English 10

Mrs. Wiener

Student-generated vocabulary list from The Picture of Dorian Gray, chapters 6-11:

1) Vile
-adjective
Definition: Extremely unpleasant
Sentence: The rumors swirling around the incident were just vile gossip.

2) Dingy
-adjective
Definition: gloomy, lacking brightness or freshness; of a dark , dull, or dirty color
Sentence: The white clothes were dingy, because we mixed them with the colored
clothes in the wash.

3) Languid
-adjective
Definition: lacking in spirit or interest
We let the boat float languidly down the river.

4) Titter
-verb
Definition: to laugh in a restrained or self-conscious way, as from nervousness
The girl tittered after telling a joke that was not so amusing.

5) Petulantly
-adverb
Definition: done in a suddenly irritable and impatient way, especially over a trivial
annoyance

The mother petulantly cleaned up the mess from the party when she realized that
her children were not going to help her.

6) Mar
-verb
Definition: to damage or spoil to a certain extent, thus rendering something
imperfect
The baker slipped while holding the cake and therefore marred the sugar flower
decorations on it.
7) Garrulous (122) – adjective: full of trivial conversation
The boy was garrulous and talked about anything because he was nervous about
his upcoming test.

8) Obsequious (124) – adjective: marked by or exhibiting a fawning attentiveness

The teacher refused to change the student’s grade, despite the student’s
obsequious urging.

9) ardent- adjective: having, expressive of, or characterized by intense feeling;

passionate; intensely devoted, eager, or enthusiastic; zealous
The smart boy was an ardent student of American History.

10) nil- noun: nothing; naught; zero.

adjective: having no value or existence:
His credit rating is nil.

11) Portico-n. A structure consisting of a roof supported by columns or piers, usually

attached to a building by a porch.

Many famous buildings, including the White House, have porticos.

12) dahlia- noun:

1. any composite plant of the genus Dahlia, native to Mexico and Central America
and widely cultivated for its showy, variously colored flower heads.
2. the flower or tuberous root of a dahlia.
3. a pale violet or amethyst color.
–adjective
4. of the color dahlia.
The dahlias bloomed gloriously in my garden.

13) discordant–adjective
1. being at variance; disagreeing; incongruous: discordant opinions.
2. disagreeable to the ear; dissonant; harsh.

As if sitting in bumper to bumper traffic weren’t bad enough, the discordant beeping
of the horns during the jam further frayed my nerves.

14) fop--- noun---a man who is concerned with his clothes and appearance in an
excessive way.

The woman did not want to speak with any of the men, dismissing them all as fops.
15) blackball-- v.---reject, usually by secret ballot

Having been blackballed by the club, the young man sought acceptance elsewhere.

16) irrevocable- adj.-not to be revoked or recalled; unable to be repealed or

annulled; unalterable

Do you realize that the law you have just passed is irrevocable?

17) Listlessly-adj.-having or showing little or no interest in anything

After his beloved wife died, the man listlessly went about his daily routine.

18) misanthrope - noun

a person who dislikes humankind and avoids human society.

The misanthrope spent his entire life in a cave, surrounded only by animals.

19) winsome - adj

attractive or appealing in appearance or character

The attractive man’s best feature is his winsome smile.

20) sullen-(adj.)
showing irritation or ill humor by a gloomy silence or reserve.

My friends began to notice that she was sometimes sullen and that she often
complained of headaches.

21) shudder-(v.)
To tremble with a sudden convulsive movement, as from horror, fear, or cold.

shudder-(n.)
A convulsive movement of the body, as from horror, fear, or cold.

Because fish is his least favorite food, the boy shuddered to find out his mom had
made salmon for dinner.

22) eon-Noun
Long or indefinite period of time.
Let’s forget about that terrible incident; it happened an eon ago.
23) sanguine-Adjective
1.optimistic,confident
2.(of the complexion) florid, ruddy
Based on the second definition: The little boy had a very fresh and sanguine
complexion, which made him look very healthy.

24) conjugal: adj-pertaining to the marital relation of husband and wife

-His poems generally celebrated the joys of conjugal love.

25) malady: n- an illness or undesirable condition

He ended up in the hospital for a week because of his various maladies.

26) swarthy-adj. having dark complexion or color.

The swarthy man was easy to pick out of the crowd because everyone else had a
much lighter complexion than he did.

27) sham - (n)- something that is not what it purports to be; a spurious imitation;
fraud or hoax.
(v)- to assume the appearance of; pretend to have
(adj)- pretended; counterfeit; feigned

When the clerk saw the sham money of the customer, the clerk said, "I don't want
your good-for-nothing money, you bum!"

28). Tremulously (adj)- timidly; timorously; fearfully

After the man pulled the trigger on his dog, his hands were shook tremulously.

29) immensely- adverb:

1. to an exceedingly great extent or degree.
-There was an immensely large bundle of flowers in the garden.

30) servile- Adjective:

1.submissive or fawning in attitude or behavior
2. relating to or involving slaves
The lady I was speaking to spoke in a very servile tone.

31) Flit--verb

- to move swiftly and lightly

-to secretly leave one’s home, as if to escape creditors

The small birds flitted about in the branches.

32) tawdry-adjective
-showy but cheap and of poor quality
-sordid or unpleasant

The woman was wearing a tawdry gown.

33) infatuate
verb: to inspire or possess with a foolish or unreasoning passion, as of love.

She was infatuated with the man's good looks.

34) anodyne
noun: a medicine that relieves or allays pain
adjective: relieving pain
The love from his family was an anodyne for his sorrows.

35) Disdain-
Noun- the feeling that someone or something is unworthy of one's consideration or
respect

Verb- consider to be unworthy of one's consideration

Most kings felt disdain towards the peasant class.

36) Placid-
Adjective- not easily upset or excited

Some people believe that one with a placid personality can easier accept events
such as deaths and victories.

37) interminable- adj. so long and boring as to seem endless

The child fell asleep during the politician’s interminable speech.
38) transfigure- (v) to transform the appearance of somebody or something
revealing great beauty, spirituality, or magnificence.
The man transfigured the beautiful old painting by removing the dust.

39) satyr- noun: a licentious person

The satyr ruined the party with his rude remarks and inappropriate behavior

40) guffaw--noun: a loud burst of laughter verb to laugh loudly

The man interrupted the comedian with his loud guffaw.

41) lionize –verb: to treat as a celebrity.

People tend to lionize up and coming sports players even when the athletes haven't
even played in a game yet.

42) proletariat—noun: the lowest or poorest class of people, possessing no property,

esp. in ancient Rome.

The first people to die in the Black Death were the proletariat; they had no money
for medicine or shelter.

43) bereft- adj. feeling emptiness

After not speaking to anyone all day the young girl was left feeling bereft and in
need of a friend.

44) effigy- n. a statue in representation of someone

The beautiful effigy of the king stood as a symbol to the kingdom’s victory.

45) facile- adj.

easy, unconstrained, easily performed, doing something with superficiality.
I was able to only give facile answers to the questions because I am not an expert in
that field.

46) incorrigible- adjective

not able to be corrected, improved or reformed
Susan was an incorrigible procrastinator.

47) callous-adjective
showing or having an insensitive and cruel disregard for others
The prison guard had callous feelings toward the prisoners.