Tattoos on the Heart Vocabulary

nonplussed

unsure of what to think, say, or do

recalcitrant

stubbornly defiant of authority or control

peripheral

of, relating to, or being on a periphery

campesino

a native worker or peasant of a Latin American country

huaraches

a flat

forlorn

sad and lonely because of isolation or desertion

idiomatic

peculiar to or characteristic of a given language or a particular group of people

argot

an often more or less secret vocabulary and idiom peculiar to a particular group

empathy

the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another of either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner

sympathy

an affinity, association, or relationship between persons or things wherein whatever affects one similarly affects the other

compassion

sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it

disparaged

to depreciate by indirect means

maelstrom

a powerful often destructive whirlpool situation aloud or in the mind

puny

slight or inferior in power, size, or importance

solidarity

unity (as of a group or class) that produces or is based on community of interests, objectives, and standards

parlance

a particular manner of speaking

Garpian

of or relating to the fictional world of John Irving's novel The World According to Garp, characterized by eccentric characters and bizarre, tragicomic events

immolation

an act of immolating; especially : sacrificial suicide by means of fire

apocryphal

of doubtful authenticity

jurisdiction

the power, right, or authority to interpret and apply the law

sacristan

a person in charge of the sacristy and church property

blase

apathetic to pleasure or excitement as a result of excessive indulgence or enjoyment

Pollyannaism

an ultraoptimistic characteristic

primordial

first created or developed

fracas

a noisy quarrel

recidivism

a tendency to relapse into a previous condition or mode of behavior; especially : relapse into criminal behavior

desolation

grief, sadness

poignant

painfully affecting the feelings

reciprocity

the quality or state of being reciprocal: mutual dependence, action, or influence

atonement

the reconciliation of God and humankind through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ