Ms. Gokturk

Earth Abides Vocabulary

PART I: World Without End

Chapter 1 -2

Vindictive : disposed to seek revenge : VENGEFUL

Incipient: beginning to come into being or to become apparent

Propound: to offer for discussion or consideration

Davenport: a large upholstered sofa often convertible into a bed

Fugitive: moving from place to place : WANDERING

Contrive: DEVISE, PLAN

Abeyance: temporary inactivity : SUSPENSION

Crest: top line of a mountain or hill

Despondent: DESPAIRING, DESPERATE, HOPELESS mean having lost all or nearly all hope. DESPONDENT implies a deep dejection arising from a conviction of the uselessness of further effort

Pathos: an element in experience or in artistic representation evoking pity or compassion

Poignant: deeply affecting : TOUCHING

Qualm: a feeling of uneasiness about a point especially of conscience or propriety

Rasp: to grate upon : IRRITATE

Caterwaul: to make a harsh cry

Disconsolate: DEJECTED, DOWNCAST

Shrewd: marked by clever discerning awareness and hardheaded acumen

Pomp: a show of magnificence : SPLENDOR

Sluttish: a promiscuous woman; especially : PROSTITUTE

Bushwack: AMBUSH; broadly : to attack suddenly : ASSAULT

Predilection: an established preference for something

Blunder: to move unsteadily or confusedly

Chapter 3 -4

Variegate: to enliven or give interest to by means of variety

Remnant: a usually small part, member, or trace remaining

Sinister: singularly evil or productive of evil

Conspicuous: obvious to the eye or mind

Incur: to become liable or subject to : bring down upon oneself

Joshua tree: a tall branched arborescent yucca (Yucca brevifolia) of the southwestern U.S. that has clustered greenish white flowers

Marooned: to put ashore on a desolate island or coast and leave to one's fate

Trite: lacking the freshness that evokes attention or interest

Fissure: narrow opening or crack of considerable length and depth usually occurring from some breaking or parting

Paddock: a usually enclosed area used especially for pasturing or exercising animals; especially : an enclosure where racehorses are saddled and paraded before a race

Dainty: showing avoidance of anything rough

Pronghorn: a ruminant mammal (Antilocapra americana) of treeless parts of western No. America that resembles an antelope

Culvert: a transverse drain

Jalopy: a dilapidated old vehicle (

Butte: an isolated hill or mountain with steep or precipitous sides usually having a smaller summit area than a mesa

Shoat: a young hog usually less than one year old

Forage: search for provisions

Caprice: a disposition to do things impulsively

Docile: easily led or managed

Aspiration: a strong desire to achieve something high or great

Grandeur: the quality or state of being grand : MAGNIFICE

Chapter 5, 6, 7, 8 & Quick Years

Dynamo: a forceful energetic individual

Befuddle: CONFUSE, PERPLEX

Vacant: devoid of thought, reflection, or expression

Raucous: boisterously disorderly

Incredulous: unwilling to admit or accept what is offered as true : not credulous : SKEPTICAL

Vigor: active bodily or mental strength or force

Swagger: to conduct oneself in an arrogant or superciliously pompous manner; especially : to walk with an air of overbearing self-confidence

Meticulous: marked by extreme or excessive care in the consideration or treatment of details

Knell: to sound in an ominous manner or with an ominous effect

Desist: to cease to proceed or act

Succulent: moist and tasty

Woebegone: strongly affected with woe : WOEFUL

Jostle: to make one's way by pushing and shoving

Lugubrious: MOURNFUL; especially : exaggeratedly or affectedly mournful

Dendrochronology: the science of dating events and variations in environment in former periods by comparative study of growth rings in trees and aged wood

Ogle: to eye amorously or provocatively

Havoc: great confusion and disorder

Primeval: of or relating to the earliest ages (as of the world or human history) : ANCIENT, PRIMITIVE

Reticent: inclined to be silent or uncommunicative in speech : RESERVED

Fervor: intensity of feeling or expression

Hypocrisy: a feigning to be what one is not or to believe what one does not; especially : the false assumption of an appearance of virtue or religion

Skeptic: an adherent or advocate of doubt or a disposition to incredulity either in general or toward a particular object

Vestige: a trace, mark, or visible sign left by something (as an ancient city or a condition or practice) vanished or lost (2) : the smallest quantity or trace b : FOOTPRINT

Quiescent: marked by inactivity or repose : tranquilly at rest

Desultory: marked by lack of definite plan, regularity, or purpose

Part II

The Year 22

Chapter 1, 2, 3, 4

Loll: to act or move in a lax, lazy, or indolent manner : LOUNGE

Bovine: having qualities (as placidity or dullness) characteristic of oxen or cows

Stolid: having or expressing little or no sensibility : UNEMOTIONAL

Languid: sluggish in character or disposition : LISTLESS

Rumpus: a usually noisy commotion

Fickle: marked by lack of steadfastness, constancy, or stability : given to erratic changeableness

Transcendent: exceeding usual limits : SURPASSING

Fusillade: a number of shots fired simultaneously or in rapid succession

Aberrant: deviating from the usual or natural type

Conscious: perceiving, apprehending, or noticing with a degree of controlled thought or observation

Conscience: the sense or consciousness of the moral goodness or blameworthiness of one's own conduct, intentions, or character together with a feeling of obligation to do right or be good

Babble: to talk enthusiastically or excessively

Pedant: one who makes a show of knowledge

Consternation: amazement or dismay that hinders or throws into confusion

Woe: used to express grief, regret, or distress

Wan: DIM, FAINT

Cumulative: made up of accumulated parts

Envisage: to view or regard in a certain way

Crestfallen: feeling shame or humiliation : DEJECTED

Retrograde: tending toward or resulting in a worse or previous state

Barbarian: lacking refinement, learning, or artistic or literary culture

Febrile: FEVERISH

Placate: to soothe or mollify especially by concessions : APPEASE

Heinous: hatefully or shockingly evil : ABOMINABLE

Chafe: to rub so as to wear away : ABRADE

Expedient: suitable for achieving a particular end in a given circumstance

Resonant: continuing to sound : ECHOING

Rendition: TRANSLATION , PERFORMANCE, INTERPRETATION

Chapter 5 & 6

Homage: expression of high regard : RESPECT

Galumph: to move with a clumsy heavy tread

Valiant: possessing or acting with bravery or boldness : COURAGEOUS

Stalwart: marked by outstanding strength and vigor of body, mind, or spirit

Omnipotent: having virtually unlimited authority or influence

Demagogue: a leader who makes use of popular prejudices and false claims and promises in order to gain power

Relic: an object esteemed and venerated because of association with a saint or martyr b : SOUVENIR, MEMENTO

Vacuum: emptiness of space, a state or condition resembling a vacuum : VOID

Fidelity: the quality or state of being faithful

Bigamy: the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another

Precocious: exhibiting mature qualities at an unusually early age

Phallic: of, relating to, or resembling a phallus (a symbol or representation of the penis)

Fallacy: a false or mistaken idea

Pun: the usually humorous use of a word in such a way as to suggest two or more of its meanings or the meaning of another word similar in sound

Bumptious: presumptuously, obtusely, and often noisily self-assertive : OBTRUSIVE

Chagrin: disquietude or distress of mind caused by humiliation, disappointment, or failure

Romp: high-spirited, carefree, and boisterous play

Diffident: hesitant in acting or speaking through lack of self-confidence

Provincial: a person of local or restricted interests or outlook b : a person lacking urban polish or refinement

Slander: to utter slander against : DEFAME

Skylark: a common largely brown Old World lark (Alauda arvensis) noted for its song especially as uttered in flight

Reticent: inclined to be silent or uncommunicative in speech : RESERVED

Oppress: SUPPRESS b : to crush or burden by abuse of power or authority

Finesse: refinement or delicacy of workmanship, structure, or texture

Chapter 7 & 8

Solidarity: unity (as of a group or class) that produces or is based on community of interests, objectives, and standards

Unkempt: deficient in order or neatness, not combed

Nonchalant: having an air of easy unconcern or indifference synonym see COOL

Defiance: disposition to resist : willingness to contend or fight

Taboo: banned on grounds of morality or taste

Preamble: an introductory fact or circumstance; especially : one indicating what is to follow

Precipitous: very steep, perpendicular, or overhanging in rise or fall

Florid: elaborately decorated

Boast: the act or an instance of boasting : BRAG

Precedent: prior in time, order, arrangement, or significance

Defile: to make unclean or impure: as a : to corrupt the purity or perfection of : DEBASE

Banish: to require by authority to leave a country

Idyllic: pleasing or picturesque in natural simplicity

Chaff: something comparatively worthless

Irrevocable: not possible to revoke : UNALTERABLE

Prostrate: stretched out with face on the ground in adoration or submission; also : lying flat

Inoculate: to introduce immunologically active material (as an antibody or antigen) into especially in order to treat or prevent a disease

Dormant: marked by a suspension of activity

Retribution: the dispensing or receiving of reward or punishment especially in the hereafter

Convalescence: to recover health and strength gradually after sickness or weakness

Chapter 9, 10, Quick Years and The Last American

Furtive: done by stealth : SURREPTITIOUS b : expressive of stealth : S

Torpid: lacking in energy or vigor : APATHETIC, DULL

Enmity: positive, active, and typically mutual hatred or ill will

Miser: a mean grasping person; especially : one who is extremely stingy with money

Wanton: LEWD, BAWDY b : causing sexual excitement : LUSTFUL, SENSUAL

Welter: to be in turmoil

Pinion: FEATHER, QUILL

Deference: respect and esteem due a superior or an elder

Regal: of, relating to, or suitable for a king

Decrepit: wasted and weakened by or as if by the infirmities of old age: WORN-OUT b : fallen into ruin or disrepair,3 : DILAPIDATED, RUN-DOWN

Dissent: to differ in opinion

Cosmogony: a theory of the origin of the universe

Contralto: a singing voice having a range between tenor and mezzo-soprano