Scarlet Letter Focused Vocabulary

The Focused Vocab of Scarlet Letter

Ponderous

(adj) slow and clumsy because of great weight

Indubitably

(adv) unquestionably

Scourged

(v)subjected to severe criticism

Infamy

(adj) fame for something evil

Behoof

(n) advantage

Abashed

(adj) embarrassed

Sumptuary

(adj) designed to regulate habits on moral or religious grounds

Congenial

(adj) pleasant, friendly

Inauspicious

(adj) not prosperous or promising

Gentility

(n) the upper class

Evanescent

(adj) tending to vanish, like vapor

Ignominy

public shame for dishonorable conduct, quality, or action

Brazen

(adj) bold

Iniquity

(n) wickedness

Visage

(n) face

Mien

(n) appearance; aspect

Sagacity

(n) shrewdness/wisdom

Efficacy

(n) effectiveness

Mutability

(n) changeableness

Erudition

(n) knowledge acquired chiefly from books

Latent

(adj) present but not visible or active; dormant

Odious

(adj) deserving of hatred

Ethereal

(adj) celestial; heavenly

Petulant

(adj) insolent or rude

Precocity

(n) the quality of exhibiting mature qualities at an unusually early age

Acrid

(adj) bitter

Enigma

(n)something hard to understand or explain; mystery

Accosting

(v) attacking

Propensity

(n)intense inclination

Misanthropy

(n)hatred or distrust of humankind

Vicissitude

(n) changing circumstances

Introspection

(n) examination of one’s own emotional or mental state

Irrefragable

(adj) not to be disputed or contested

Gratuitous

(adj) without apparent reason or justification

Penitence

(n)regret for sin or wrongdoing