Ap English Cumulative Vocab Test Chapters 1-3

Front 1

caterwaul

Back 1

to howl or screech like a cat; to quarrel; a harsh or noisy cry; a racket

Front 2

fait accompli

Back 2

an accomplished and presumably irreversible deed, fact, or action

Front 3

mirage

Back 3

something illusory, without substance or without a basis in reality; an illusion

Front 4

adjunct

Back 4

something added to something else as helpful or useful but not essential; an assistant or helper; a valuable quality or characteristic; added or connected in a subordinate capacity; attached to a faculty or staff in an auxiliary capacity

Front 5

hierarchy

Back 5

any system of things or people arranged or graded one above another in order of rank, wealth, class, etc.

Front 6

bellwether

Back 6

the male sheep that leads the flock to the slaughterhouse; a leader, as in a desperate or violent undertaking; an indicator of trends

Front 7

liturgy

Back 7

a religious service or rite; the form of a ritual or other act of public worship

Front 8

hidebound

Back 8

narrow-minded and rigid, especially in opinions or prejudices; stubbornly and unthinkingly conservative

Front 9

effete

Back 9

lacking in wholesome vigor or energy; worn-out or exhausted; sterile or unable to produce; out-of-date

Front 10

chimerical

Back 10

absurd; wildly fantastic; impossible

Front 11

supine

Back 11

lying flat on one's back; listless or lethargic; apathetic or passive

Front 12

morass

Back 12

a patch of low, soft, wet ground; a swamp; a confusing situation in which one is entrapped, as in quicksand

Front 13

vignette

Back 13

a short description or sketch; a picture or illustration with edges that gradually shade off; a decorative design on the title page of a book or at the beginning or end of a chapter

Front 14

proselyte

Back 14

a convert, disciple

Front 15

noisome

Back 15

offensive or disgusting; foul-smelling; harmful or injurious

Front 16

ribald

Back 16

irreverently mocking; coarse, vulgar, or indecent in language

Front 17

oblivious

Back 17

forgetful; unaware

Front 18

raillery

Back 18

good-humored ridicule; teasing

Front 19

poltroon

Back 19

a base coward

Front 20

quasi

Back 20

resembling but not actually being; seemingly but not actually or completely; partly, somewhat, or to some degree

Front 21

cozen

Back 21

to trick; to cheat or swindle

Front 22

macrocosm

Back 22

the universe considered as a whole; the entire complex structure of something

Front 23

ancillary

Back 23

subordinate or supplementary

Front 24

interstice

Back 24

a small, narrow space between things or parts of things

Front 25

bowdlerize

Back 25

to remove material considered offensive (from a book, play, film, etc.)

Front 26

icon

Back 26

a representation or image of a sacred personage often considered sacred itself, an image or picture, a symbol; a graphic symbol on a computer monitor display; an object of blind devotion

Front 27

enclave

Back 27

an enclosed district, region, or area inhabited by a particular group of people or having a special character

Front 28

forte

Back 28

a person's strong piont, what a person does best

Front 29

condescend

Back 29

to come down or stoop voluntarily to a lower level, to deal with people in a patronizing manner

Front 30

gratis

Back 30

free; without charge

Front 31

rapacity

Back 31

inordinate greed; the disposition to obtain one's desires by force; extortion or plunder

Front 32

virtuoso

Back 32

a brilliant performer; a person with masterly skill or technique; masterly or brilliant

Front 33

mountebank

Back 33

a trickster or swindler; a charlatan

Front 34

paean

Back 34

a song of praise, joy, or triumph

Front 35

therapeutic

Back 35

having the power to heal or cure; beneficial

Front 36

pragmatic

Back 36

concerned with practical considerations or values; dealing with actions and results rather than with abstract theory

Front 37

plethora

Back 37

overfullness, superabundance; superfluity

Front 38

persiflage

Back 38

lighthearted joking, talk, or writing

Front 39

schism

Back 39

a formal split within a religious organization; any division or separation of a group or organization into hostile factions

Front 40

quizzical

Back 40

puzzled; mocking, odd, equivocal

Front 41

lachrymose

Back 41

given to tears or weeping; causing to shed tears; mournful; lugubrious

Front 42

bibulous

Back 42

fond of or inclined to drink; absorbent

Front 43

aegis

Back 43

protection; patronage; sponsorship

Front 44

melee

Back 44

a confused struggle; a violent free-for-all

Front 45

claque

Back 45

a group of people hired to applaud a performer or performance; enthusiastic or lawning admirers

Front 46

indigenous

Back 46

originating in the country or region where found; native; inborn; inherent

Front 47

deracinate

Back 47

to pull up by the roots; to root out, uproot, or dislocate; to eliminate all traces of

Front 48

eleemosynary

Back 48

charitable; dependent upon or supported by charity; derived from or provided by charity

Front 49

apprise

Back 49

to inform of; to make aware of by giving oral or written notice

Front 50

lexicon

Back 50

a dictionary of a language; the special vocabulary of a person, group, or subject; a compendium