Cloud Atlas Flashcards
Parvenu
Nouveau riche, upstart
Heathen
Pagan (not Christian, Jewish or Muslim); uncivilised, uncultured
Creed
System, doctrine
Ostracise
Exclude from society, banish, expatriate
Surf
Foam of a wave as it hits the shore
Diaphanous
Delicately hazy
Quilt
Soft, stiched covering for the bed
Nebulous
Hazy, vague, indistinct; cloudy/ cloudlike
Dwindle
to become smaller and smaller; shrink; waste away
Bosky
Shady, of dubious character, full of shades or bushes
Sylvan
Related to the woods; living in the woods; made of trees; person living in the woods; mystical deity from the woods
Condign
Well-deserved, merited, fitting
Retribution
Requital according to merits or deserts; especially for evil
Subsist
Exist, remain alive: on food, resources
Mercurial
Changeable, volatile, fickle
Squall
A sudden gust of wind, usually accompanied by sleet, snow or rain
Evince
Make evident, show clearly, manifest
Spirit foreshadowing one’s death
Wraith
Wand used by a music conductor
Baton
Assist, support; further, advance as aims
Second
Active, nimble, agile
Spry
Careful, cautious, prudent
Canny
excessively proper; affectedly correct; prim.
Prissy
Quick, sharp response in speech or action
Ripost
Clamour or outcry; clamorous or vigorous attempt to win customers or advance any cause; blatant publicity
Ballyhoo (ing) (ed)
Keep away from
Eschew
Bewilder, confound, confuse
Flummox
Entailing great expense and exquisite work, lavish, luxurious
Sumptuous
Steal in small quantities of little value (an ashtray from a restaurant)
Filch, pilfer
Unyielding, unalterable
Inexorable
Sorrowful
Doleful
Not affected by outside influence or power; isolated; airtight
Hermetic
Luckless, unfortunate
Hapless
Suitable, well adapted, pertinent
Apposite
Noun of conveying
Conveyance
Stictly required by etiquette, usage or fashion
De rigueur
Smooth uninterrupted transition from one thing to another (+verb)
Segue
Clandestine, private publishing of censored works
Samizdat
