The Scarlet Letter Vocab
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145 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 edifice | a building, esp. a large, imposing one |
| congenial | pleasant because of a personality, quality or some other interests that are similar to one's own |
| augured | bode, predict a good or bad outcome |
| ensue | happen or occur afterward or as a result |
| evanescent | fading quickly or disappearing |
| serene | calm, peaceful, untroubled |
| deportment | a person's behavior or manner |
| ignominy | public shame or disgrace |
| mien | a person's look or manner |
| disdainful | showing contempt or lack of respect |
| immaterial | irrelevant |
| phantasmagoria | a sequence of real or imaginary images like that seen in a dream |
| remonstrance | a forcefully reproachful protest |
| garb | clothing or dress |
| abate | become less intense or widespread |
| convulsive | producing convulsions |
| sojourn | a temporary stay |
| iniquity | immoral or grossly unfair behavior |
| sagacity | having keen mental discernment and good judgment |
| obstinacy | stubborn |
| transgress | infringe or go beyond the bounds of |
| lurid | very vivid in color, esp. as to create an unpleasantly harsh or unnatural effect |
| intimated | imply or hint |
| efficacy | the ability to produce a desired or intended result |
| feigned | pretend to be affected by |
| wrench | a sudden violent twist or pull |
| combative | ready or eager to fight |
| inscrutable | impossible to understand or interpret |
| fatality | death |
| plebeian | a member of the lower social classes |
| commiseration | express or feel sympathy or pity |
| ascetic | characterized by or suggesting to practice of severe self-discipline and abstention from all forms of indulgence |
| repugnance | intense disgust |
| mutability | liable to change |
| regimen | a system of government |
| compulsion | the action or state of forcing or being forced to do something |
| caprice | a sudden and unaccountable change of mood or behavior |
| delusive | giving a false or misleading impression |
| inviolable | never to be broken, infringed or dishonored |
| enmity | the state or feeling of being actively opposed or hostile to someone or something |
| smote | strike with a firm blow |
| dearth | a scarcity or lack of something |
| ludicrous | so foolish, unreasonable or out of place as to be amusing |
| pristine | in its original condition, unspoiled |
| extant | still in existence, surviving |
| countenance | a person's face or facial expression |
| despondent | in low spirits from loss of hope or courage |
| orthodox | conforming to what is generally or traditionally accepted as right or true |
| sagacity | having or showing keen mental discernment and good judgment; shrewd |
| celibacy | abstaining from marriage and sexual relations |
| proximity | nearness in space, time or relationship |
| inimical | tending to obstruct or harm |
| manifest | clear or obvious to the eye or mind |
| solace | comfort or consolation in a time of distress or sadness |
| decorously | in keeping with good taste and propriety |
| gilded | give specious or false brilliance to |
| panoply | a complete or impressive collection of things |
| temporal | secular |
| albeit | although |
| imbibes | absorb |
| warily | feeling or showing caution |
| inopportune | unfortunate, inappropriate |
| retribution | punishment that is considered to be morally right and fully deserved |
| heterogeneous | diverse in character or content |
| exemplary | serving as desirable model |
| emaciated | thin, shrunken |
| mirth | amusement |
| imbued | inspire or permeate with a feeling or quality |
| unseemly | not proper or appropriate |
| proffering | hold out something to someone for acceptance |
| assented | the expression of approval or agreement |
| latent | existing but not yet developed or manifest |
| odious | extremely unpleasant |
| abstruse | difficult to understand; obscure |
| veneration | regard with great respect; revere |
| diabolic | belonging to or so evil as to recall the Devil |
| ethereal | extremely delicate and light in a way that seems too perfect for this world |
| divinity | the state or quality of being alike to Gods |
| pith | the essence of something |
| impalpable | unable to be felt by touch |
| visage | a person's face, with reference to the form or proportions of the features |
| rankle | continue to be painful |
| propinquity | the state of being close to someone or something |
| bane | a cause of great distress or annoyance |
| sedulous | showing dedication and diligence |
| upbraided | find fault with; scold |
| enigma | a person or thing that is mysterious, puzzling or difficult to understand |
| austerity | harshness of tone or manner |
| imputed | represent something as being done, caused or posses by someone |
| pensiveness | engaged in, involving or reflecting deep or serious thought |
| scintillating | emit flashes of light; sparkle |
| vivacity | attractively lively and animated |
| conjecture | an opinion or conclusion formed on the basis of incomplete information |
| scurrilous | making or spreading scandalous claims about someone with the intention of damaging their reputation |
| portent | a sign or warning that something, esp. something momentous or calamitous, is likely to happen |
| groveled | lie or move abjectly on the ground with one's face downward |
| infer | deduce or conclude from evidence and reason rather than from explicit statements |
| gibe | an insulting or mocking remark; a taunt |
| propensity | an inclination or natural tendency to behave in a particular way |
| austerity | sternness or severity of manner or attitude |
| entreaty | an earnest or humble quest |
| purport | appear or claim to be or do something, esp. falsely |
| specter | something widely feared as possible unpleasant or dangerous occurrence |
| estranged | cause (someone) to be no longer close or affectionate to someone |
| sentinel | a soldier or guard whose job is to stand and keep watch |
| colloquy | a conversation |
| extenuation | make (guilt or an offense) seem less serious or more forgivable |
| harrowed | an implement consisting of a heavy frame set with teeth that is dragged over plowed land to break up clods, remove weeds and cover seed |
| infamy | well known for some bad quality or deed |
| machinations | engage in plots and intrigues |
| intangible | unable to be touched or grasped; not having physical presence |
| imperious | assuming power or authority without justification; arrogant and domineering |
| consternation | feelings of anxiety or dismay, typically at something unexpected |
| eminence | fame or recognized superiority, esp. within a particular sphere or profession |
| plaintive | sounding sad and mournful |
| boorish | rude, unmannerly |
| surmise | suppose that something is true without having evidence to confirm it |
| pathos | a quality that evokes pity or sadness |
| transitory | not permanent |
| sanctity | the state or quality of being holy, sacred or saintly |
| marshal | an official responsible for supervising public events |
| reverberating | return or reecho of a sound |
| apotheosized | elevate to, or as if to, the rank of a god; idolize |
| inured | accustom (someone) to something, esp. something unpleasant |
| mollified | appease the anger or anxiety of (someone) |
| reproachfully | expressing disapproval or disappointment |
| duplicity | deceitfulness; double-dealing |
| petrified | make (someone) so frightened that they are unable to move or think |
| potentate | a monarch or ruler, esp. an autocratic one |
| imperative | of vital importance; crucial |
| requisite | made necessary by particular circumstances or regulations |
| recompense | make amends to (someone) for loss or harm suffered |
| languor | the state or feeling, often pleasant, of tiredness or inertia |
| posterity | all future generations of people |
| tottered | move in a feeble or unsteady way |
| impelled | drive, force or urge (someone) to do something |
| nether | lower in position |
| tumult | a loud, confused noise, esp. one caused by a large mass of people |
| nugatory | of no value or importance |
| repudiate | refuse to accept or be associated with |
| consummation | the point at which something is complete or finalized |
| antipathy | a deep-seated feeling of dislike; aversion |
| bequeathed | leave (a personal estate or one's body) to a person or other beneficiary by a will |
| lineage | lineal descent from an ancestor; ancestry or pedigree |
| impediments | a hindrance or obstruction in doing something |
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