TKM Vocabulary
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Terms
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- ambled
- (v): to walk at a slow, leisurely pace. (6)
- apothecary (n.)
- an early form of a pharmacist, apothecaries could also prescribe drugs. (4)
- assuaged (v.)
- to assuage is to lessen or to calm. Therefore, if Jem's fears about beingable to play football were assuaged, it means that he no longer feared that he wouldn't be able to play the sport. (3)
- impotent (adj.)
- powerless. Simon's fury and anger regarding the Civil War would certainly have been impotent because there would have been nothing he could have done about it. (4)
- impudent (adj.)
- To be impudent is to be shamelessly bold, as if you don't care what anyone thinks about you. (5)
- predilection (n.)
- a predilection is a preference, or a preferred way or liking of doing something. Thus, the Radley's preferred way of spending a Sunday afternoon was to keep the doors closed and not receive visitors. (11)
- ramrod (adj.)
- rigid, severe, straight
- repertoire (n.)
- a repertoire is all the special skills a person has. So, when Scout says that their repertoire, she means the games they had invented to pass the time. (10)
- taciturn (adj.)
- almost always silent. Apparently, Aunt Alexandra's husband was a very quiet man. (5)
- vapid (adj)
- boring or uninteresting. (10)
- entailment (n.)
- a legal situation regarding the use of inherited property. (27)
- Illicit (adj)
- unauthorized or improper.
- sojourn (n.)
- a brief visit. (29)
- vexations (n.)
- To vex is to annoy, so a vexation is something that causes annoyance or problems. (27)
- wallowing
- In this case, to wallow is to indulge in something (usually an activity) with great enjoyment.
- auspicious (adj)
- showing or suggesting future success, favorable outcome, good fortune. (42)
- contemptuous (adj.)
- To be contemptuous is to have the feeling that someone or something is beneath you; that it or they are worthless. The Ewell boy obviously feels this way about his teacher, Miss Caroline. (36)
- diminutive (adj.)
- smaller than ordinary. (36)
- disapprobation (n.)
- disapproval. (42)
- flinty (adj.)
- Flint is a very hard rock. Something that is flinty is extremely hard and firm. (33)
- gravely (adv.)
- seriously (42)
- tranquility (n.)
- peacefulness; serenity. (32)
- arbitrated (v)
- reach an authoritative judgment or settlement; decide, determine. (49)
- auspicious (adj.)
- favorable. (42)
- melancholy (adj.)
- sad and gloomy. (52)
- quelling (v. .)
- To quell something is to quiet or pacify it. Scout is trying to quell her nausea, or make her stomach settle down. (54)
- asinine (adj.)
- stupid; silly
- benevolence (n.)
- in this case, a generous or thoughtful gift
- benign (adj.)
- kind and gentle
- cordiality (n.)
- sincere affection and kindness
- edification (n.)
- education; instruction
- gaped (vb.)
- To gape at someone is to stare at that person with your mouth open.
- inquisitive (adj.)
- questioning; prying
- morbid (adj.)
- gruesome; horrible
- placidly (adv.)
- calmly; quietly
- quibbling (vb.)
- a type of arguing where you avoid the main point by bringing up petty details
- tacit (adj.)
- An agreement, or, in this case, a "treaty" that is tacit is one that has been silently agreed upon. Thus, the children know that they can play on Miss Maudie's front lawn even though she never directly told them that it was all right to do so.
- dismemberment (n.)
- To dismember someone is to tear or cut that person's limbs (arms and legs) off. Although it is unlikely that anyone would have actually pulled off Dill's arms and legs, Lee uses the word to point out how outraged Miss Rachel must have been to discover that the children had been playing strip poker.
- ensuing (adj.)
- Something that ensues is something that comes immediately after something else.
- kudzu (n.)
- a quick-growing vine with large leaves, often found in the Southern United States.
- malignant (adj.)
- dangerous; evil
- prowess (n.)
- superior ability or skill
- waning (adj.)
- becoming less bright, intense, or strong. The moonlight is waning because it's getting closer to morning, and the moon is changing its position in the sky.
- cleaved (vb.)
- stuck
- vigil (n.)
- a watch. Jem is waiting and watching for Mr. Nathan to appear.
- whittles (vb.)
- To whittle is to use a knife to cut away thin shavings of wood. Sometimes, a whittler may actually end up carving a recognizable object.
- Chapter 8 - Vocabulary aberrations (n.)
- an aberration is a deviation, or a moving away from, something that is normal. The fact that winter comes so quickly in Maycomb is abnormal, thus, an aberration.
- azaleas (n.)
- a colorful and decorative kind of flower. See some pictures of azaleas. cannas (n.): a beautiful tropical flower.
- caricatures (n.)
- a representation of a person where certain features of that person are exaggerated or distorted.
- flue (n.)
- a channel in a chimney that allows smoke and flames to pass to the outside
- morphodite (n.)
- Scout has misheard Miss Maudie, who would actually have said the word hermaphrodite. Technically, a hermaphrodite is an animal or plant that has both female and male reproductive organs. Of course, the children's snowman is not really a hermaphrodite, but it does have both male and female characteristics.
- libel n.)
- When you commit libel, you harm someone's reputation. Atticus tells the children that they have committed a near libel; that is, their snowman is almost libelous because it so closely represents one of their neighbors and could harm that neighbor's reputation.
- perpetrated (vb.)
- carried out; committed
- quelled (vb.)
- To quell is to overwhelm something until it is powerless. The tin roof of Miss Maudie's house quelled the flames because tin cannot burn so the fire was eventually stopped.
- treble (adj.)
- high
- unfathomable (adj.)
- Something that is unfathomable is something that can not be understood.
- analogous (adj.)
- similar; comparable
- bawled (vb.)
- cried out noisily
- changelings (n.)
- a child secretly put in the place of another
- constituted (vb.)
- made up
- crooned (vb.)
- To croon is to sing in a low, gentle tone.
- deportment (n.)
- behavior
- dim (adj.)
- unclear; not strong
- doused (vb.)
- to douse someone is to pour liquid, in this case water, all over that person.
- evasion (n.)
- To evade is to avoid doing or answering something directly. Uncle Jack's evasion occurs when he doesn't directly answer Scout's question.
- fanatical (adj.)
- A fanatic is a person whose extreme enthusiasm, interest, zeal, etc. goes beyond what is reasonable. Aunt Alexandra is fanatical about Scout's clothes because, according to Scout, her aunt's interest in this subject goes beyond what is reasonable.
- gallantly (adv.)
- politely; in the manner of a gentleman
- gravitated (vb.)
- Gravity is, of course, the force that pulls you to earth and keeps you from floating into outer space. When you gravitate toward something or someone, you find yourself being pulled in the direction of that object or person.
- guilelessness (n.)
- Guile is craftiness and cunning in dealing with other. To be guileless is to have none of that craftiness. Here, Lee is being ironic since it's obvious that Simon Finch didn't trust his daughters at all, and planned his house accordingly.
- innate (adj.)
- Something that is innate is a natural part of something else. To Scout, cuss words have a natural sort of attraction to them; an innate attractiveness. They have value all on their own for her.
- obstreperous (adj.)
- noisy and unruly
- porter (n.)
- a person who carries luggage, etc., in this case, at a railroad station.
- provocation (n.)
- To provoke is to excite some sort of feeling; often anger or irritation. Uncle Jack tells Scout that, as far as cuss words are concerned, he doesn't see the use for them unless they are used when one is very angry or provoked to use them.
- tarried (vb.)
- delayed; waited