The Great Gatsby Vocabulary List

Privy

a : PRIVATE, WITHDRAWN, b : SECRET. Belonging or relating to a person in one's individual rather than official capacity or admitted as one sharing in a secret (---- to the conspiracy)

Levity

excessive or unseemly frivolity/lack of steadiness: CHANGEABLENESS

Abortive

imperfectly formed or developed, tending to cut short: FRUITLESS, UNSUCCESSFUL

Epigram

a terse, sage, or witty and often paradoxical saying dealing pointedly and often satirically with a single thought or event and often ending with an ingenious turn of thought. (Kind of like Gatsby's "old sport" saying)

Reproach

an expression of rebuke or disapproval, a cause or occasion of blame: DISCREDIT, DISGRACE

Supercilious

cooling and patronizingly haughty: PROUD ( reacted to their breach of etiquette with a — smile)

Fractiousness

troublesomeness: unruliness: quarreling: irritability

Divan

a large couch usually without back or arms often designed for use as a bed

Incredulously

in a manner that shows an unwillingness to admit or accept what is offered as true: skeptically

Languidly

in a manner that is sluggish in character or disposition as if from exhaustion: listlessly, WEAK

Infinitesimal

immeasurably or incalculably small (close to but greater than zero)

Rotogravure

a system of intaglio printing. It consists of transferring to paper fluid ink contained in the cells of the printing cylinder, while the projecting nonprinting areas on the surface of this cylinder are kept free of ink by constant wiping.

Peremptorily

in a manner that is expressive of urgency or command and characterized by often imperious or arrogant self-assurance: haughtily

Corroborate

to support with evidence or authority: make more certain, CONFIRM

Sumptuous

extremely costly, rich, luxurious, or magnificent (opposite of sumptuary)

Anemic

lacking force, spirit, interest, or substance: INSIPID

Countenance

the face as an indication of mood/character usually with a calm expression: VISAGE

Hauteur

arrogance, haughtiness

Contiguous

being in actual contact: touching along a boundary or at a point: ALSO next or near in time or sequence.

Strident

characterized by harsh, insistent, and discordant sound: commanding attention by a loud or obtrusive quality, LOUD, VOCIFEROUS

Prodigality

reckless extravagance and wasteful expenditure, lavishness

Contemptuous

manifesting, feeling, or expressing disdain or a lack of respect or reverence

Credulity

readiness of willingness to believe especially on slight or uncertain evidence

Homogeneity

the quality or state of being of the same or similar kind or nature; the uniform structure or composition of an item.

Vacuous

emptied of or lacking content whether intellectual (STUPID, INSANE) or occupation (IDLE)

Convivial

relating to, occupied with, or fond of feasting, drinking, and good company (Think of Gatsby's parties)

Deplorably

in a manner deserving censure or contempt: WRETCHEDLY

Jaunty

sprightly in manner or appearance: GENTEEL, STYLISH

Caterwauling

crying harshly; quarreling noisily

Subterfuges

deception by artifice or stratagem in order to conceal, escape, or evade (DECEPTIONS)

Erroneous

containing or characterized by error: MISTAKEN

Obstetric

of, relating to, ,or associated with childbirth or the branch of medical science that deals with birth and with its antecedents and sequels.

Innuendo

an oblique allusion especially a veiled or equivocal reflection on character or reputation: HINT, INSINUATION

Rivulets

small streams

Affectations

the act of taking on or displaying attitude or mode of behavior not natural to oneself or not genuinely felt: POSE

Somnambulatory

being inclined to walk when asleep; characteristic of sleepwalking

Unfathomable

impossible to comprehend: IMMEASURABLE

Cornice

the molded and projecting top course that crowns a wall

Labyrinth

something extremely complex or tortuous in structure, arrangement, or character: MAZE, INTRICACY

Raja

an Indian or Malay prince or chief: the bearer of a title of nobility among the Hindus

Defunct

no longer existing, living, or functioning; DEAD

Corrugated

having a surface that has wrinkled or folds or alternating ridges and grooves

Obstinate

perversely adhering to an opinion purpose or course in spite of reason arguments, or persuasion: not easily subdued, remedied, or removed.

Pompadour

a man and woman's hairdressing where their hair is combed out to the front or brush around the face.

Nebulous

of, relating to, or resembling a cloud or gas; can ALSO be INDISTINCT, VAGUE

Meretricious

a: tawdrily and falsely attractive or b: superficially significant: PRETENTIOUS, GAUDY. (the paradise they found was a piece of - trash)

Ineffable

a: incapable of being expressed in words, INDESCRIBABLE or b: not to be uttered, TABOO

Contingency

an event (as an emergency) that may but is not certain to occur (trying to provide for every —), JUNCTURE: is liable to happen as a result of something else

Debauchee

one given to extreme indulgences in sensuality

Ingratiate

to gain favor or favorable acceptance for by deliberate effort - usually used with with ( — themselves with community leaders)

Dilatory

tending or intended to cause delay: characterized by procrastination, TARDY ( — in paying bills)

Incarnation

a concrete of actual form of a quality or concept (usually a deity or spirit) especially a person showing a trait or typical character to a marked degree (she is the — of goodness)

Caravansary

a HOTEL or INN surrounding a court in eastern countries where caravans rest at night

Indiscreet

not having or showing discernment or good judgment in conduct and especially in speech: lacking discretion

Inexplicable

incapable of being explained, interpreted or accounted for

Inviolate

not profaned: especially PURE

Disquieting

taking away the peace; not tranquil; disturbing or alarming (DISCOMPOSED)

Portentous

1: of, relating to, or constituting a sign or omen. 2: eliciting amazement or wonder, PRODIGIOUS. 3: being a grave or serious matter ( — decisions), b: self consciously solemn or important: POMPOUS. c: ponderously excessive

Irreverent

lacking proper respect or seriousness: SATIRIC

Traverse

1: to go against or act in opposition to, OPPOSE, THWART. 2: to go or travel across, over, or through, (light rays —ing through a crystal)

Libertine

a person who is unrestrained by convention or morality, one leading a dissolute life

Prig

one who offends or irritates by observance of proprieties (as of speech or manners) in a pointed manner to an obnoxious degree.

Vicariously

in a manner that experiences or realizes through imaginative or sympathetic participation in the experience of another

Rancor

bitter deep-seated ill will, EMNITY

Magnanimous

1: showing or suggesting a lofty and courageous spirit (the irreproachable lives and — sufferings of their followers) 2: showing or suggesting nobility of feeling and generosity of mind ( too sincere for dissimulation, too - magnanimous for resentment)

Presumptuous

overstepping due bounds (as of propriety or courtesy): taking liberties

Expostulation

an act or instance of discussing or examining: earnest reasoning with a person for purposes of dissuasion or remonstrance

Despicable

deserving to be despised, so worthless or obnoxious as to rouse moral indignation, CONTEMPTIBLE

Indiscernible

incapable of or not recognizable as distinct

Redolent

a: exuding fragrance, AROMATIC + SCENTED, (air — of seaweed). B: EVOCATIVE, SUGGESTIVE

Stratum

a socioeconomic level of society comprising persons of the same or similar status especially with regard to education or culture.

Cahoot

(usually used in plural), PARTNERSHIP, LEAGUE, (they're in —'s)

Amorphous

having no definite form, character, or nature: SHAPELESS, UNCLASSIFIABLE

Garrulous

given to prosy, rambling, or tedious loquacity: TALKATIVE

Pneumatic

a: moved, worked, or adapted for holding (in cavities) gas (as air or wind). b: of or relating to the pneuma, SPIRITUAL. C: having a well proportioned feminine figure especially a full bust.

Fortuitously

FORTUNATELY, LUCKILY: coming or happening by chance, ACCIDENTALLY

Protege

one who is protected or trained or whose career is furthered by a person of experience, prominence, or influence

Pasquinade

a lampoon (a criticizing form of satire) posted in a public place: satirical writing, SATIRE

Adventitious

coming from another source and not inherent or innate especially arising or occurring sporadically or in other than the usual location

Pander

to provide gratification for others' desires (films that — to the basest emotions

Superfluous

exceeding what is sufficient or necessary; not needed, EXTRA + UNESSACARY

Provincial

limited in outlook and lacking the polish of urban society: NARROW, UNSOPHISTICATED

Commensurate

equal in measurement or corresponding in size, amount, or degree: COEXTENSIVE, PROPORTIONATE. (lived a life — with the early years of the republic)

Transitory

tending to pass away, not persistent, and of brief duration, TEMPORARY, TRANSIENT. (the — nature of earthly joy)

Wanly (Extra Word)

an action done in a feeble, pale, sickly, or languid manner, often suggesting exhaustion, unhappiness, or emotional distress

Truculent (Extra Word)

someone who is aggressively self-assertive, belligerent, or easily annoyed, often looking for a fight or argument

Credulity (Extra Word)

a tendency to be too ready to believe that something is real or true.