The Scarlet Letter: Chapter 1-12 Vocab

Beadle

A minor church official who helps to keep order during services

contumely

insulting display of contempt in words or actions

ignominy

disgrace, dishonor, shame

inauspicious

boding ill; unfavorable

mien

the look of something; appearance

physiognomies

the face or countenance; outward appearance

pillory

A wooden framework erected on a post, with holes for securing the hands and head in order to expose a criminal to public ridicule or abuse

remonstrance

complaint; protest

sagacity

soundness of judgment

vie

to strive in competition for; to contend for superiority

anathemas

curses; denunciations; bad wishes

draught

a drink; a dose; that which is taken in by drinking or inhaling

efficacy

effectiveness; able to produce a result

expostulation

complaint; earnest protest

gesticulation

an animated gesture; a gesture made with excitement

paramour

lover; a beloved person

phantasmagoric

displaying an optical illusion; imagining changing scenes

quaff

to drink heartily

sable

black clothes worn in mourning

uncongenial

disagreeable; not pleasing

cabalistic

mystic; occult

chirurgical

surgical; a part of surgery

contagion

spread of an attitude, idea, or emotion

deportment

demeanor; conduct; behavior

despondent

feeling or showing no hope

emaciated

abnormally thin; marked by a lack of nutrition

erudition

knowledge acquired by study

imperious

dictatorial; urgent; commanding

leech

parasite; name for a doctor in the 1600's; something that clings to another for personal gain

pestilence

a deadly epidemic or disease; something harmful or evil

demerits

punishments for bad behavior

ethereal

light: airy; refined; extremely delicate

expiation

the means by which atonement or reparation are made

inextricable

incapable of being disentangled

inimical

involved; unable to undone or solved

ominous

foreboding, threatening

portent

an indication of; or omen of

scurrilous

obscenely abusive; insulting; offensive; vulgar

somnambulism

sleepwalking; performing acts while asleep

zenith

the highest point