (a spurious claim)
18. clandestine – secretive
19. coup – a brilliantly executed plan
20. intrepid – courageous; fearless
List 2 – Quiz on Friday, April 25
1. diligent – marked by painstaking effort; hard-working
2. choleric – extremely irritable or easily angered; irascible (a choleric disposition)
3. blunt – rude, brusque; suggests lack of polish and of regard for the feelings of others
4. flagrant – extremely or deliberately shocking or noticeable (a flagrant sign of disrespect)
5. derogatory - tending to lessen the merit or reputation of a person or thing; disparaging; depreciatory (a derogatory remark)
6. pedantic - overly concerned with minute details or formalisms, esp. in teaching; didactic
7. lugubrious - mournful, dismal, or gloomy
8. deferential – respectful; showing deference
9. acrimonious - caustic, stinging, or bitter in nature, speech, behavior, etc. (an acrimonious answer; an acrimonious dispute)
10. blasé - indifferent to or bored with life; unimpressed
11. pithy - brief, forceful, and meaningful in expression; terse; succinct; concise
12. obdurate – stubborn; inflexible
13. maverick – one who is independent and resists adherence to a group
14. inveterate – long established; deep-rooted; habitual
15. omnipotent – all powerful
16. transient – passing away with time; passing from one place to another
17. cordial – friendly; sincere
18. prudent – exercising good judgment or common sense
19. stoic – indifferent to pleasure or pain; impassive
20. vilify – to make vicious statements about (The politician vilified the opposing candidate.)
List 3 – Quiz on Friday, May 16
1. incredulous – skeptical; indicating or showing unbelief (an incredulous smile)
2. introspective - looking into or examining one's own mind, feelings, etc..
3. tenacity – persistence
4. obstinate – stubbornly adhering to an opinion or a course of action
5. malleable – easily shaped or formed; easily influenced
6. camaraderie – good will between friends
7. eclectic – made up of a variety of sources and styles (Lou’s taste in music is eclectic; he listens to everything from rap to polka.)
8. truncated – shortened; cut off
9. staid – unemotional; serious (He had such a staid demeanor that he remained calm even while everyone else celebrated the team’s amazing victory.)
10. fractious – quarrelsome; unruly (He was a fractious child who disagreed with everyone.)
11. pugnacious – combative; belligerent; ready to fight
12. rancorous – hateful; marked by deep-seated ill-will
13. obsolete – no longer in use; old-fashioned
14. prosaic – unimaginative; dull
15. fastidious – possessing careful attention to detail; difficult to please
16. replete – filled to capacity; abundantly supplied (Dee’s Halloween bag was replete with candy after a night of trick-or-treating.)
17. anachronism – something out of place in time or sequence
18. theoretical – lacking application or practical application (Theoretical physics is concerned with ideas, whereas applied physics is concerned with using ideas.)
19. propitious – presenting favorable circumstances; auspicious (In Chinese culture, the color red is seen as sort of a propitious omen; red is thought to bring good luck.)
20. catalog – to make an itemized list of (He decided to catalog his expenses.)
List 4 – Quiz on Wednesday, June 4
1. facile – done or achieved with little effort; easy (a facile task)
2. pervasive – dispersed or spread throughout (Graffiti is pervasive in that neighborhood.)
3. sonorous – producing a deep or full sound
4. paramount – of chief concern or importance (the paramount reason)
5. reprehensible – worth of blame (a reprehensible action)
6. propriety – appropriateness of behavior (He has no sense of propriety)
7. incorrigible – unable to be reformed
8. arbitrary – determined by impulse rather than reason ( an arbitrary decision)
9. benevolent – well-meaning; generous
10. fabricated – concocted to deceive (He fabricated the story)
11. quandary – a state of uncertainty or perplexity (She was in a quandary)
12. incumbent – imposed as a duty; obligatory (As a host, it is incumbent upon you to see that all your guests are having fun.)
13. transitory – short-lived or temporary (Her sadness was transitory)
14. proliferate – to grow or increase rapidly (The use of cell phones has proliferated in the past decade.)
15. malice – extreme ill-will or spite (an act of malice)
16. ominous – menacing; threatening
17. ponderous – extremely dull (The book was so ponderous I couldn’t finish it.)
18. trepidation – uncertainty; apprehension; fear
19. conflagration – a widespread fire (The protesters burned flags, which turned into a conflagration that raged out of control.)
20. ingratiating - establishing oneself in the favor or good graces of others (He ingratiated himself with all the guests.)