A Raisin in the Sun Vocabulary Flashcards
Undistinguished (Adjective)
Common; Nothing special; Ordinary; Not respected/admired; “Its furnishings are typical and undistinguished and their primary feature now is that they have clearly had to accommodate the living of too many people for too many years — and they are tired.”
Pretense (Noun)
Pretending or feigning; Make - believe; A false show of something; Putting on an act; “All pretenses but living itself have long since vanished from the very atmosphere of this room.”
Exasperated (Adjective)
Irritated / Annoyed; Provoked; Frustrated; Intensely; (The boy gives her an exasperated look for her lack of understanding, and eats grudgingly)
Viciously (Adverb)
With violence or fury; In a cruel/violent manner; (Travis jabs his spoon into his cereal bowl viciously, and rests his head in anger upon his fists)
Sullen (Adjective)
Showing irritation or ill humor by a gloomy silence or reserve; Bad - tempered; Gloomy; (With sullen politeness) “Yes’m.”
Vindicated (Verb)
Cleared of accusation, blame/suspicion, or doubt; Declared innocent; Cleared; (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)
Proposition (Noun)
A suggested plan; Proposal; “This ain’t no fly-by-night proposition, baby.”
Vengeance (Noun)
Revenge; “She closes the door with a sleepy vengeance and crosses to the table and sits down a little defeated)
Tentatively (Adverb)
Uncertainty; Lack confidence; With hesitancy; (She waits several seconds, trying to make up her mind about something, and looks at Ruth a little tentatively before going on)
Furtively (Adverb)
Stealthily; In a way that hides motive; Avoid notice/attention; Secretively; (Studying her mother-in-law furtively and concentrating on her ironing, anxious to encourage without seeming to)
Futile (Adjective)
Useless; Incapable of producing any result/useful result; (Dropping her hands in a futile gesture)
Tyrant (Noun)
Dictator; Harsh ruler; Cruel and oppressive ruler; “I also see that everybody thinks it’s all right for Mama to be a tyrant.”
Forlornly (Adverb)
Pitifully; Desperately; Hopelessly; In a way that shows loneliness and unhappiness; (Ruth comes in forlornly and pulls off her coat with dejection.
Mutilated (Adjective)
Maimed - Wound or injure (someone) so that part of the body is permanently damaged; Damaged; Injure; Wound; Inflict serious damage on; “You wear it well… very well… mutilated hair and all.”
Assimilationism (Noun)
Belief that minority cultures should be absorbed into a dominant culture; “Assimilationism is so popular in your country”
Insinuatingly (Adverb)
With more meaning than is spoken; Implied; “Lord, that’s a pretty thing just went out here!” (Insinuatingly, to her daughter)
Haphazardly (Adverb)
Carelessly; Aimlessly; In a manner lacking any obvious principle of organization; “She sets the headdress on haphazardly and then notices her hair again and clutches at it and then replaces the headdress and frowns at herself.”
Arrogant (Adjective)
Proud; Haughty - arrogantly superior and disdainful; having or revealing an exaggerated sense of one’s own importance or abilities; Behaving as if you are better than everyone else; (She promenades to the radio and, with an arrogant flourish, turns off the good loud blues that is playing)
Eccentric (Adjective)
Deviating from the norm; Strange; Behave in a strange way, and have habits or opinions that are different from most people; “Oh, don’t be so proud of yourself, Bennie — just because you look eccentric.”
Oppressive (Adjective)
Tyrannical; Unjustly inflicting hardship and constraint, especially on a minority/subordinate group; “It means someone who is willing to give up his own culture and submerge himself completely in the dominant, and in this case oppressive culture!”
Cliché (Noun)
Trite or overused expression or idea; Betrays a lack of original thought; (She smiles happily at this cliché of clichés)
Plaintively (Adverb)
Sorrowfully; Pathetically; Sounding sad and mournful (Deep grief); (Plaintively) “Walter Lee — why don’t we just try to talk about it…”
Menacingly (Adverb)
Threateningly; Suggestive of coming danger; (Mama clamps her lips together, and Ruth advances toward her son menacingly)
Exuberant (Adjective)
Marked by unrestrained enthusiasm; Filled with or characterized by a lively energy and excitement; (And she builds with momentum as she starts to circle the room with an exuberant, almost tearfully happy release)
