A Raisin in the Sun Vocab Flashcards!

Question 1

undistinguished

Answer 1

adjective - common, nothing special

Question 2

pretense

Answer 2

noun - pretending or feigning; make-believe; a false show of something

Question 3

exasperated

Answer 3

noun - irritated, provoked, irked

Question 4

viciously

Answer 4

adverb - with violence or fury

Question 5

sullen

Answer 5

adjective - showing irritation or ill humor by a gloomy silence or reserve

Question 6

vindicated

Answer 6

verb - cleared of accusation, blame, or doubt - “The boy finally turns around and rolls his eyes at her, knowing the mood has changed and he is vindicated; he does not, however, move toward her yet” (30).

Question 7

proposition

Answer 7

noun - a suggested plan

Question 8

vengeance

Answer 8

noun - revenge

Question 9

tentatively

Answer 9

adverb - uncertainly

Question 10

furtively

Answer 10

adverb - stealthily, in a way that hides motive

Question 11

futile

Answer 11

adverb - useless - “But Lord, child, you should know all the dreams I had ‘bout making me a little garden in the back — (she waits and stops smiling) And didn’t none of it happen. (Dropping her hands in a futile gesture)” (45)

Question 12

tyrant

Answer 12

dictator, harsh ruler

Question 13

forlornly

Answer 13

adverb - pitifully, desperately, hopelessly

Question 14

mutilated

Answer 14

adjective - maimed, damaged

Question 15

assimilationism

Answer 15

noun - belief that minority cultures should be absorbed into a dominant culture

Question 16

insinuatingly

Answer 16

adverb - with more meaning than is spoken; implied - “(Insinuatingly, to her daughter) Yes, I guess I see why we done commence to get so interested in Africa ‘round here” (66)

Question 17

haphazardly

Answer 17

adverb - carelessly

Question 18

arrogant

Answer 18

adjective - proud, haughty

Question 19

eccentric

Answer 19

adjective - deviating from the norm, strange

Question 20

oppressive

Answer 20

adjective - tyrannical

Question 21

cliché

Answer 21

noun - trite or overused expression or idea

Question 22

plaintively

Answer 22

adverb - sorrowfully, pathetically

Question 23

menacingly

Answer 23

adverb - threateningly

Question 24

exuberant

Answer 24

adjective - marked by unrestrained enthusiasm

Question 25

presumably

Answer 25

adverb - probably, reasonably supposed

Question 26

rebuff

Answer 26

noun - blunt refusal

Question 27

revelation

Answer 27

noun - new information

Question 28

amiably

Answer 28

adverb - good-naturedly

Question 29

ludicrous

Answer 29

adjective - ridiculous

Question 30

ominous

Answer 30

adjective - menacing, threatening

Question 31

plunder

Answer 31

verb - to rob, to loot - “What about all the crooks and thieves and just plain idiots who will come into power and steal and plunder the same as before—only now they will be black and do it in the name of the new Independence—WHAT ABOUT THEM?!” (134).

Question 32

wrought

Answer 32

verb - shaped, made

Question 33

monologue

Answer 33

noun - long speech by one person

Question 34

eccentricity

Answer 34

noun - quality of being strange or unusual in behavior

Question 35

epitaph

Answer 35

noun - inscription on a tombstone