AP Lit VocabularyBy: Gavin Blatch

Pedantic

An adjective that describes words, phrases, or general tone that is overly scholarly, academic, or bookish.

“A recent writer says the resulting generalizations have not been only dubious but trivial” –Philip McMahon

Euphemistic

The substitution of a harsh word in effort of making it sound less offensive, harsh, or blunt.

“The beast with two backs” – Shakespeare

Pretentious

Full of pretense or pretension. I like it when my rabbit fur sweater

gives me eczemaand places delicate fur in my cornea

- Ami Vaughn

Sensuous

Anything that affects the senses. “She luxuriated in exquisite feel of

the silk”

Exact

Strictly accurate or correct “314 soldiers died in Iraq, 514 died

in Chicago” – Kanye West

Cultured

Characterized by refined taste and manners and good education.

“…Mr. Smith was sitting reading the paper while drinking his morning tea”

Plain

Clear or distinct to the eye or ear. Not hidden

“The house was made of bricks, red ones to be exact”

Literal

The actual meaning of a word. Aside from all of the metaphorical and figurative meaning.

“She was on fire, the house was burning down”

Colloquial

Anything relative to ordinary or familiar conversation rather than the formal speech of writing.

"If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want

to know the truth."

Artificial

Made by human skills; produced by humans.

“Our love was like no other, produced by merely our hearts”

Detached

When a writer adopts an impartial view of things.

“The vast distance creates an immediate sense of time passing, and ceasing to exist, in one spatial moment.” - Bergens Avisen

Poetic

Possessing qualities or the particular charm similar to Poetry.

“Love is like the sun coming out of the clouds and warming your soul”. -Unknown

Moralistic

A person who teaches and indulges themselves within morality.

“you neglect the progress of a baby step”

Slang

Informal use in vocabulary and idiom that is usually more metaphorical, playful, and vivid than ordinary language.

“ Gold grill shining” – A$AP Rocky

Idiomatic

Characteristic of a particular language or dialect.

"I'll have to start earlier the next time. This time I only finished by the skin of my teeth."

Esoteric

Understood by or meant only for a select few who have special knowledge or interest.

“a body of esoteric legal doctrine — B. N. Cardozo”

Symbolic

Serving as a symbol, meaning it is used for representation of something else.

The Wizard of Oz (L. Frank Baum) TheWicked Witch of the West symbolizes evil.

Moby Dick (Melville) the white whale symbolizes an elusive, unattainable goal.

Simple

Easy to understand, maneuver, deal with. Etc

“Horton hears a who ?” –Dr. Seuss

Figurative

A deviation from what speakers of a language understand as the ordinary or standard use of words in order to achieve some special meaning or effect.

“Death lays his icy hand on kings” -James Shirley

Bombastic

High sounding ; High-flown “Cry 'Havoc', and let slip the dogs of

war, that this foul deed shall smell above the earth with carrion men, groaning for burial”

Abstruse

Hard to understand “Utilizing molecular dynamics

simulations, the hydrogen molecules adsorption isotherms of the (8, 0) palladium decorated single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) were obtained.” –Abstract of Molecular Dynamics

Grotesque

Odd or unnatural in shape, appearance, or character; fantastically ugly or absurd; bizarre.

“Alone in the hissing laboratory of his wishes, Mr Pugh minces among bad vats and jeroboams, tiptoes through spinneys of murdering herbs, agony dancing in his crucibles..” – Corgi Paperback Edition

Vulgar

Indecent ; obscene; lewd “They f*ck you up, your mom and

dad” – Philip Larkin