Words List 73

inculcate

teach; implant

sprightly

lively; brisk; animated

soliloquy

convention of drama in which a character, alone on stage, speaks aloud to himself and so reveals his thoughts to the audience

deus ex machina

unexpected power or event who resolves the conflict in a play by special intervention; any contrived device to resolve the entanglements of a plot

belabor

work on to absurd lengths

celibate

abstaining from sexual intercourse

contrite

penitent; sorry for one’s sins

droll

oddly humorous; whimsical

embroil

involve in strife

ephemeral

short-lived

extemporaneous

unrehearsed

insipid

dull; flat; uninteresting

extenuating

qualifying; mitigating

hackneyed

trite; commonplace

imbue

fill someone or something with a particular feeling, quality, or idea