Torp "Cat's Cradle" Vocab
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89 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 benignly | showing or expressive of gentleness or kindness |
| gait | a manner of walking, stepping, or running |
| charlatan | a person who pretends to more knowledge or skill than he or she possesses; quack |
| unadorned | simple or plain |
| ceremoniously | carefully observant of ceremony; formally or elaborately polite |
| antithesis | opposition; contrast |
| desiccated | dehydrated or powdered |
| tendrils | a twisting, threadlike structure by which a twining plant grasps an object or a plant for support |
| cloister | a covered walk, esp. in a religious institution, having an open arcade or colonnade usually opening onto a courtyard |
| preconceived | to form a conception or opinion of beforehand, as before seeing evidence or as a result of previously held prejudice |
| mawkishly | characterized by sickly sentimentality; weakly emotional; maudlin |
| consolation | someone or something that consoles |
| intricate | complex; complicated; hard to understand |
| cadaverous | pale; ghastly |
| copiously | large in quantity or number; abundant; plentiful |
| nihilistic debauch | anarchy, terrorism, or other revolutionary activity |
| nihilism | total rejection of established laws and institutions |
| banana republic | any of the small countries in the tropics, esp. in the Western Hemisphere, whose economies or largely dependent on fruit exports, tourism, and foreign investors |
| luminously | radiating or reflecting light; shining; bright |
| flax | the fiber of this plant, manufactured into linen yarn for thread or woven fabrics |
| pompadour | an arrangement of a man's hair in which it is brushed up high from the forehead |
| lechery | unrestrained or excessive indulgence of sexual desire |
| chagrin | a feeling of vexation, marked by disappointment or humiliation |
| indignant | feeling, characterized by, or expressing strong displeasure at something considered unjust, offensive, insluting, or base |
| surrealistic | of, pertaining to, or characteristic of surrealism |
| conceited | having an excessively favorable opinion of one's abilities, appearance, etc |
| irreverence | the quality of being irreverent; lack of reverence or respect |
| zeal | energetic and unflagging enthusiasm, especially for a cause or idea |
| flaccidly | lacking energy, enthusiasm, or competence |
| idyllic | serenely beautiful, untroubled, and happy |
| brazen | showing or expressing boldness and a complete lack of shame |
| resonating | to echo, or cause something to echo |
| catatonic | in a state of inertia or apparent stupor often associated with schizophrenia, characterized by rigidity of the muscles |
| consternation | a feeling of alarm, confusion, or dismay, often caused by something unexpected |
| irrelevantly | not relevant or important |
| piously | devoutly religious |
| querulously | inclined to complain or find fault |
| beseechingly | to ask earnestly or b eg somebody to do something |
| wanly | unhealthily pale, expecially from illness or grief |
| cantilevered | building a projecting structure that is attached or supported at only one end |
| chagrin | a feeling of vexation or humiliation due to disappointment about something |
| apoplexy | a fit of anger |
| perforce | unaviodably or as forced by circumstances |
| pathological | uncontrolled or unreasonable |
| lechery | lewd and lustful behavior, especially by a man, that is regarded as distasteful |
| glissandi | an act of sliding a finger along a stringed instrument's fingerboard or slowly moving a trombone's slide in and out to create a smooth change in pitch between two notes |
| vigil | a period spent in doing something through the night |
| piety | a strong respectful belief in a deity or deities and strict observance of religious principles in everyday life |
| vied | to strive for superiority or compete with somebody or something |
| furtive | done in a way that is intended to escape notice |
| sordid | demonstrating the worst aspects of human nature such as immorality, selfishness , and greed |
| acquiesced | to agree or comply with something in a passive or reserved way |
| diaphanous | delicate or gauzy, so as to be transparent |
| lolled | to relax in a reclining or leaning position |
| machicolations | a projecting gallery on top of a castle wall, supported by a row of arches and containing openings through which rocks and boiling oil could be dropped on attackers |
| parapets | a low protective wall built where there is a sudden dangerous drop |
| precipice | a high, vertical, or very steep rock face |
| oubliette | a dungeon made so that the only way in or out is through a trapdoor at the top |
| anteroom | a subsidiary room that opens into a larger room, often used as a waiting area |
| prim | easily shocked by vulgar or obscene language or behavior |
| integrity | the quality of possessing and steadfastly adhering to high moral principles or professional standards |
| abdication | to give up a high office formally or officially |
| tentatively | said or done in a slow, hesitant, and careful way that reveals a lack of confidence |
| apotheosis | the highest point of glory, power, or importance |
| chagrin | a feeling of vexation or humiliation due to diappointment about something |
| putrescence | relating to the process of decay |
| atrophy | the shrinking in size of some part or organ of the body, usually caused by injury, disease, or lack of use |
| languishing | to undergo hardship as a result of being deprived of something, typically attention, independence, or freedom |
| vacillate | to be indecisive or irresolute, changing between one opinion and another |
| tholepin | a small upright wooden peg in the gunwale of a boat, usually provided in pairs to support an oar and act as a pivot when the oar is used |
| futile | having no practical effect or useful result |
| cogent | forceful and convincing to the intellect and reason |
| reticule | a small fabric purse, usually closed with a drawstring |
| tableau | a vivid and wide-ranging description or display |
| fustian | written or spoken with pretentiousness or pomposity |
| effigies | a dummy, often roughly made and intentionally amusing or insulting, representing somebody disliked or despised |
| complacent | self-satisfied and unaware of possible dangers |
| imploring | earnestly asking for something |
| mitigate | to make an offense or crime less serious or more excusable |
| reticent | unwilling to communicate very much, talk freely, or reveal all the facts about something |
| mountebank | somebody who deceives other people |
| abated | to lessen or make something lessen gradually |
| intoned | to say something, especially in a slow and serious or solemn way |
| addled | to confuse or muddle somebody, or become confused or muddled |
| alleviating | to make something such as pain or hardship more bearable or less severe |
| onerous | representing a great burden or much trouble |
| husbandry | the science, skill, or art of farming |
| aborigines | a member of a people who has lived in an area from the earlies known times |
| paradox | a statement, proposition, or situation that seems to be absurd or contradictory, but in fact is or may be true |
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