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abridge |
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v. to make shorter, smaller or to condense. |
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abstract
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1. adj. an abstract sentence makes general statements about things or people; 2. n. a brief report of an article, a record, etc.
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act
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n. a major division of the action of a play. Modern plays are divided into three acts.
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allege |
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v. to declare or assert positively usually without proof.
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alliteration |
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n. the repetition of the same consonant sound in
closely positioned words, as in "Sing a song of sixpence." |
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allusion
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n. an allusion is a brief reference to a well-known person, place or event; some other allusions are to a verse from the Bible or a line from Shakespeare. For instance, St. Ambrose said, "When in Rome, live as the Romans do; when elsewhere, live as they live elsewhere." [Advice to St. Augustine, quoted by Jeremy Taylor]
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to mention without going into any detail; refer to indirectly in a general way.
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a posteriori
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inductively; a conclusion from experiences or observations.
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a priori
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Latin: deductively, from general rule to specific instance; presumptive.
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antagonist
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n. a person who opposes, fights, or competes with another; opponent; rival.
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antagonistic
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adj. actively in opposition to.
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archaic
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adj. ancient or old-fashioned, and banished from the vocabulary of common speech. For example, "Thou art" is an archaic form or "you are."
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article
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1. n. a section, a contract, a law, etc.; 2. a formal writing which is impersonal, as in a newspaper or magazine.
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assert
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v. to say in a clear, sure way; to state in a positive manner.
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autobiography
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n. the life story of someone written by the subject himself
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atmosphere
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n. the general feeling or mood of a place; a thing or literary work, whether happy or disastrous.
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background |
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n. 1. the distant part of a scene or landscape; 2. the surrounding area; 3. a person's training and experience; 4. music or sound effects used as accompaniment to dialogue or action. |
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bibliography |
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n., pl. -phies a list of writings compiled upon some common principle, as authorship or subject, publishing house, place and year of publication. |
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biography
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n. the story of a person’s life written by another person.
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body |
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n. The main or central part of the book report. This middle section consists of three or more developmental paragraphs. Each paragraph has a topic sentence which supports the thesis statement of the report. |
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book report |
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an essay which gives a brief summary of a book and a reaction to it. |
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card
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a bibliography card (3" x 5") is used for writing the name of the author, the title, and facts of publication;
a note card should contain a single note with a heading keyed to a significant word in the outline and should include the source and page of reference. |
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character
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1. n. what a person does, feels and thinks and by which he is judged as good or bad; 2. n. a person in a story, a novel or a play. 3. things that a person does
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chronological order
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an arrangement in the order in which things occur from past to present or from present to past. |
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circumlocution
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n. a long way of saying something; talking all around a subject without coming to the point.
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citation
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n. a mentioning or quoting of something written in a book, article, etc.; also the piece of writing mentioned in support or proof. |
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cliché
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French: n. an expression which has been used so often that it is felt to be trite and tedious. For example, "As old as the hills," is a cliché.
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climax
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n. the highest point of interest or excitement in a play, a novel or a movie.
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clincher
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a decisive argument or idea; often used as a conclusion for paragraphs, book reports and short papers. |
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colloquial
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adj. containing the words and phrases that are used only in everyday talk; related to ordinary, conversational language usage.
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comedy
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n. a play or movie in which the characters interest and amuse us by their humour or wit and in which the action turns out well.
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conclusion
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a last statement which sums up or links together the main ideas of a composition. It may repeat the topic or thesis and may include an appropriate clincher. |
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concordance
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n. an alphebetical index indicating reference passages, as from a writer's work.
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concrete
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adj. real or specific; not imaginary or general; opposite of archaic.
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decipher
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v. to translate from secret writing or code into
ordinary language; to decode, as a message.
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deduce
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v. to figure out by reasoning from known facts
or general principles; to conclude from specific information; to infer.
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deductive
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adj. related to reasoning that begins with a known premise and works to a conclusion.
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dénouement
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French: a conclusion, outcome, or final solution.
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development |
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explanation by which a subject can be supported. This can be done by analogy, cause and effect, classification, comparison and contrast, definition, description, narration, opinion, persuasion, and process analysis. |
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detail |
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a small element or item used to support a main idea.
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dialog
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(American English) or dialogue (British English) n. a conversation between two or more parties; the parts of a novel that are conversation.
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diary
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1. n. a day-to-day record of the events in a person’s life by the writer; 2. n. a book for keeping such an account.
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diction
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n. the selection of words, the "vocabulary" used in a work of literature.
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dictum
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Latin: n. an authoritative saying or maxim.
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digest
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n. a short account or report of a longer story, article, etc., as a digest of critical opinion.; a summary.
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digress
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v. to wander from the subject that one has been writing about; to ramble off the point.
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disclosure
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n. a disclosing, an exposure, revelation, or explanation.
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drama
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1. n. a story written to be archaiced out, as on the stage of a theatre; a play; 2. a series of interesting or exciting events.
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epic
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n. a long narrative poem on a serious subject centred about a heroic figure on whose archaicions depends to some degree the fate of a nation or a race. "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey" by Homer are considered as folk epics.
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episode
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n. any happening or incident that forms a part of a whole story, life, history, etc.
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episodic
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adj. characterized by incidental details and vaguely related incidents.
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essay
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(es'a) n. a short literary composition on a particular theme or subject; any rather brief, loosely organized piece of prose writing, personal and informal in style, which undertakes to inform, persuade, or entertain its reader. Thus, the essay admits a wide variety of subject, purpose, tone, and style.
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extract
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(iks trakt/') n. a text or passage taken from a book or writing; a quotation; an excerpt. |
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fiction
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(fik‚shƒn) n. 1. a piece of writing about imaginary people and happenings 2. the class of literature comprising works of imaginative narration, especially in prose form. 3. works of this class such as novels, poems, plays, short stories, etc. 4. something invented or imagined, especially a made-up story. |
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figurative language
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Figurative language gives a meaning that goes beyond the exact meaning of the words used in order to achieve a special effect. In "screaming headlines," the word "screaming" is figurative in use.
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figure of speech
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A figure of speech is a form of speech in which words are used out of their usual meaning to form a picture in the mind. The figures of speech are the simile (comparison), metaphor, synecdoche, metonymy, personification, hyperbole ...
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folio
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n. a term used to describe the type of leaf used in the physical make-up of a book.
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foot
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n. one of the parts into which a line of poetry is divided by the rhythm; a foot is the combination of stressed and unstressed syllables creating the recurrent rhythmic unit of a line. For example, "Jack / and Jill / went up / the Hill" contains four feet.
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footnote
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n. an explanatory note, comment, or reference at the bottom of a page. |
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format
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the layout of a paper or its general arrangement. |
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genre
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French: n. a literary "form" such as tragedy, comedy, epic, pastoral, lyric, novel, essay and biography.
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glossary
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n., pl. -ries a list of difficult or specialized terms with accompanying definitions. |
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hero
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n. the most important man in the story of a novel, play, etc., especially if he is good or noble.
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homonym
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n. a word with the same pronunciation, but with a different spelling and meaning. "Bore" and "boar" are homonyms.
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humour
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1. n. a comic quality causing amusement; 2. n. the ability to say something funny or amusing; 3. n. a mood.
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hyperbole
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n. a hyperbole is an overstatement or an excess; an exageration of the literal facts; a way of writing to make something seem greater or better than it is. It is hyperpole to say "John is as strong as an ox."
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hypothesis
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(hð poth‚ƒ sis, hi-) n., pl. -ses (-sŽz) a provisional theory or assumption set forth to explain some class of phenomena. |
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imagery
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1. n. an image is a word or expression that speaks directly to one or more of the senses; imagery also refers to descriptive passages in literature; 2. n. pictures in words, especially similes and metaphors. For instance, a visual image is given in the following description of the Seine in Paris: "The river was brown and green -olive-green under the bridges- and a rainbow-coloured scum floated at the sides." [Jean Rhys]
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intrigue
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n. the plot or plan in a secret or sneaky way; scheme.
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introduction
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the first part of a paragraph or paper announcing the subject. The introduction sets the tone and mood and prepares the reader for what is expected. |
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irony
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n. a way of being amusing or sarcastic by saying exarchaicly the opposite of what one means.
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lampoon
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n. a piece of writing that attacks someone by making fun of him.
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legend
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n. a story handed down through the years and connected with real events, but often exagerated by the folk. The legends of a nation deal with important events in the early life of this nation.
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leitmotif
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or "leitmotiv"; German: n. leading motive in music or literature; a basic underlying, recurrent theme.
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literal
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adj. literal language is simple, plain, and direct; it employs words in their conventional meaning. Literal comes for the Latin litera, "letter"; what is literal is according to the letter.
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localism
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n. a word, an expression, or a custom which is typical of a specific region.
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loquacious
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adj. talking very much; too talkative. ;nbsp;
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lyric
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1. n. a song accompanied by a lyre in ancient Greece; 2. n. any short poem such as an elegy, an ode or a sonnet, expressing a state of mind involving thought and feeling; 3. lyrics, pl. the words of a song.
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melodrama
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n. a play in which there are so much violence, feelings and exaggerations that it does not seem to be true.
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memorabilia
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n. a collection of all sorts of (objects) information as from the past.
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metaphor
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n. a mataphor is a comparison in which a word which ordinarily means one thing is applied to another. It compares things implicitly. For example, "The curtain of night," is a metaphor that likens "night" to a "curtain" that conceals.
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metonymy
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n. a word used as a substitute for another associated with or suggested by it. For example, "Parliament has decided" instead of the Prime Minister has decided.
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metre
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n. rhythm in poetry; regular arrangement of accents or stresses in a line of poetry. First is the word accent (ak'sent) in which the first syllable is stressed, the second unstressed. Second, there is the rhetorical accent or importance we give a word because of its function and importance in a sentence. Finally, there is the metrical accent determined by the pattern of stresses found earlier in the metrical line or passage. For example, in Keats’s Endymion:
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x |
/ x |
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x |
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x / x |
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thing |
of |
beauty |
is |
a |
joy |
forever |
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milieu
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French: n. a general environment or setting.
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monologue
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n. a long (often boring) speech by one person during a conversation.
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motif
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n. a frequently recurrent character, incident, or concept in literature.
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motivation
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n. the grounds or goals for the actions of a character.
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myth
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n. a traditional story, orally transmitted among the folk of the actions of gods and supernatural beings; a story of a mythology hero which served to explain actions of supernatural beings. For example, the myths of Jove, Venus and Hercules, have persisted in poetry.
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non-fiction
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i.e., a prose work other than fiction dealing with a subject such as a biography, education, an essay, geography, history, philosophy, politics, psychology, social studies, travel, etc. |
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non sequitur
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Latin: a conclusion that does not follow logically from the premise.
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note
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n. a word or phrase written down to help remember what you have read, thought, etc.; notes should be brief but thorough, appear in short form, include the main points, provide supporting details. stimulate recall of other details and relationships among ideas. |
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novel
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n. an extended piece of prose fiction covering a wide range of characters and experiences. For example, Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun also Rises and Margaret Atwood’s Alias Grace are novels.
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novella
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Italian: n. a short prose tale. For example, Hemingway’s The Old Man and The Sea is a novella.
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ode
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n. a long lyric poem of a serious nature, elevated in style, and elaborate in its verse form. John Keats Ode to a Nightingale is an example a classical ode.
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onomatopoeia
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n. the use of words that describes sounds like "hiss," "buzz," and "bang."
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outline
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a plan giving the main points, but not the details; a preliminary outline gives direction just by jotting down ideas on the topic; but this outline may be improved at any stage of the composition by classifying ideas, adding subheads to major headings, changing subheads, perhaps dropping some headings entirely during the process. |
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overstatement
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n. an exaggeration which stresses importance by saying more than is true. Its rethorical name is hyperbole from a Greek word which means "excess."
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paradigm
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French paradigme n. 1. a pattern, example, or model. 2. in grammar, an example of a declension or conjugation, giving all the inflectional forms of a word.
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paradox
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n. a statement that seems absurd or self-contradictory, but which turns out to have a believable and coherent meaning. For example, "Water, water, everywhere, and not a drop to drink" is a paradox.
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paragraph
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a section of a paper dealing with a particular point or idea and developped in one or more sentences. It usually begins a new line of text. |
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parenthetical note
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a note giving the name of the author and the page of reference written between parentheses. |
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parody
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n. a piece of writing imitating another one in an attempt at humour or ridicule.
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pastoral
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n. a piece of literature dealing with life in the country; especially, a poem play, etc. treating the rustic lives of shepherds; about "pastors."
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personification
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n. personification is a special kind of metaphor in which inanimate things or abstractions are referred to as if they were human. A simple example of personification is the use of the pronoun "she" when sailors speak of a ship.
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play
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n. a dramatic composition or performance; a drama. Gustav Freytag, a German critic, proposed an analysis of the typical structure of a five-act play as composed of rising action, climax, and falling action.
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plot |
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n. the plan of action of a play, novel, poem, short story, etc.
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poem
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n. an arrangement of words in verse; especially, a rhythmical composition, sometimes rhymes, expressing facts, ideas or emotions in a style more concentrated, imaginative, and powerful than that of ordinary speech; some poems are in metre while others are in free verse. (Webster’s Dictionary).
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point of view
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the outlook from which the events in a novel or short story are related. For example, the author (1) tells the story omnisciently, commenting on the characters and their actions, (2) narrates the story in the third person, (3) tells the story in the first person. (Abrams, 71)
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portfolio
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n. a flat case for carrying loose papers, drawings; a collection of documents on a topic or an individual; a selection of representative works.
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posthumous
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adj. published after the author died; taking place after death.
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postulate
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v. to suppose to be true or real as the first step in proving an argument; to assume truth without proof; take for granted.
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premise
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n. a statement or belief that is taken for granted and is used as the basis for a theory, argument, etc.; a basic statement or position from which one develops an argument.
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prologue
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n. introductory material to a written work. For example, read Chaucer's General Prologue to The Canterbury Tales.
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prosody
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n. the study of poetic metres and versification.
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prosopoeia
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n. a type of metaphor in which an inanimate object or a concept is described as having human attributes, feelings or powers; for example, Milton wrote:
Sky loured, and muttering sad thunder, some sad drops
Wept at completing of the mortal sin.
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protagonist
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n. the leading character in a literary work.
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pseudonym
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n. a name used by an author in place of his real name. For instance, O. Henry is the pseudonym of William Sydney Porter.
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pun
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n. the humorous use of a word or phrase so as to suggest it is identical or similar in sound but different in meaning; also called "equivoque." "Thou art Peter (Petros) and upon this rock (petra) I will build my church" (Matthew XVI:18)
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quatrain
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n. a stanza or poem or four lines. Here is an example of a quatrain from Thomas Gray’s Eligy Written in a country Churchyard.
The curfew tolls the knell of parting day,
The Lowing herd wind slowly o’er the lea,
The plowman homeward plod his weary way,
And Leaves the world to darkness and to me.
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quotation
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n. the act of repeating the exacts words said or written by another person; these words are usually placed between quotation marks: "...". For example, Shakespeare's Hamlet said, "To be or not to be; that is the question." |
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review
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(ri vy€‚) n. 1. a critical report, as on a book or play. bsp; |
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rhetoric
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n. the art of organizing material for the presentation of truth to give effectiveness to public speech.
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rhetorical
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adj. related to the use of the various devices of effective writing or speech; a rhetorical question is a question asked, not to evoke a reply, but to achieve rethorical emphasis stronger than a direct statement. Here is an example from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet:
What's in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.
[Romeo and Juliet, II. ii. 43]
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rhyme
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rhyme or rime: n. similitude of sounds at the ends of words or lines of verse where the vowels and succeeding consonant sounds of accented syllables are identical. For example, "fan" and "ran" constitute perfect "masculine" rimes while "lighting" and "fighting" where the correspondence of sound lies in two consecutive syllables are called "feminine" or "double" rhymes. Triple rhyme occurs where correspondence of sounds lies in three consecutive syllables, as in "glorious" and "victorious." (Thrall / Hibbard / Holman, 418-420)
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sarcasm
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n. heavy use of apparent praise for an actual dispraise: it is the common man’s usual form of irony; sarcasm is personal and intended to hurt.
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satire
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1. n. the use of irony, sarcasm and humour to make a subject ridiculous and to make fun of it; 2. a novel, story, etc. in which this is done [Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift is a satire of 18th century England]
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scene
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n. a play is divided in acts; acts are divided in scenes; a scene consists of a unit of actcion in which there is no change of place or time.
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setting
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n. 1. n. the time and place in which a story, poem, or play takes place. 2. surroundings or scenery.
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short story
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a short work of prose fiction that can be read at one sitting of from one-half hour to two hours and is limited to a single effect to which every detail is subordinate.
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simile
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n. a simile is a brief comparison or a figure of speech in which two things that are different are said to be alike by using the word "as" or "like." A simile compares things explicitly. For example, "She sings like a bird," is a simile.
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sketch
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a short outline without details as a biographical sketch of the author; a light story; a scene in a show.
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slapstick
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n. a boisterous comedy characterized by broad farce and horseplay.
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soliloquy
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a speech in a play in which a character tells his thoughts by talking aloud as if to himself.
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sonnet
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n. a poem of fourteen lines that rhyme in a pattern.
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stanza
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n. a group of lines forming a section of a poem; verse.
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stream of consciousness
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a writing technique in which long passages of perceptions, thoughts, judgments, feelings, associations, and memories are written down as they occur without being restructured logically or grammatically by the author.
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stress
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n. accent; special force given to a word, a syllable, or a note in speaking or in music.
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strophe
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n. a stanza of a poem.
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style
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n. 1. the way in which anything is made, done, written, etc.; manner; method; 2. a fine original way or writing, painting, etc. 3. n. the arrangement of words into sentences and larger units constitutes a style. |
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superfluous
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adj. more than is needed; unnecessary.
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suspense
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n. the anticipation of the reader or the audience as to the outcome of the events of a short story, a novel or a drama; suspense is a device used to stimulate and maintain interest.
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syllogism
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n. a form of deductive reasoning consisting of a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion. Here is a syllogism:
All mammals have warm blood.
Whales are mammals.
Therefore, whales have warm blood.
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symbol
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n. a symbol is anything which signifies something else. For example a flag symbolizes a country. Some symbols are conventional, such as a cross, a red light, etc. while others are private and must be interpreted.
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sympathy
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n. sympathy denotes fellow feeling or emotional identification with a person when we seem to share his experiences and feelings.
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synecdoche
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n. a kind of metaphor in which a part is used to mean the whole; for instance, we use the expression "ten hands" for ten working men.
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synopsis
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(si nop‚sis) n., pl. -ses (-sŽz) a brief or condensed statement; summary. |
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synthesis
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n. a combining of diverse elements into one entity; the putting together of parts or elements so as to make a whole.
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tale
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n. a simple narrative of some real and imaginary incident in prose or verse without a complicated plot.
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theme
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(thŽm) n. 1. a topic of discourse, discussion, etc. 2. the central subject of a work of art. 3. a short, informal essay. |
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theory
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an explanation of how or why something happens, especially one based on scientific study and reasoning [Darwin's theory of evolution] or the general principles on which an art or science is based [music theory].
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thesaurus
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(thi sôr‚ƒs) n., pl. -sau•rus•es, -sau•ri (-sôr‚ð) a dictionary of synonyms and antonyms. |
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thesis
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(thŽ‚sis) n., pl. -ses (-sŽz) 1. a proposition proved or maintained against objections. 2. a formal paper incorporating original research, esp. one presented by a candidate for a degree. |
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tone
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n. a particular style or manner of writing; a tone may be formal, informal, intimate, solemn, sombre, playful, serious, ironic, etc.; tone designates the mood of the work itself.
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topic
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(top‚ik) n. a subject of conversation, discussion, discourse, etc. |
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tragedy
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n. a drama dealing with a serious and dark theme, and ending in a disaster; a dreadful and unfortunate situation, event or affair.
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understatement
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n. the act of saying less than is warranted by truth, accuracy or importance. A statement which is too weak or too moderate about something or someone.
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verse
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n. one of the lines of a poem; a metric composition.
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weltanschauung
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German; literature: n. a person's philosophy or conception of the universe and of life; world view.
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wit
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n. knowledge, intellect, the seat of consciousness; the perception and expression of connections between ideas that produce amusement.
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zeugma
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n. a figure of speech in which a verb or adjective applies to two or more words, with only one of which it seems logically connected. For example, there is a zeugma in the sentence: "The room was not light, but his fingers were."
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