Gatsby vocab

Question 1

Infinitesimal

Answer 1

adj
“After an infinitesimal hesitation he included Daisy with a slight nod and she winked at me again” (16)
Extremely small; minute; tiny
Looking down from the plane, all the infinitesimal cars looked like toy cars moving at a snail’s pace

Question 2

Contiguous

Answer 2

adj
“The only building in sight was a small block of yellow brick sitting on the edge of the waste land, a sort of compact Main Street ministering to it and contiguous to absolutely nothing” (27)
Sharing a common border; adjacent
Only after texting him, did I realize he was in the contiguous classroom to me

Question 3

Mincing

Answer 3

adj
“‘My dear,’ she told her sister in a high mincing shout, ‘most of these fellas will cheat you every time. All they think of is money” (34)
Moving or behaving in a dainty or delicate way
Trying to get rid of the spider, he moved in a mincing matter, scared of the apparent danger

Question 4

Strident

Answer 4

adj
“I wanted to get out and walk eastward toward the park through the soft twilight but each time I tried to go I became entangled in some wild strident argument which pulled me back, as if with ropes, into my chair” (39)
Loud and harsh; grating
Relaxing on my couch, I all of the sudden heard an unexpected strident noise from my brother’s trumpet, startling me.

Question 5

Punctilious

Answer 5

adj
“This quality was continually breaking through his punctilious manner in the shape of restlessness” (69)
Showing great attention to detail or correct behavior
After getting a bad grade on the group quiz, we made sure to be on our punctilious behavior to get a good grade on the next.

Question 6

Corrugate

Answer 6

verb
“ — but outside Gatsby’s window it began to rain again so we stood in a row looking at the corrugated surface of the Sound” (99)
To contract or cause to contract into wrinkles or folds
After not ironing for a while, my shirts began to corrugate.

Question 7

Nebulous

Answer 7

adj
“He was now decently clothed in a ‘sport shirt’ open at the neck, sneakers and duck trousers of a nebulous hue” (101)
Hazy, unclear vague
Often, his ideas are quite nebulous, I never know just what he is talking about or referring to.

Question 8

Conceit

Answer 8

adj
“The most grotesque and fantastic conceits haunted him in his bed at night” (104)
Excessive pride in oneself
After winning the game, the other team’s conceit captain was telling everyone about his aiding efforts in the win.

Question 9

Ineffable

Answer 9

adj
“A universe of ineffable gaudiness spun itself out in his brain while the clock ticked on the wash-stand and the moon soaked with wet light his tangled clothes upon the floor” (104)
Too great or too extreme to be expressed or described in words
As I stood in awe on top of the mountain, the ineffable scale and majesty of the scenery amazed me.

Question 10

Adventitious

Answer 10

adj
“and the adventitious authority of his voice set the key for the newspaper reports next morning” (174)
Happening or carried on according to chance rather than design or inherent nature
On the gameshow, I decided to take an adventitious guess, it was correct.

Question 11

Surmise

Answer 11

Verb
“I telephoned news of the catastrophe to West Egg village, every surmise about him, and every practical question, was referred to me” (175)
To suppose something is true without having evidence to confirm it; to deduce, infer, or assume
I surmise that the world is flat because… well I don’t know.

Question 12

Transitory

Answer 12

adj
“for a transitory enchanted moment man must have held his breath in the presence of…” (192)
Not permanent
My A plus in the class was merely transitory, as after the next grueling test, it dropped to a B.