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About This Quiz
We use the English language every day, but how many of us really know how to use it with the flair of a master wordsmith?
It takes a lot of skill to make your words sing, so we've peppered this quiz with some of the toughest AP vocabulary, plus grammar questions that will make you wish that you had paid attention in the tenth grade. If you think you can string a sentence together seamlessly and know the difference between an adverb and a metaphor, try your hand at this nerdy but super fun English Test Prep Quiz!
We've also included some words that have gone out of style, but we totally hope that they will come back into fashion. By the end of this quiz, you will have been able to add a few new amazing words to your vocabulary arsenal. Break them out at your next party. We promise it will be fun, and you'll get to impress everyone with your staggering and sophisticated understanding of the English language.
If you think you remember AP English and that your vocab and grammar are on point, it's time to show us what you've got. Get ready, English nerds; we're going back to school!
Stagnant
Stagnant water has no flow or current and often develops pond-like symptoms like underwater growth and a muddy appearance. It can also refer to the air in a stuffy, confined space.
Sterile
Cultivated
Anaerobic
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Incognito
Going incognito means that you are being totally anonymous. This spy term has gone far out of the James Bond world to mean anonymity or using VPNs online and is largely used in that context.
Frivolous
Rouge
Amiable
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Spinnet
Languish
Vortex
If you see a vortex of water, it is in your best interest to stay far away from it. Vortexes are tiny whirlpools that can drag you under the water in a lightning-quick blink of an eye.
Chaos
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Benevolence
Charisma
Belligerence
Hostile behavior is also referred to as belligerence. If someone is exhibiting belligerence, we refer to them as being belligerent, hostile or otherwise very unpleasant to be around.
Entropy
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Faux pas
Conundrum
Deja vu
If you have ever felt as if you've experienced something before when you know you haven't, you're enjoying a strange sensation called "deja vu." This feeling is common but hard to explain.
Meta
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There needs to be a comma after "Mary."
"Sarah" should be capitalized.
"Sarah" needs to be capitalized because it is a proper noun. All names of people or places need to be capitalized regardless of whether they occur at the beginning of the sentence or not.
"Movie theater" should be capitalized.
The sentence misuses the word "thoroughly."
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Translucent
Morose
Obscure
We generally use the word "obscure" to refer to something that is not well known, like an obscure band that only you and your friends know about. It can also be used as a synonym for "vague."
Vivid
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Blancmange
Deja vu
Acrid
Faux pas
It happens all the time to even the most well-intentioned people. Faux pas are little social missteps that we make without thinking and wind up apologizing for in order to be forgiven.
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It was far too hot in the house.
I wanted to avoid having strangers come inside.
A storm was coming.
"Tempest" is another word for a strong storm, and if one is coming, you would be wise to shut the windows against it. It can also be used to describe someone with a stormy type of personality.
So I could clean them properly
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He's extremely sad.
He's busy.
He's angry.
"Incensed" is a synonym for "angry". If Aaron is incensed, he is extremely angry and it is best to avoid interacting with him. Like many words for anger, "incensed" references smoke or fire.
He's sleeping.
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Epiphany
Epiphanies are usually what precedes a burst of brilliance; whether it's an idea that will change the world, a realization about one's own life, or a breakthrough to a stubborn problem.
Resonance
Stamina
Ornate
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Indigenous
Cumbersome
Flagrant
Tectonic
Tectonic activity refers to movement in the Earth's crust. Our continents sit on a series of tectonic plates, and when they shift, we get natural events like tsunamis and earthquakes.
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Chasm
Idyllic
If you're looking for a quiet place where a softly falling waterfall is the only sound, you're looking for an idyllic paradise. This word is the perfect term for those quiet, restorative places.
Arduous
Sinewy
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Clandestine
Sophomoric
Cacophony
When you're trapped in a room with a bunch of sounds that are all clashing together, you are stuck inside of a cacophony of clashing sounds. It's all a little headache-inducing, isn't it?
Lustrous
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Empathy
Apathy
Apathy is usually a term that is applied to teenagers who show little or no interest in anything, but it can be used to talk about anyone who is acting disinterested in something.
Arrogance
Candor
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Stoic
Indifferent
Loquacious
When someone is talking seemingly to fill the air with mindless chatter, we consider them to be loquacious. It's almost the opposite of stoic and usually associated with frivolity.
Charlatan
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Bourgeois
Bravado
If you don't actually have courage, but you really wish that you did (or are trying to play as if you did), you are exhibiting bravado. Bravado is a show of fake courage put on for show.
Emulate
Phantasma
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Lynx
Lynxes are a breed of large cats that live on almost every northern continent. They are medium-sized predators that are distinguished by their large, very furry ears and thick coats.
Sphinx
Latex
Leopard
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Utopias
Industrial
Agrarian
The term "agrarian" has "agriculture" built right into it, so it's easy to remember that it refers to societies that live off the land and utilize farming as a main source of food and income.
Progressive
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The activity that the subject is doing
The person/thing affected by the actions of the subject
There are two important parts of a sentence; the subject and the object. The subject is the hero of the sentence, and the object is at the whim of what the subject is doing at the time.
The thoughts of the subject
The tense of the sentence
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Acumen
If you have a high amount of acumen, you are able to make intelligent and informed decisions quickly. People who are shrewd have this quality in bulk and often use it to their advantage.
Philanthropy
Charm
Apathy
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Xenophobia
If you have a fear of foreigners, you have xenophobia. We call people who exhibit these traits xenophobic, or xenophobes. Xeno is the Greek word for "stranger," and phobia is the Greek word for "fear."
Claustrophobia
Arachnophobia
Coulrophobia
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Venerable
Atrophied
Vacuous
If something doesn't have any matter, we refer to it as vacuous. This term is usually used in the scientific community, but it can also be applied to people who are shallow or vain.
Resplendent
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Frantic and scatterbrained
If Alan has a placid demeanor, he is able to stay calm under pressure. People who share this quality tend to do very well and think clearly in situations that are extremely stressful.
Calm and collected
Someone who is cool under pressure
Levelheaded and relaxed
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Chaste
Ambivalent
Churlish
Churlish is a descriptive phrase for someone who has a sour, or a bad disposition. It's not a very popular word in our lexicon, but it did have its heyday a few decades ago and it's time for a comeback!
Sanguine
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Pun
Puns, or play on words, are humor devices that rely on double entendre or similar sounding words to make jokes. They are a popular comedic device for different types of performers.
Simile
Satire
Metaphor
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Capsule
Biome
Biomes are combinations of flora and fauna. They are used to differentiate between certain areas of our world. For example, there are arctic, tundra and taiga biomes, just to name a few.
Indigenous
Permafrost
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Angela is waking up early, she couldn't meet you out at the party.
Angela can't meet you at the party, Angela has to wake up early.
Angela has to wake up early she can't meet you out at the party.
Angela has to wake up early; she can't meet you out at the party.
When you have two independent clauses that could technically stand on their own, you need to use a semicolon to separate them. Alternately, you could separate them into two sentences.
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Hegemony
Hegemonies are groups that have demonstrable power over other groups. It's usually used in the context of how countries relate to each other. Hegemonic countries are "superpowers."
Equilibrium
Malevolence
Sentience
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Sanguine
Sanguine personalities are those who delight in being optimistic and cheerful. These people always see the glass as being half-full and they exude sunshine wherever they tend to go.
Choleric
Astute
Sordid
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Subservience
Nihilism
Nihilism is the practice of rejecting institutions and authority and is often associated with the famous philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. It is commonly associated with anarchy, although the two aren't technically the same.
Cynicism
Pragmatism
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Self starters Brian and Bella like to get work done quickly.
Brian and Bella are self starters who like to get work done quickly.
Bella and Brian like to get work done quickly. Self starters.
Bella and Brian are self-starters who like to get work done quickly.
Terms like "self-starter" require a hyphen. In fact, most terms that start with "self" need a hyphen to be grammatically correct. Similarly, "ex" is almost always followed by a hyphen.
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Apex
Theta
Parabola
We usually think of parabolas as they relate to graphs, but parabolas can be created simply by tossing a ball in the air and watching it come down in a curve. How do you like that math?
Momentum
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Oligarchy
An oligarchy is a political system where the government and laws are controlled by a few powerful people, instead of many people, which is how things are supposed to work in a democracy.
Despotic
Monarchy
Parliament
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