Word List 2 - Groups 4-5

Question 1

adamant

Answer 1

Forceful; inflexible

Both the Montagues and the Capulets were adamant in their large conflict with each other.

Question 2

brawny

Answer 2

Muscular

Ethan Frome was most likely brawny, due to the strength required to work with a farm and mill everyday.

Question 3

decathlon

Answer 3

An athletic competition with ten events

Katniss could easily participate and compete in a decathlon because of her athletic prowess.

Question 4

equivocate

Answer 4

Speak ambiguously; avoid telling the truth

There were many instances where Holden Caulfield equivocated in front of other people who he met.

Question 5

hieroglyphics

Answer 5

1. Picture writing; 2. Writing which is difficult to read or enigmatic
   Holden’s handwriting, due to his neglect of education, probably looked like hieroglyphics, appearing illegible.

Question 6

larceny

Answer 6

Theft; robbery; stealing

Jessica performed an act of larceny when she robbed Shylock by stealing a portion of his wealth when she ran away.

Question 7

obsession

Answer 7

A dominating concern

Shylock had an obsession with money and wealth, and this is apparent through his greedy attitude.

Question 8

ponderous

Answer 8

Weighty; slow and heavy

Katniss was the opposite of a ponderous person, since she possessed agility and speed, being light in weight.

Question 9

retention

Answer 9

Preservation; withholding
Shylock’s retention of his own wealth and money was put to an end when he was ordered to relinquish his wealth at the end of Antonio’s trial.

Question 10

timorous

Answer 10

Cowardly; fearful
Ethan Frome had a few timorous thought when pondering about running away with Mattie, since he was worried Zeena’s welfare.

Question 11

adroit

Answer 11

Skillful

Holden was quite adroit with falsifying information, always lying to the many people who he met in New York.

Question 12

brevity

Answer 12

Being brief

There was no brevity in Romeo’s speech to Juliet as she was on the balcony, where he expressed his love for her.

Question 13

decorum

Answer 13

Dignified, correct behavior

Portia, as a prim and proper noble, was probably trained from a young age to practice decorum, being courteous.

Question 14

err

Answer 14

Make a mistake
Holden Caulfield erred many times in his journey in New York City, meeting a prostitute, going into bars, and smoking in nuns’ faces.

Question 15

hinder

Answer 15

Obstruct

Portia, disguised as a male lawyer, hindered Shylock in his desire to procure the pound of flesh from Antonio.

Question 16

largess

Answer 16

Generosity

Zeena had no largess in her heart, for she was cold in her attitudes and was quite selfish at times.

Question 17

obsolete

Answer 17

No longer valid

To say that Shylock was wealthy by the end of The Merchant of Venice is an obsolete statement, since he lost everything.

Question 18

pontificate

Answer 18

Speak pompously or dogmatically

In Shylock’s time, Christians often pontificated to Jews, who were seems as inferior, evil, and selfish.

Question 19

reticent

Answer 19

Restrained; holding something back; uncommunicative
Juliet was reticent in keeping her love and concern for Romeo a secret to her parents, and so, she instead mourned for her dead cousin, Tybalt.

Question 20

tirade

Answer 20

Stream of verbal abuse
When Juliet disagreed with her parents about marriage to Paris, Lord Capulet, in anger, gave a tirade to Juliet with angry statements.