Wednesday, March 13, 2013

PLAY - THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST - VOCABULARY

Vocabulary Study Sheet
The Importance of Being Earnest
Oscar Wilde
(cover the right side of the sheet to quiz yourself)
allusion
He alluded to Susan without mentioning her name.
an indirect reference
candid
I gave them my candid opinion
honest and direct
capacious
she carried a capacious bag
large in capacity
celibate
celibate priests
abstaining from (i.e., never having) sexual intercourse

or:

an unmarried person who has taken a religious vow of chastity
contempt -- as in: feels contempt towards him
Familiarity breeds contempt.
lack of respect -- often accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike or disgust
credulous
The trick would fool none but the most credulous.
gullible (being too willing to believe)
domestic -- as in: domestic happiness
They share the domestic chores.
relating to a home or family
eccentric
The home was built and then abandoned by an eccentricbillionaire.
unconventional or strange; or a person with such traits
elaborate
Will you elaborate on your comment that...?
to have or pay attention to details and complexity; or to add details

or:

to exaggerate an action
gravity -- as in: moment of utmost gravity
She suddenly realized the gravity of her situation.
serious -- typically a manner or feeling that is serious and solemn
heresy
a hard-line form of Sunni Islam that condemns all other strains as heresy
opinions or actions most people consider immoral
impetuous -- as in: an impetuous decision
an impetuous display of spending and gambling
impulsive (acting suddenly without much thought) -- often with an unfortunate consequence
indifferent
About a third are in favor of the change, a third are opposed, and a third are indifferent.
without interest -- in various senses such as:
  • unconcerned
  • unsympathetic
  • impartial
  • not of good quality (which may imply average or poor quality depending upon context)
indignant
She was indignant, but agreed to be searched when they accused her of shoplifting.
angered or annoyed at something unjust or wrong
lax
Lax safeguards contributed to the oil spill.
lacking in strictness or strength
metaphor
He was speaking metaphorically when he referred to being mugged by reality.
a figure of speech in which a word is used to refer to something that it does not literally denote in order to suggest a similarity -- as when Shakespeare wrote, "All the world`s a stage."
ostentatious
Although wealthy, the family is not ostentatious.
intended to attract notice and impress others -- especially with wealth in a vulgar way
philanthropy
Her primary interests are family and philanthropy.
helping others -- especially donating money to worthy causes; or an organization that does so
pretense
The country maintains a pretense of a free press.
an appearance or action to help one pretend
quixotic
quixotic law that was supposed to end excessive influence of special interests in government
impractical due to excessive romanticism or idealism
reconcile -- as in: reconciled their differences
She reconciled her checking account statement.
to bring into agreement
refute
The speaker refuted his opponent`s arguments
to prove or attempt to prove that something is false
reproach
She reproached him for being thoughtless and lazy.
a criticism; or to express criticism
resignation -- as in: accepted it with resignation
Come what may, she seems resigned to her fate.
acceptance of something undesired as unavoidable or the lesser of evils
speculate -- as in: don`t know, but I`ll speculate
philosophers have speculated on the question of God for thousands of years
to guess without certainty; or to reflect (think) deeply upon a subject
supercilious
Her mother eyed my clothes with a supercilious air.
showing arrogant disdain of those one views as unworthy
tedious
endured another of her tedious lectures
boring -- especially due to the amount of something that must be endured
utilitarian -- as in: utilitarian furniture
She likes plain utilitarian kitchenware.
designed for usefulness rather than beauty or style
vacillate
She was determined and did not vacillate in the least.
to change one`s mind back and forth between conflicting ideas

or:

to sway back and forth
vulgarity
Her vulgarity was a turnoff.
of bad taste -- often crude or offensive

or:

of unsophisticated (or common) -- especially of taste
For more vocabulary, click here for online vocabulary


No comments:

Post a Comment

Please add your comment. All feedback welcome!