SAT Literature

Faheem A.
242 words 612 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. allegory
    a short moral story
  2. alliteration
    use of the same consonant at the beginning of each word
  3. allusion
    passing reference or indirect mention
  4. anachronism
    locating something at a time when it couldn't have existed
  5. anaclisis
    relationship marked by strong dependence on others
  6. anadiplosis
    repetition of the final words of a sentence or line at the beginning of the next
  7. analogy
    drawing a comparison in order to show a similarity
  8. anaphora
    repetition of a word or phrase to begin successive clauses
  9. anastrophe
    the reversal of the normal order of words
  10. anecdote
    short account of an incident
  11. antagonist
    someone who offers opposition
  12. anthropomorphism
    the representation of objects as having human form
  13. antithesis
    the juxtaposition of contrasting words or ideas for balance
  14. antonym
    a word that expresses an opposite meaning
  15. apogee
    the farthest point in an orbit around the Earth
  16. aposiopesis
    breaking off in the middle of a sentence
  17. apostrophe
    an address to an absent or imaginary person
  18. aside
    on or to one side
  19. assonance
    the repetition of similar vowels in successive words
  20. asyndeton
    omission of conjunctions where they would normally be used
  21. auditory
    of or relating to the process of hearing
  22. ballad
    a narrative poem of popular origin
  23. bard
    a lyric poet
  24. bathos
    a change from a serious subject to a disappointing one
  25. beholden
    under a moral obligation to someone
  26. blank verse
    unrhymed poetry, usually in iambic pentameter
  27. bombast
    pompous or pretentious talk or writing
  28. canticle
    a hymn derived from the Bible
  29. carter
    someone whose work is driving carts
  30. catachresis
    strained or paradoxical use of words either in error (as `blatant' to mean `flagrant') or deliberately (as in a mixed metaphor: `blind mouths')
  31. catechism
    an elementary book summarizing the principles of a religion
  32. catharsis
    purging the body to stimulate evacuation of the bowels
  33. chiasmus
    inversion in the second of two parallel phrases
  34. chicanery
    the use of tricks to deceive someone
  35. collocation
    the act of positioning close together (or side by side)
  36. colloquialism
    an expression that seeks to imitate informal speech
  37. confound
    be confusing or perplexing to
  38. consonance
    a harmonious state of things and of their properties
  39. couplet
    a stanza consisting of two successive lines of verse
  40. cryptic
    having a secret or hidden meaning
  41. curtal
    (obsolete) cut short
    It's also a mini version of a sonnet.
  42. deixis
    the function of pointing or specifying from the perspective of a participant in an act of speech or writing; aspects of a communication whose interpretation depends on knowledge of the context in which the communication occurs
  43. demotic
    of or for the common people
  44. Demotic script
    a simplified cursive form of the ancient hieratic script
  45. denouement
    the outcome of a complex sequence of events
  46. derogatory
    expressive of low opinion
  47. dialogue
    a conversation between two persons
    Internal dialogue expressed through soliloquays & asides
    External dialogue
    Expressions of public versus private persona
  48. diction
    the manner in which something is expressed in words
  49. didactic
    instructive, especially excessively
  50. dissemble
    behave unnaturally or affectedly
  51. dolour
    (poetry) painful grief
  52. drama
    a work intended for performance by actors on a stage
  53. dramatic irony
    when the audience understands something the characters don't
  54. dug
    an udder or breast or teat
  55. elegy
    a mournful poem; a lament for the dead
  56. ellipsis
    a mark indicating that words have been omitted
  57. emblem
    special design representing a quality, type, or group
  58. end-stopped
    (verse) having a rhetorical pause at the end of each line
  59. enjambment
    continuation from one line of verse into the next line
  60. enmity
    a state of deep-seated ill-will
  61. epic poetry
    a literary work celebrating the deeds of some hero
  62. epigram
    a witty saying
  63. epiphany
    a usually sudden insight, perception, or understanding of something
  64. epistolary
    written in the form of letters or correspondence
  65. epistrophe
    repetition of the ends of successive sentences, verses, etc.
  66. epitaph
    an inscription in memory of a buried person
  67. epitome
    a standard or typical example
  68. epoch
    a period marked by distinctive character
  69. equanimity
    steadiness of mind under stress
  70. ethos
    the distinctive spirit of a culture or an era
  71. eulogy
    a formal expression of praise for someone who has died
  72. euphemism
    an inoffensive expression substituted for an offensive one
  73. explicit
    precisely and clearly expressed or readily observable
  74. fable
    a short moral story
  75. fief
    a piece of land held under the feudal system
  76. figurative
    not literal
  77. flout
    treat with contemptuous disregard
  78. foreshadow
    indicate by signs
  79. forsake
    leave someone who needs or counts on you; leave in the lurch
  80. free verse
    poetry that does not rhyme or have a regular meter
  81. frisson
    an almost pleasurable sensation of fright
  82. guile
    shrewdness as demonstrated by being skilled in deception
  83. hearse
    a vehicle for carrying a coffin to a church or a cemetery
  84. heroic couplet
    a couplet consisting of two rhymed lines of iambic pentameter and written in an elevated style
  85. homonym
    a word pronounced or spelled the same with another meaning
  86. humility
    a lack of arrogance or false pride
  87. hymn
    a song of praise, especially a religious song
  88. hyperbaton
    reversal of normal word order
  89. hyperbole
    extravagant exaggeration
  90. hypozeuxis
    use of a series of parallel clauses
  91. iambic
    of metrical units having an unstressed/stressed pattern
  92. imagery
    the ability to form mental pictures of things or events
  93. implicit
    suggested though not directly expressed
  94. importune
    beg persistently and urgently
  95. incensed
    angered at something unjust or wrong
  96. inversion
    the act of turning inside out
  97. invidious
    containing or implying a slight or showing prejudice
  98. irony
    incongruity between what might be expected and what occurs
  99. kinesthetic
    of or relating to kinesthesis
  100. lamentation
    the passionate activity of expressing grief
  101. liege
    a feudal lord entitled to allegiance and service
  102. listing
    the act of making an ordered array of items
  103. litotes
    understatement for rhetorical effect
  104. Logos
    the divine word of God; the second person in the Trinity
    Appeal to logic.
  105. lyricism
    the property of being suitable for singing
  106. malapropism
    misuse of a word by confusion with one that sounds similar
  107. malignant
    dangerous to health
  108. meiosis
    understatement for rhetorical effect
  109. meme
    an amusing image that spreads rapidly through social media
  110. metaphor
    a figure of speech that suggests a non-literal similarity
  111. metonymy
    substituting the name of a feature for the name of the thing
  112. mimicry
    imitative behavior
  113. moiety
    one of two approximately equal parts
  114. motif
    a recurrent element in a literary or artistic work
  115. nadir
    the lowest point of anything
  116. narrative
    an account that tells the particulars of an act or event
  117. neologism
    a newly invented word or phrase
  118. ode
    a lyric poem with complex stanza forms
  119. olfactory
    of or relating to the sense of smell
  120. omniscient
    knowing, seeing, or understanding everything
  121. onomatopoeia
    using words that imitate the sound they denote
  122. otiose
    serving no useful purpose; having no excuse for being
  123. oxymoron
    conjoined contradictory terms
  124. paean
    a hymn of praise
  125. parable
    a short moral story
  126. paradox
    a statement that contradicts itself
  127. paradoxical sleep
    a recurring sleep state during which dreaming occurs
  128. paragon
    a perfect embodiment of a concept
  129. parallelism
    similarity by virtue of corresponding
    "I don't want your pity. I don't want your money. I don't want your car. I only want your love.
    In literary terms it means: the repetition of sounds, meanings, or structures to create a certain style.
  130. parallelism
    similarity by virtue of corresponding
    This term indicates that 2 or moe itesm have a similar construction or treatment in a literary work - grammatical & thematic, for example..
  131. parody
    a composition that imitates or misrepresents a style
  132. paronomasia
    a humorous play on words
  133. pastoral
    devoted to raising sheep or cattle
  134. pathos
    a quality that arouses emotions, especially pity or sorrow
  135. pejorative
    expressing disapproval
  136. persnickety
    characterized by excessive attention to trivial details
  137. personification
    attributing human characteristics to abstract ideas
  138. ploce
    repetition to gain special emphasis or extend meaning
  139. poetry
    literature in metrical form
  140. polyptoton
    repetition of a word in a different case or inflection in the same sentence
  141. polysyndeton
    using several conjunctions in close succession, especially where some might be omitted (as in `he ran and jumped and laughed for joy')
  142. portmanteau word
    a new word formed by joining two others and combining their meanings
  143. preface
    a short introductory essay preceding the text of a book
  144. premonitory
    warning of future misfortune
  145. prologue
    an introductory section of a novel or other literary work
  146. prose
    ordinary writing as distinguished from verse
  147. prosody
    the study of poetic meter and the art of versification
  148. protagonist
    the principal character in a work of fiction
  149. pun
    a humorous play on words
  150. purge
    rid of impurities
  151. rancour
    a feeling of deep and bitter anger and ill-will
  152. redeemer
    someone who redeems or buys back
  153. refrain
    resist doing something
  154. repetition
    the continued use of the same word or word pattern
  155. requiem
    a song or hymn of mourning as a memorial to a dead person
  156. sardonic
    disdainfully or ironically humorous
  157. satire
    witty language used to convey insults or scorn
  158. simile
    a figure of speech expressing a resemblance between things
  159. soliloquy
    speech you make to yourself
  160. sonnet
    a verse form of 14 lines with a fixed rhyme scheme
  161. sophistry
    a deliberately invalid argument in the hope of deceiving
  162. specious argument
    an argument that appears good at first view but is really fallacious
  163. speech rhythm
    the arrangement of spoken words alternating stressed and unstressed elements
  164. sprung rhythm
    a poetic rhythm that imitates the rhythm of speech
  165. stanza
    a fixed number of lines of verse forming a unit of a poem
  166. surrealism
    an artistic movement using fantastic and incongruous images
  167. symbolism
    the practice of investing things with arbitrary meaning
  168. symploce
    repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning and another at the end of successive clauses, i.e., simultaneous use of anaphora and epistrophe
  169. synaesthesia
    a sensation that normally occurs in one sense modality occurs when another modality is stimulated
  170. synecdoche
    using part of something to refer to the whole thing
  171. synesthetic metaphor
    a metaphor that exploits a similarity between experiences in different sense modalities
  172. synonym
    a word that expresses the same or similar meaning
  173. syntax
    the study of the rules for forming admissible sentences
  174. tactile
    of or relating to or proceeding from the sense of touch
  175. tautology
    useless repetition
  176. theme
    the subject matter of a conversation or discussion
  177. tone
    the distinctive property of a complex sound
  178. topos
    a traditional theme or motif or literary convention
  179. totem
    emblem consisting of an object such as an animal or plant
  180. trope
    language used in a nonliteral sense
  181. unwittingly
    without knowledge or intention
  182. vassal
    a person who owes allegiance and service to a feudal lord
  183. verisimilitude
    the appearance of truth; the quality of seeming to be true
  184. versification
    the art or practice of writing literature in metrical form
  185. visual
    relating to or using sight
  186. wretched
    deserving or inciting pity
  187. zeal
    a feeling of strong eagerness
  188. zeugma
    rhetorical use of a word to govern two or more words
  189. terza rima
    a verse form with tercets having an interlaced rhyme scheme
  190. heroic couplet
    a couplet consisting of two rhymed lines of iambic pentameter and written in an elevated style
  191. apostrophe
    an address to an absent or imaginary person
  192. assonance
    the repetition of similar vowels in successive words
  193. consonance
    a harmonious state of things and of their properties
  194. onomatopoeia
    using words that imitate the sound they denote
  195. novelette
    a short novel
  196. novella
    a short novel
  197. epic poem
    a long narrative poem telling of a hero's deeds
  198. foible
    a minor weakness or peculiarity in someone's character
  199. mock-heroic
    a satirical imitation of heroic verse
  200. verisimilitude
    the appearance of truth; the quality of seeming to be true
  201. third person
    pronouns referring to people besides the speaker or listener
  202. first person
    pronouns and verbs used to refer to the speaker
  203. second person
    pronouns and verbs that refer to the person being addressed
  204. omniscient
    knowing, seeing, or understanding everything
  205. omnipresent
    existing everywhere at once
  206. fable
    a short moral story
  207. bestial
    resembling an animal, especially by being vicious or cruel
  208. apposition
    a relation between a word and a noun phrase that follows
  209. anaphora
    repetition of a word or phrase to begin successive clauses
  210. tactile
    of or relating to or proceeding from the sense of touch
  211. auditory
    of or relating to the process of hearing
  212. visual
    relating to or using sight
  213. olfactory
    of or relating to the sense of smell
  214. epithalamium
    an ode in honor of a wedding
  215. anapest
    two unstressed syllables followed by one stressed syllable
  216. neologism
    a newly invented word or phrase
  217. heath
    a low evergreen shrub of the family Ericaceae
  218. fern
    a flowerless, seedless plant with fronds that uncurl upward
  219. portend
    indicate by signs
  220. conceit
    an elaborate poetic image comparing very dissimilar things
  221. unrequited
    not returned in kind
  222. epithet
    descriptive word or phrase
  223. dystopia
    state in which the conditions of life are extremely bad
  224. utopia
    ideally perfect state
  225. leitmotif
    a recurring melody in a piece of music
  226. moral
    concerned with principles of right and wrong
  227. motif
    a recurrent element in a literary or artistic work
  228. semiotics
    a philosophical theory of the functions of signs and symbols
  229. fable
    a short moral story
  230. burlesque
    a theatrical entertainment of broad and earthy humor
  231. trope
    language used in a nonliteral sense
  232. tanka
    a Japanese verse form of 5 lines with 5 or 7 syllables
  233. haiku
    an epigrammatic Japanese verse form of three short lines
  234. ode
    a lyric poem with complex stanza forms
  235. strophe
    one section of a lyric poem or choral ode
  236. anastrophe
    the reversal of the normal order of words
  237. acrostic
    verse in which the first letter in each line forms a message
  238. anachronistic
    chronologically misplaced
  239. apothegm
    a short pithy instructive saying
  240. autotelism
    belief that a work of art is an end in itself or its own justification
  241. avant-garde
    radically new or original
  242. baroque
    relating to an elaborately ornamented style of art and music
Created on Mon Oct 07 10:44:55 EDT 2013 (updated Fri Nov 29 07:05:02 EST 2013)

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