Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Left Hand of Darkness Vocabulary


Word
Definition
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Chapter 1 Vocabulary        The Left Hand of Darkness
Phlegmatic
Having an unemotional and stolidly calm disposition.



Obdurate
Stubbornly refusing to change one’s opinion or course of action.



Pertinacious
Holding firmly to an opinion or a course of action.



Animosity
Strong hostility.



Genealogical
Have or relating to the study or tracing of lines of family descent.



Adventitious
Associated with something by chance rather than as an integral part.



Specious
Pleasing to the eye but deceptive.



Adroit
Clever or skillful in using the hands or mind.



Imposture
An instance of pretending to be someone else in order to device others.



Obviate
To anticipate and prevent or eliminate by effective measures; render unnecessary



Impugns
Dispute the truth, validity, or honesty of (a statement or motive)



Rufous
Reddish



Fulsome
Of large size or quantity.



Perfidy
Untrustworthiness



Chapter 3 Vocabulary
Augmented
To make larger; enlarge in size, number, strength, or extent; increase



Resolutely
Marked by firm determination.



Chapter 5 Vocabulary
Expunged
Erase or remove completely.



Ignoble
Of low birth or common origin



Hermaphrodite
An animal or plant having both male and female reproductive organs



Repertory
A place where something may be found



Abominations
A thing that causes disgust or hatred.



Erratic
Not even or regular in pattern or movement.



Encroached
Intrude on a person’s territory (or a thing considered to be right).



Aerie
A large nest of a bird of prey, especially an eagle, typically built high in tree or on a cliff.



Profuse
Pouring forth liberally



Prodigious
Remarkably or impressively great in extent, size, or degree.



Extortion
The practice of obtaining something, especially money, through force or threats.



Elusive
Difficult to find, catch, or achieve.



Manifestation
An event, action, or object that clearly shows or embodies something, especially a theory or an abstract idea.



Intangible
Unable to be touched or grasped; not having physical presence.



Sauntering
Walk in a slow, relaxed manner, without hurry or effort.



Depilated
Remove the hair from.



Sully
Damage the purity or integrity of.



Dank
Disagreeably damp and typically cold.



Limpid
Clear and simple in style



Unfathomable
Of depth; not capable of being sounded or measured.



Quintessence
The most perfect or typical example of a quality or class.



Transients
A person who is staying.



Extempore
Spoken or done without preparation.



Subtle
Difficult to understand or perceive



Anarchic
With no controlling rules or principles to give order.



Fecund
Producing or capable of producing an abundance of offspring or new growth.



Dolmens
A megalithic tomb with a large flat stone laid on upright ones.



Augmenting
Make greater by adding.



Imperative
Of, relating to, or constituting the grammatical mood that expresses the will to influence the behavior of another



Integral
Necessary to make complete.



Chapter 6 Vocabulary
Bereft
Deprived of or lacking of something.



Thwart
To run counter to so as to effectively oppose or baffle



Indegent
 Suffering from extreme poverty



Subversive
A systematic attempt to overthrow or undermine a government or political system by persons working secretly from within



Dour
Relentlessly sever, stern, or gloomy in manner or appearance.



Goad
Something that pains as if by pricking



Provocation
Action or speech that provokes someone.



Obscuration
To make dark, dim, or indistinct



Obfuscation 
To make obscure



Circumambulating
Walking around something.



Chapter 7 Vocabulary
Estrus
Regularly recurrent state of sexual excitability during which the female of most mammals will accept the male and is capable of conceiving



Androgyne
Having the characteristics or nature of both male and female



Promiscuously
Characterized by or involving indiscriminate mingling or association, especially having sexual relations with a number of partners on a casual basis.



Indubitably
Too evident to be doubted



Slander
To utter slander against



Anomalous
Inconsistent with or deviating from what is usual, normal, or expected



Transcendent
Exceeding usual limits



Appalling
Inspiring horror, dismay, or disgust



Exculpate
To clear from alleged fault or guilt



Sublimate
To divert the expression of (an instinctual desire or impulse) from its unacceptable form to one that is considered more socially or culturally acceptable



Veneer
A thin sheet of a material



Ubiquitous
Existing or being everywhere, especially at the same time; omnipresent



Specious
Having deceptive attraction or allure



Chapter 8 Vocabulary
Xenophobic
One unduly fearful of what is foreign and especially of people of foreign origin



Revulsion
A strong pulling or drawing away



Inimical
Being adverse often by reason of hostility or malevolence



Vilification
The act of vilifying



Vituperation
Sustained and bitter railing and condemnation



Adulation
Excessive or slavish admiration or flattery



Anxiety
Painful or apprehensive uneasiness of mind usually over an impending or anticipated ill



Infallibly
Incapable of error



Meander
A winding path or course



Benign
Of a mild type or character that does not threaten health or life



Torpor
A state of mental and motor inactivity with partial or total insensibility



Conflagration
A large disastrous fire



Sinuous
Of a serpentine or wavy form



Choler
Ready disposition to irritation



Reticence
An instance of being reticent



Grotesque
A style of decorative art characterized by fanciful or fantastic human and animal forms often interwoven with foliage or similar figures that may distort the natural into absurdity, ugliness, or caricature



Promulgated
To make (as a doctrine) known by open declaration



Condescension
Voluntary descent from one's rank or dignity in relations with an inferior




Deigning
To condescend reluctantly and with a strong sense of the affront to one's superiority that is involved



Cumbrous
Cumbersome, bothersome.



Exploitive
To utilize, especially for profit; turn to practical account



Chapter 9 Vocabulary
Umbrageous
Spotted with shadows



Involute
Curled spirally



Monolithic
Of, relating to, or resembling a monolith: huge, massive



Chapter 11 Vocabulary
Soliloquies
The act of talking to oneself



Blandishments
Something that tends to coax or cajole: allurement —often used in plural



Proselytizes
To recruit someone to join one's party, institution, or cause



Astute
Having or showing shrewdness and perspicacity



Faction
A party or group (as within a government) that is often contentious or self-seeking: clique



Suppressions
An act or instance of suppressing: the state of being suppressed



Conscience
The sense or consciousness of the moral goodness or blameworthiness of one's own conduct, intentions, or character together with a feeling of obligation to do right or be good



Inordinate
Exceeding reasonable limits



Obtuseness
Not quick or alert in perception, feeling, or intellect; not sensitive or observant; dull.



Arrogance
An attitude of superiority manifested in an overbearing manner or in presumptuous claims or assumptions



Machinations
A scheming or crafty action or artful design intended to accomplish some usually evil end



Vengeance
Punishment inflicted in retaliation for an injury or offense



Blasphemous
Impiously irreverent: profane



Atheist
One who believes that there is no deity



Candor



Obstreperous
Noisy and difficult to control.



Impudence
Qualities of being offensively bold.



Abase
Behave in a way as to belittle or degrade (someone).



Chapter 12 Vocabulary
Moraine
Accumulation of rocks deposited by a glacier.



Chapter 13 Vocabulary
Sycophants
Someone who attempts to win favor by flattering influential people.



Pallid
Pale, typically due to poor health.



Edifices
Large or massive structure.



Façade
The front of a building that looks onto a street or open space.



Veridical
Truthful.



Pandemonium
Very noisy place.



Erratic
Not even or regular in movement.



Furtive
Attempting to avoid notice or attention, typically because of guilt.



Fetid
Smelling extremely unpleasant. 



Bovine
Oxlike; cowlike;
Stolid; dull.



Incredulous
 (Of a person or their manner) Unwilling or unable to believe something.



Meandering
Wander at random.



Reminiscences
Story told about a past event remembered by the narrator.



Chapter 14 Vocabulary
Perfidious
Deceitful and untrustworthy.



Vestigial
Forming a very small remnant of something that was once much larger or more noticeable. 



Docile
Ready to accept control or instruction.



Peevish
Easily irritated.



Ascendance
State where one person has power over the other.



Aggrieved
Feeling resentment at having been unfairly treated.



Chapter 15 Vocabulary
Laconic
(Of a person, speech, or style of writing) using very few words.



Obdurate
Stubbornly refusing to change one’s opinion or course of action.



Abstraction
The quality of dealing with ideas rather than events.



Scrupulous
Thorough and very attentive to details.



Palliative
Relieving pain or alleviating a problem without dealing with the underlined cause.



Ecliptic
Great circle in which Earth follows to orbit the sun.



Aphelion
Point in the orbit of a planet, asteroid, or comet at which it is furthest from the sun.



Oviparous
Producing young by means of eggs that are hatched after they have been laid by the parent.



Peremptory
Not open to challenge; final.



Rending
Tear into two or more pieces.



Desolation
State of complete emptiness or destruction.



Chapter 16 Vocabulary
Scree
Long speech or piece of writing.



Fumaroles
Opening in or near a volcano, through which hot sulfurous gases emerge.



Effluent
Liquid waste or sewage discharged into a river or sea.



Lured
Tempt (a person or animal)



Iridescent
Displaying a play of lustrous colors like those of the rainbow.



Ethereally
Light, airy, or tenuous: an ethereal world created through the poetic imagination.



Smudge
A dirty mark or smear.



Chapter 18 Vocabulary
Susurrus
A soft murmuring or rustling sound; whisper.



Obstinate 
Firmly or stubbornly adhering to one's purpose, opinion, etc.; not yielding to argument, persuasion, or entreaty.



Ambiance
A feeling or mood associated with a particular place, person, or thing



Invocation
The act of invoking or calling upon a deity, spirit, etc., for aid, protection, inspiration, or the like; supplication.



Assented
To agree or concur; subscribe to (often followed by to): to assent to a statement.



Analogy
A similarity between like features of two things, on which a comparison may be based: the analogy between the heart and a pump.



Chapter 19 Vocabulary
Alacrity
Cheerful readiness, promptness, or willingness: We accepted the invitation with alacrity.



Zest
Keen relish; hearty enjoyment; gusto.



Contentious
Likely to cause disagreement or argument



Locutions
A particular form of expression; a word, phrase, expression, or idiom, especially as used by a particular person, group, etc.



Covertly
Concealed; secret; disguised.



Destitute
Without means of subsistence; lacking food, clothing, and shelter.



Revocation
Act of revoking; annulment.



Chapter 20 Vocabulary
Querulous
Full of complaints; complaining.



Abdication
The act or state of abdicating; renunciation.



Insurrection
An act or instance of rising in revolt, rebellion, or resistance against civil authority or an established government.




Resolution
The act of resolving or determining upon an action or course of action, method, procedure, etc.



Precipitous
Extremely or impassably steep



Apprehensive
Uneasy or fearful about something that might happen



Impugning
To challenge as false (another's statements, motives, etc.); cast doubt upon.





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