Scarlet Letter Vocab
Terms
undefined, object
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- Impalpable
- incapable of being perceived by the sense of touch; intangible.
- Posterity
- Succeeding or future generations collectively.
- Disquietude
- anxiety, agitation
- Zenith
- The point on the celestial sphere vertically above a given position or observer.
- sojourn
- a temporary stay
- Austerity
- the state of being austere, or very plain
- Colloquy
- A conversation, especially a formal one.
- Betwixt
- between
- Intrinsic
- belonging to a thing by its very nature.
- Petulant
- moved to or showing sudden, impatient irritation, especially over some trifling annoyance
- Fretting
- erosion; corrosion; gnawing
- Obeisance
- a movement of the body made in token of respect or submission; acknowledgment of another's superiority or importance
- Caper
- to leap or skip about in a sprightly manner.
- Abide
- To put up with, or tolerate
- impending
- about to happen; imminent
- Sagacious
- Of quick sense perceptions
- Consternation
- A sudden, alarming amazement or dread that results in utter confusion; dismay.
- Zeal
- Enthusiastic devotion to a cause, ideal, or goal and tireless diligence in its furtherance.
- Odious
- deserving or causing hatred; hateful; detestable.
- Inscrutable
- incapable of being investigated, analyzed, or scrutinized; impenetrable.
- Phantasmagoric
- a changing scene made up of many elements.
- Inquietude
- restlessness or uneasiness; disquietude; Inquietudes, disquieting thoughts.
- Tinge
- a slight degree of coloration.
- Repose
- peace of mind
- expostulation
- the act of expostulating; remonstrance; earnest and kindly protest
- Mountebank
- a person who sells quack medicines, as from a platform in public places, attracting and influencing an audience by tricks, storytelling, etc.
- Tantalizing
- Something unobtainable or beyond one's reach
- Latent
- present but not visible, apparent, or actualized; existing as potential.
- Undulating
- to cause to move in a wavy, sinuous, or flowing manner
- Ignominious
- Marked by shame or disgrace
- Eldritch
- eerie, weird, spooky.
- Hoary
- gray or white with or as if with age; extremely old, ancient
- Vicissitude
- a favorable or unfavorable event or situation that occurs by chance: a fluctuation of state or condition
- Venerable
- Commanding respect because of great age or impressive dignity; worthy of veneration or reverence, as because of high office or noble character
- Incantations
- Ritual recitation of verbal charms or spells to produce a magic effect.
- Despondency
- state of being despondent; depression of spirits from loss of courage or hope; dejection.
- Grovelled
- to crawl
- Assimilate
- to take in and incorporate as one's own; absorb.
- Alchemy
- form of chemistry and speculative philosophy practiced in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance and concerned principally with discovering methods for transmuting baser metals into gold and with finding a universal solvent and an elixir of life.
- Strewn
- to spread about here and there by or as by sprinkling; scatter
- Indefatigable
- incapable of being fatigued
- Efficacy
- capacity for producing a desired result or effect.
- Clarion
- a medieval trumpet with clear shrill tones
- vivacious
- lively; animated; gay-happy
- Peremptory
- leaving no opportunity for denial or refusal, imperative
- Averred
- to assert or affirm with confidence; declare in a positive or peremptory manner
- Countenanced
- To permit or tolerate.
- Contiguity
- a series of things in continuous connection; a continuous mass or extent.
- Multitudinous
- Comprising of many items
- Effervescence
- To give off bubbles of gas, as fermenting liquors.
- Gesticulating
- To make gestures especially while speaking, as for emphasis
- Deity
- Divine character or nature, esp. that of the Supreme Being; divinity
- Blackguard
- a rude or unscrupulous person; a person who uses foul or abusive language
- Imbibing
- to absorb or soak up, as water, light, or heat.
- Acquiescing
- to agree or consent quietly without protest
- Rankle
- to fester; become or make inflamed
- Anemones
- Any of various perennial herbs of the genus Anemone, native chiefly to northern temperate regions and having palmately lobed leaves and large flowers with showy sepals. Also called windflower.
- Superfluous
- more than enough; overabundant; extra
- Ethereal
- heavenly or celestial.
- Sedulous
- diligent in application or attention; persevering; assiduous
- Picturesqueness
- the quality of being strikingly expressive or vivid
- Peradventure
- doubt or uncertainty as to whether something is the case
- expostulation
- the act of expostulating; remonstrance; earnest and kindly protest
- Wellnigh
- Very nearly, Almost
- Physiognomy
- the outward appearance of anything, taken as offering some insight into its character.
- luxuriant
- abundant or lush in growth
- Tarry
- to remain or stay, as in a place; sojourn
- Voluptuous
- full of, characterized by, or ministering to indulgence in luxury, pleasure, and sensuous enjoyment.
- Lore
- the body of knowledge, learning.
- Plebeian
- belonging or pertaining to the common people.
- Ignominy
- disgrace; dishonor; public contempt
- Irrefragable
- impossible to refute; impossible to break or alter
- paramour
- an illicit lover, especially of a married person
- Propensity
- a natural inclination or tendency
- pensiveness
- dreamily or wistfully thoughtful
- Talisman
- anything whose presence exercises a remarkable or powerful influence on human feelings or actions.
- Transfiguration
- to change in outward form or appearance; transform. The act of transfiguring
- Wrath
- strong, stern, or fierce anger.
- Dexterity
- skill or adroitness in using the hands or body; agility
- Usurping
- to take or assume (power, a position, property, rights, etc.) and hold in possession by force or without right
- Egotism
- The tendency to speak or write of oneself excessively and boastfully.
- Sombre
- gloomy, dark.
- Pharmacopoeia
- A book containing an official list of medicinal drugs together with articles on their preparation and use.
- Abased
- to humble or humiliate
- Reverberate
- To reecho or resound.
- cadence
- the flow or rhythm of events, esp. the pattern in which something is experienced
- Tumult
- Violent and noisy commotion or disturbance of a crowd or mob; uproar
- Progenitors
- a direct ancestor
- Pentecost
- a Christian festival celebrated on the seventh Sunday after Easter, commemorating the descent of the Holy Ghost upon the apostles; Whitsunday.
- Thitherward
- toward that place
- Relics
- a surviving memorial of something past