Short Stories Vocab

Question 1

Profusely

Answer 1

1) adverb 2) exhibiting great abundance; bountiful 3) “The flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green” (738).

Question 2

Boisterous

Answer 2

1) adjective 2) noisy, energetic, and cheerful; rowdy 3) “they tended to gather together quietly for a while before they broke into boisterous play,”(738)

Question 3

Reprimand

Answer 3

1) noun 2) a rebuke, especially an official one. 3) “and their talk was still of the classroom and the teacher, of books and reprimands.”(738)

Question 4

Civic

Answer 4

1) adjective 2) relating to a city or town, especially its administration; municipal. 3) “who had time and energy to devote to civic activities.”(739)

Question 5

Jovial

Answer 5

1) adjective 2) cheerful and friendly 3) “He was a round-faced, jovial man and he ran the coal business,”(739)

Question 6

Paraphernalia:

Answer 6

1) noun 2) miscellaneous articles, especially the equipment needed for a particular activity. 3) “The original paraphernalia for the lottery had been lost long ago”(739)

Question 7

Perfunctory:

Answer 7

1) adjective 2) (of an action or gesture) carried out with minimum effort or reflection 3) “at one time, some people remembered, there had been a recital of some sort, performed by the official of the lottery, a perfunctory, tuneless chant that had been rattled off duly each year;” (740)

Question 8

Interminably:

Answer 8

1) adverb 2) all the time; seemingly without stopping 3) “he seemed very proper and important as he talked interminably ro Mr. Graves and the Martins.”

Question 9

Surly:

Answer 9

1) adjective 2) bad-tempered and unfriendly 3) “So me and Sugar leaning on the mailbox being surly, which is a Miss Moore word.”(196)

Question 10

Ferocious:

Answer 10

1) adjective 2) savagely fierce, cruel, or violent 3) “But then he tries to take off with Junebug foot still in the door so we talk about his mama something ferocious.”(197)

Question 11

Notion:

Answer 11

1) noun 2) an impulse or desire, especially one of whimsical kind 3) “And Big Butt ain’t got the first notion.”(197)
Recitation: 1) noun 2) the action of repeating something aloud from memory 3) “I read it again for myself just in case the group recitation put me in a trance.”(198)

Question 12

Treachery:

Answer 12

1) noun 2) betrayal of trust 3) “Miss Moore is besides herself and I am disgusted with Sugar’s treachery.”(201)

Question 13

Gofer:

Answer 13

1) noun 2) someone who runs errands, especially on a movie set or in an office 3) “She was the main gofer in the family.”(196)

Question 14

Furtive:

Answer 14

1) adjective 2) attempting to avoid notice or attention, typically because of guilt or a belief that discovery would lead to trouble; secretive. 3) “Furtive boys in pink shirts hanging about on washday after school”(169)

Question 15

Cowering:

Answer 15

1) verb 2) crouch down in fear 3) “She stoops down quickly and lines up picture after picture of me sitting there in front of the house with Maggie cowering behind me.”(170)

Question 16

Doctrines:

Answer 16

1) noun 2) a belief or set of beliefs held and taught by a Church, political party, or other group. 3) “I accept some of their doctrines, but farming and raising cattle is not my style.”(171)

Question 17

Dasher:

Answer 17

1) noun 2) a plunger for agitating cream in a churn 3) “And I want the dasher too.”

Question 18

Heritage:

Answer 18

1) noun 2)property that is or may be inherited; an inheritance. 3) “Your heritage”(174)

Question 19

Trifles:

Answer 19

1) noun 2) thing of little value or importance 3) “Women are used to worrying over trifles”(821)

Question 20

Disdainful:

Answer 20

1) adjective 2) showing contempt or lack of respect 3) “Then, as if releasing herself from something strange, Mrs. Hale began to arrange the dirty pans under the sink, which the county attorney’s disdainful push of the foot had deranged.”(823)

Question 21

Acquiescence:

Answer 21

1) noun 2) the reluctant acceptance of something without protest. 3) “‘Of course it’s no more than their duty,’ said the sheriff’s wife, in her manner of timid acquiescence.”(823)

Question 22

Detained:

Answer 22

1) verb 2) ; 3) “Mrs. Hale stood examining the clothes the woman who was being detained in town had said she wanted.”(824)

Question 23

Shabby:

Answer 23

1) adjective 2) in poor condition through long or hard use or lack of care. 3) “‘Wright was close!’ she exclaimed, holding up a shabby black skirt that bore the marks of much making over.”(824)

Question 24

Indecisive:

Answer 24

1) adjective 2) not settling an issue 3) “But next moment she moved, and said in her thin, indecisive way”(827)

Question 25

Scrutinized:

Answer 25

1) verb 2) examine or inspect closely and thoroughly 3) “Mrs. Peters’ back turned, Martha Hale now scrutinized that piece, compared it with the dainty, accurate sewing of the other blocks.”(827)

Question 26

Apprehensive:

Answer 26

1) adjective 2) anxious or fearful that something bad or unpleasant will happen 3) “Again their eyes met–startled, questioning, apprehensive. For a moment neither spoke nor stirred”(828)

Question 27

Incisively:

Answer 27

1) adverb 2) in a clear and direct way that shows good understanding of what is important 3) “‘No, Peters,’ said the county attorney incisively; ‘it’s all perfectly clear, except the reason for doing it. But you know juries when it comes to women. If there was some definite thing–something to show. Something to make a story about. A thing that would connect up with this clumsy way of doing it.’”

Question 28

Evasion:

Answer 28

1) noun 2) the action of evading something 3) “There was a moment when they held each other in a steady, burning look in which there was no evasion nor flinching.”(833)

Question 29

Facetiously:

Answer 29

1) adverb 2) in a way that is not serious, in an attempt to be funny or to appear clever about a serious subject 3) “‘Well, Henry,’ said the county attorney facetiously, ‘at least we found out that she was not going to quilt it. She was going to–what is it you call it, ladies?’”(834)

Question 30

Pungent

Answer 30

1) adjective 2) having a sharply strong taste or smell 3) “My brothers and I would peer into the medicinal herb shop, watching old Li dole out onto a stiff sheet of white paper the right amount of insect shells, saffron-colored seeds, and pungent leaves for his ailing customers.”(225)

Question 31

Solemnity

Answer 31

1) noun 2) the state or quality of being serious and dignified 3) “I nodded back with equal solemnity.”(226)

Question 32

Pawn

Answer 32

1) noun 2) a chess piece of the smallest size and value. A pawn moves one square forward along its file if unobstructed (or two on the first move), or one square diagonally forward when making a capture. Each player begins with eight pawns on the second rank, and can promote a pawn to become any other piece (typically a queen) if it reaches the opponent’s end of the board. 3) “Vincent got the chess set, which would have been a very decent present to get at a church Christmas party, except it was obviously used and, as we discovered later, it was missing a black pawn and a white knight.”(227)

Question 33

Benevolently

Answer 33

1) adverb 2) in a way that is kind or helpful 3) “‘Little sister, been a long time since I play with dolls,’ he said, smiling benevolently.”(229)

Question 34

Retort

Answer 34

1) noun 2) say something in answer to a remark or accusation, typically in a sharp, angry, or wittily incisive manner 3) “I quickly put the box down next to him on the bench and displayed my retort.”(229)

Question 35

Prodigy

Answer 35

1) noun 2) a person, especially a young one, endowed with exceptional qualities or abilities 3) “I was still some 429 points away from grand-master status, but I was touted as the Great American Hope, a child prodigy and a girl to boot.”(231)

Question 36

Malodorous

Answer 36

1) adjective 2) smelling very unpleasant 3) “He wore a dark, malodorous suit.”(231)

Question 37

Concessions 1) noun 2) a thing that is granted, especially in response to demands 3) “My parents made many concessions to allow me to practice.”(232)