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61 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
Alliteration
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The purposeful repetition of initial consonant sounds. (e.g. "Let us go forth to lead the land we love." J.F. Kennedy, Inaugural; "Veni, vidi, vici." Julius Caesar)
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Allusion
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A reference to a well known person, place, event, literary work, or work of art. (Allusions sometimes refer to Biblical or mythological people, places, etc.)
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Ambivalent
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simultaneous and contradictory attitudes or feelings (as attraction and repulsion) toward an object, person, or action
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Anecdote
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A short, often autobiographical, narrative told to achieve a purpose such as to provide an example, an illustration, or a thematic truth.
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Aphorism
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A statement of some general principle, expressed memorably by condensing much wisdom into few words. ("Without pain there is no gain" Benjamin Franklin)
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Aside
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Away from one's thought or consideration, away from others or into privacy
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Chiasmus
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Parralle structure in inverted/mirror form -- Two corresponding pairs arranged not in parallels (a-b-a-b) but in inverted order (a-b-b-a).
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Colloquial/Colloquialism
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An expression used in informal conversation but not accepted universally in formal speech or writing. A colloquialism lies between the upper level of dignified, formal, academic, or "literary" language, and the lower level of slang.
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Conceit
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An elaborate, complex metaphor or simile comparing two extremely dissimilar things
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Cursory
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Rapidly and often superficially performed. Hastily.
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Cynical
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1. Believing or showing the belief that people are motivated chiefly by base or selfish concerns; skeptical of the motives of others. 2. Selfishly or callously calculating . 3. Negative or pessimistic, as from world-weariness . 4. Expressing jaded or scornful skepticism or negativity
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Decorous
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characterized by propriety and dignity and good taste in manners and conduct; "the tete-a-tete was decorous in the extreme"
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Delusion
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psychology) an erroneous belief that is held in the face of evidence to the contrary
a mistaken or unfounded opinion or idea; "he has delusions of competence"; "his dreams of vast wealth are a hallucination" the act of deluding; deception by creating illusory ideas |
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Derision/Derisive
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contemptuous laughter
the act of deriding or treating with contempt |
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Diction
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Word choice. To discuss a writer's diction is to consider the vocabulary used, appropriateness of the words, and the vividness of the language.
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Didactic
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instructive (especially excessively)
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Digression
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a message that departs from the main subject
diversion: a turning aside (of your course or attention or concern); "a diversion from the main highway"; "a digression into irrelevant details"; "a deflection from his goal" wandering from the main path of a journey |
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Disparagingly
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derogative: expressive of low opinion; "derogatory comments"; "disparaging remarks about the new house"
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Duplicitous
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ambidextrous: marked by deliberate deceptiveness especially by pretending one set of feelings and acting under the influence of another; "she was a deceitful scheming little thing"- Israel Zangwill; "a double-dealing double agent"; "a double-faced infernal traitor and schemer"- W.M.Thackeray
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Epiphany
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"Epiphany in fiction, when a character suddenly experiences a deep realization about himself or herself; a truth which is grasped in an ordinary rather than a melodramatic moment." (Meyer).
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Euphemism
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A device where being indirect replaces directness to avoid embarrassment or unpleasantness
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Exorbitant
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greatly exceeding bounds of reason or moderation; "exorbitant rent"; "extortionate prices"; "spends an outrageous amount on entertainment"; "usurious interest rate"; "unconscionable spending"
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Foreshadowing
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The use in a literary work of clues that suggest events that have yet to occur
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Hyperbole
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A deliberate exaggeration or overstatement
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Incredulous
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not disposed or willing to believe; unbelieving
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Indignant
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angered at something unjust or wrong; "an indignant denial"; "incensed at the judges' unfairness"; "a look of outraged disbelief"; "umbrageous at the loss of their territory"
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Irony
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The name given to literary techniques that involve differences between appearance and reality, expectation and result, or meaning and intention.
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Jocular
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In a joking manner
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Judicious
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marked by the exercise of good judgment or common sense in practical matters; "judicious use of one's money"; "a wise decision"
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Lacerating
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Cutting
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Litotes
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A form of understatment in which a thing is affirmed by stating the negative of it's opposite (e.g. "Not bad")
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Magnanimous
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greathearted: noble and generous in spirit; "a greathearted general"; "a magnanimous conqueror"
big: generous and understanding and tolerant; "a heart big enough to hold no grudges"; "that's very big of you to be so forgiving"; "a large and generous spirit"; "a large heart"; "magnanimous toward his enemies" |
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Metaphor
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A figure of speech in which one thing is spoken of as though it were something else.
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Metonymy
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A figure of speech in which the name of one object is substituted for something closely related to it
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Mien
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a person's manner or appearance, as in: She was a woman of dignified mien.
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Nonplussed
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at a loss(p): filled with bewilderment; "at a loss to understand those remarks"; "puzzled that she left without saying goodbye"
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Ostentatious
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intended to attract notice and impress others; "an ostentatious sable coat"
of a display that is tawdry or vulgar |
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Oxymoron
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A two-word figure of speech that combines two opposing or contradictory ideas
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Parable
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fable: a short moral story (often with animal characters)
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Paradox
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An assertion seeminly opposed to common sense, but that may yet have some truth in it.
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Parallelism
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The repetition of a grammatical structure
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Pathetic fallacy
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The excessive attritution of human feelings to nature. Usually the pathetic fallacy gives a sense of overdone emotionalism.
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Patronizing
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arch: (used of behavior or attitude) characteristic of those who treat others with condescension
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Pedestrian
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Ordinary
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Personification
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A type of figurative language in which a nonhuman subject is given human characteristics
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Platitude
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a trite or obvious remark
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Polysyndeton
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The repetition of conjuctions in a series of coordinate words, phrases or clauses.
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Posturing
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Posing
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Pragmatic
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matter-of-fact: concerned with practical matters; "a matter-of-fact (or pragmatic) approach to the problem"; "a matter-of-fact account of the trip"
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Pretentious
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making claim to or creating an appearance of (often undeserved) importance or distinction; "a pretentious country house"; "a pretentious fraud"; "a pretentious scholarly edition"
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Proprietary
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proprietorship: an unincorporated business owned by a single person who is responsible for its liabilities and entitled to its profits
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Rhetorical question
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A question used for persuasion, to which the answer is obvious and usually only one answer is possible. A rhetorical question is not intended to induce a reply
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Sardonic
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Scornfully or cynically mocking
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Sensory details
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Appeals to more than one of the senses
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Simile
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A figure of speech in which like, as, or than is used to make a comparison between two basically unlike subjects.
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Syllogism
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A form of deductive reasoning consisting of a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion
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Symbol
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An object that has its own meaning, but also represents an abstract idea.
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Synecdoche
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A form of metaphor in which a part of something isused to stand for the whole thing.
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Understatement
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Saying less than is actually meant, generally in an ironic way.
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Wistful
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pensive: showing pensive sadness; "the sensitive and wistful response of a poet to the gentler phases of beauty"
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Wry
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dry: humorously sarcastic or mocking; "dry humor"; "an ironic remark often conveys an intended meaning obliquely"; "an ironic novel"; "an ironical smile"; "with a wry Scottish wit"
bent to one side; "a wry neck" |