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A vocabulary word list from the novel HARD TIMES written by Charles Dickens:
Www.myvocabulary.com thanks the high school teacher who taught this book over 11 weeks in her “Literature and Composition 3-Honors” course.
Of the 112 vocabulary word list for Hard Times by Charles Dickens, 54 have definitions.
- Week 1:
swarthy (Adj.) Having a dark complexion or color
Visage (N.) The face or facial expression of a person; Appearance
Vengeful (Adj.) Vindictive; Indicating or proceeding from a desire for revenge
Tenacity (N.) Persistent determination
Scrupulously (Adv.) Conscientious and exact
Improvident (Adj.) Not providing for the future; thriftless
Magnanimous (Adj.) Generous in forgiving; unselfish
Indolence (N.) Habitual laziness; sloth
Impertinent (Adj.) Improperly forward or bold; irrelevant
Portentously (Adj.) Marked by pompousness; pretentiously weighty
- Week 2:
Balm (N.) An aromatic salve or oil
Languishing (V.) To be or become weak or feeble; lose strength or vigor
Nocturnal (Adj.) Of, relating to, or occurring in the night
Reverie (N.) A state of abstracted musing; daydreaming
Enervated (V.) To weaken or destroy the strength or vitality of
Hybrid (N.) Something of mixed origin or composition
Inquest (N.) An investigation or inquiry
Jocular (Adj.) Characterized by joking
Accession (N.) The attainment of a dignity or rank; Agreement or assent
Languid (Adj.) Lacking energy or vitality; weak
Whelp (N.) Young offspring of a mammal
- Week 3:
Proffered (V.) To offer for acceptance; tender
Hypocrite (N.) A person who professes beliefs and opinions that he does not hold
Indicative (Adj.) Serving to show the way to or the direction of; point out
Battened (V.) To thrive and prosper, especially at another\\\’s expense
Plunder (V.) To rob of goods by force, especially in time of war; pillage
Declaimed (V.) To speak loudly and vehemently; inveigh
Inanity (N.) Something empty of meaning or sense
Corrugated (V.) To shape into folds or parallel and alternating ridges and grooves
Craven (Adj.) Characterized by abject fear; cowardly
Recreant (Adj.) Unfaithful or disloyal to a belief, duty, or cause
Avowal (N.) A frank admission or acknowledgment
- Week 4:
Indignant (Adj.) Angered at something unjust or wrong
Propriety (N.) Conformity to prevailing customs and usages
Renounce (V.) To give up
Posterity (N.) Future generations; All of a person\\\’s descendants
Indolent (Adj.) Disinclined to exert oneself; habitually lazy
Confounded (Adj.) Confused; befuddled
Staunchly (V.) To stop or check the flow of
Infirmities (N.) A bodily ailment or weakness; Frailty; feebleness
Corroboration (V.) To strengthen or support with other evidence; make more certain
Genteel (Adj.) Marked by refinement in taste and manners
Benevolence (N.) An inclination to perform kind, charitable acts
- Week 5:
Philanthropy (N.) The effort or inclination to increase the well-being of humankind
Reiteration (V.) To say or do again or repeatedly
Deficient (Adj.) Lacking an essential quality or element
Mercenary (Adj.) Motivated solely by a desire for monetary or material gain
Misanthropically (Adj.) Characterized by a hatred or mistrustful scorn for humankind
Parapet (N.) A low protective wall or railing
bedevilments (N.) the act of harassing someone
Reposing (N.) Freedom from worry; peace of mind
Imputation (N.) a statement attributing something dishonest
Disseminate (V.) To scatter widely, as in sowing seed
Morosely (Adj.) Sullenly melancholy; gloomy
- Week 6: 10 vocabulary words need to be defined if you are unfamiliar with the meaning of the vocabulary word:
Spats Homburg, Chesterfield, Dun, Nebulous, Sullen, Trudge, Eviction, Cataract, Trusty
- Week 7: 10 vocabulary words need to be defined if you are unfamiliar with the meaning of the vocabulary word:
Ofay, Vestibule, Nonchalant, Malicious, Lethargy, Fyce, Repress, Eloquence, Verbiage, Defunct
- Week 8: 10 vocabulary words need to be defined if you are unfamiliar with the meaning of the vocabulary word:
Articulate, Smug, Indignant, Brood, Peal, Imperious, Emphatic, Pince-nez,, Impertinent, Exhilarated
- Week 9: A vocabulary word list of 10 words from Hard Times by Charles Dickens will need to be defined if you are unaware of the meaning of the word:
Synchronize, Disputation, Caucus, Dialectics, Exaltation, Hoodlum, Belligerent, Evasive, Blighting, Barrage
- A vocabulary word list of 10 words from Hard Times by Charles Dickens may need definitions for unfamiliar words:
Volatile, Pomade, Disperse, Spiel, Piteously, Euphonium, Huckster, Amorphous, Veer, Antiphonal
- Week 11: A vocabulary word list of eight words from Hard Times by Charles Dickens may need to be defined if you are unaware of the meaning of the vocabulary word:
Debunk, Morbid, Eloquence, Aspire, Affirm, Albino, Infinite, Chaos
Links to vocabulary words lists and puzzles for other Charles Dickens novels:
A Christmas Carol
A Tale of Two Cities
David Copperfield
Great Expectations
Hard Times – you are here
Thanks the high school teacher who taught this book over 11 weeks in her “Literature and Composition 3-Honors” course. As always, a big thanks to Jan Cook, formerly of Sacred Heart Prep in Atherton, CA, for her coordination of this information. Her email = jancook@myvocabulary.com
