AP Literature & Composition, Multiple Choice Exam Words

H. S. (United States of America)
These are words that proved to be difficult on the AP Multiple Choice practice test.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. deride
    treat or speak of with contempt
    In the poem the speaker predominantly dreides a couple's inveterate sloth.
  2. inveterate
    habitual
    In the poem the speaker predominantly derides a couple's inveterate sloth.
  3. denigrate
    attack the good name and reputation of someone
    In the poem the speaker predominantly denigrates a couple's fiscal management.
  4. altruistic
    showing unselfish concern for the welfare of others
    The word altruistic does not accurately describe Jack's and Joan's existence.
  5. enervate
    weaken physically, mentally, or morally
    As stated in the poem, the couple's enervation ultimately did not affect their potential for salvation.
  6. parsimonious
    excessively unwilling to spend
    The parsimonious nature of Jack and Joan is most scathingly evidenced by the nature of their donation to the poor.
  7. avarice
    reprehensible acquisitiveness; insatiable desire for wealth
    The speaker sardonically implies that Jack and Joan "claimed their Sunday's due, / Of slumbering in an upper pew" in order to make amends for their avarice.
  8. vacuous
    devoid of matter
    The elliptical nature of the line, "They led -- a kind of -- as it were," endeavors to convey the speaker's accurate perception of the couple's vacuity.
  9. abet
    assist or encourage, usually in some wrongdoing
    The poet most abets the universality of his poem by his choice of names.
  10. paean
    a hymn of praise
    The following is an inaccurate oservation about the poem: It is a paean to a particular social class.
Created on Thu Feb 07 18:16:49 EST 2013 (updated Thu Feb 07 18:33:30 EST 2013)

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