TKAM Ch. 11 Vocabulary Flashcards
Passé
No longer fashionable or popular
ex. But when I was well into the second grade at school and tormenting Boo Radley became passé;, the business section of Maycomb drew us frequently up the street past the real property of Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose.
Apoplectic
Very angry and excited
ex. She was vicious. Once she heard Jem refer to our father as “Atticus” and her reaction was apoplectic..
Philippic
A bitter attack
ex. Jem was scarlet. I pulled at his sleeve, and we were followed up the sidewalk by a philippic on our family’s moral degeneration
Umbrage
Feelings of being offended by what someone says
ex. I wasn’t sure what Jem resented most, but I took umbrage at Mrs. Dubose’s assessment of the family’s mental hygiene.
Rectitude
Quality of being honest and morally correct.
ex. I sometimes wondered exactly what made Jem do it, what made him break the bonds of “You just be a gentleman, son,” and the phase of self-conscious rectitude he had recently entered.
Degeneration
he state or process of being or becoming degenerate; decline or deterioration.
ex. I pulled at his sleeve, and we were followed up the sidewalk by a philippic on our family’s moral degeneration
Disposition
Placement, position, qualities
ex. Jem had probably stood as much guff about Atticus lawing for niggers as had I, and I took it for granted that he kept his temper-he had a naturally tranquil disposition and a slow fuse.
Cantankerous
Bad-tempered, argumentative, and uncooperative
“As the mountain air,” said Atticus. “She was conscious to the last, almost. Conscious,” he smiled, “and cantankerous. She still disapproved heartily of my doings, and said I’d probably spend the rest of my life bailing you out of jail.
Palliation
The process or act of making the effects of something less painful or harsh.
ex. Calpurnia seemed to know all about it. She was a less than satisfactory source of palliation, but she did give Jem a hot biscuit-and-butter which he tore in half and shared with me.
Reconnaissance
Surveying or observation
ex. “Well, son?” said Atticus. He set me on my feet, and I made a secret reconnaissance of Jem. He seemed to be all in one piece, but he had a queer look on his face.
Tirade
A long, angry speech of criticism or accusation.
ex. I was expecting a tirade, but all she said was, “You may commence reading, Jeremy.”
Jem sat down in a cane-bottom chair and opened Ivanhoe. I pulled up another one and sat beside him.
Conscience
An inner feeling or voice viewed as acting as a guide to the rightness or wrongness of one’s behavior.
ex. This case, Tom Robinson’s case, is something that goes to the essence of a man’s conscience-Scout, I couldn’t go to church and worship God if I didn’t try to help that man.” ; “The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience.”
Guff
trivial, worthless, or insolent talk or ideas.
ex. Jem had probably stood as much guff about Atticus lawing for niggers as had I, and I took it for granted that he kept his temper-he had a naturally tranquil disposition and a slow fuse.
Asylum
the protection granted by a nation to someone who has left their native country as a political refugee.
ex. the major premise of which was that half the Finches were in the asylum anyway.
Beholden
owing thanks or having a duty to someone in return for help or a service
ex. “As the mountain air,” said Atticus. “She was conscious to the last, almost. Conscious,” he smiled, “and cantankerous. She still disapproved heartily of my doings, and said I’d probably spend the rest of my life bailing you out of jail.
