Vocabulary in Literature

Lucy Stone

Vehemently (adv.):

Suffix: Ly: Quality of/Related to.

Meaning: Forcefully.

Ex: It was vehemently attacked by the critics, and coolly received by the painters.

Subservient (adj.)

Prefix: Sub: Under, Lower than, inferior to.

Meaning: Helpful and obedient.

Ex: The little boy usually became subservient in the presence of bullies.

Agitator (n.)Suffix: Or: Person or object that does something specific. Meaning: Someone who stirs up people to support a cause.Ex: The agitators gained their chief strength from the support accorded them by certain Radical politicians in England.

Settle (n.)

Meaning: Bench.Ex: The best place for that settle is in front of the fireplace.

Pert (adj.)

Meaning: Bold, sassy. Ex: The voluptuous brunette was pert and sophisticated.

Bemused (adj.)

Meaning: confused.Ex: I was bemused by my teacher’s words.

Aghast (adj.)

Meaning: horrified.Ex: Princess Mary was first surprised and then aghast at this question.

Ad Lib

Short for “Ad Libitum” which is Latin for “at one’s pleasure” or “as you desire”

Meaning: to make up dialogue on the spot.

Ex: They started jamming, and suggested Suppressing ad-lib into a tape recorder.

Patriarch (n.)

From the Ancient Greek Root Word: Pater.Meaning: male head of a familyEx: In my house, my father is the patriarch of the family.

Piously (adj.)

Suffix: Ly: Related to/Quality of.

Meaning: righteously, devoted to a particular religion.

Ex: He lived piously in Rome, and died there of apoplexy on the 10th of May 1676

Daft (adj.)

Meaning: crazy

Ex: It was a pretty daft idea anyway, so no one will agree.

Squander (verb)

Meaning: waste

Ex: It's so easy to squandervaluable time browsing social media.

Flibbertigibbet (n.)

• Meaning: a flighty person

• Ex: In the interim, of course, I was a flibbertigibbet, obsessing on other things.

Proposition (n.)

• Meaning: deal, a proposal, or plan.

• Ex: Most of the homeowners in the area disagreed with the state’s proposition for the new superhighway.

Pestiferous (adj.)

• From Latin pestifer, from pestis contagious disease, pest + ferre to bring

• Meaning: bothersome

• Ex: Those pestifeorus weeds have been making the gardener’s job difficult.

Fripperies (n.)

• Meaning: showy clothes.

• Ex: Her father promised to only pay for her tuition and nothing for her fripperies.

Irony (n.)

• Meaning: meaning that is the opposite of what is said.

• Ex: I appreciated the irony of his response when he said, "Lucky us," when he learned we would have to work all weekend.

Abridged (v.)

• Meaning: lessened.

• Ex: The gap in the structure was abridged by their hard work.

Endowed (v.)

• Meaning: given

• Ex: The money will be used to endow the museum and research facility.

Unalienable (adj.)

• Meaning: that cannot be taken away.

• When they spoke of revolution they meant an unalienable right. Nay, it is the unalienable Rights of Humanity, it is truths self-evident.