Vocabulary from The Great Gatsby Chapters 2-9

privy

Aware of or informed about, esp. something not generally known. The abnormal mind is quick to detect and attach itself to this quality when it appears in a normal person, and so it came about that in college I was unjustly accused of being a politician, because I was privy to the secret griefs of wild, unknown men. (1). Note: The word privy is usually followed by the preposition to.

feign

To ************* something; to act or give a false impression of being some way. Most of the confidences were unsought—frequently I have feigned sleep, preoccupation, or a hostile levity when I realized by some unmistakable sign that an intimate revelation was quivering on the horizon (1).

restless

Possessed by a feeling of nervous agitation or dissatisfaction; unable to relax. I participated in that delayed Teutonic migration known as the Great War. I enjoyed the counter-raid so thoroughly that I came back restless (3).

colossal

Enormous; astonishingly large; resembling a colossus. My house was at the very tip of the egg. [...] The one on my right was a colossal affair by any standard — it was a factual imitation of some Hôtel de Ville in Normandy (5).

fractious

Full of anger and hard to control. His speaking voice, a gruff husky tenor, added to the impression of fractiousness he conveyed (7).

intimate

To communicate indirectly; to hint at or suggest something. But I didn't call to him for he gave a sudden intimation that he was content to be alone — be stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and far as I was from him I could have sworn he was trembling (7).

buoy

To keep afloat; to support or uplift; to raise the spirits of. The only completely stationary object in the room was an enormous couch on which two young women were buoyed up as though upon an anchored balloon (8).

extemporize

To improvise verbally; to speak without having planned one's remarks. She was only extemporizing but a stirring warmth flowed from her as if her heart was trying to come out to you concealed in one of those breathless, thrilling words (14).

devoid

Empty of something; lacking or void of something; completely without something. Miss Baker and I exchanged a short glance consciously devoid of meaning (14). Note: The word devoid is usually followed by the preposition of.

sedative

Tending to calm or soothe; tending to reduce a person's nervous excitement. I saw that turbulent emotions possessed her, so I asked what I thought would be some sedative questions about her little girl (16).

corroborate

To support with evidence; to help prove something by offering evidence. "That's right," corroborated Tom kindly. "We heard you were engaged" (19).

saunter

To walk about in an idle or leisurely manner; to stroll. His acquaintances resented the fact that he turned up in popular restaurants with her and, leaving her at a table, sauntered about, chatting with whomsoever he knew (24).

supercilious

Patronizingly haughty; exhibiting an attitude of arrogant superiority. The supercilious assumption was that on Sunday afternoon I had nothing better to do (24).

contiguous

Next to something in geographical space; adjacent. The only building in sight was a small block of yellow brick sitting on the edge of the waste land, a sort of compact Main Street ministering to it, and contiguous to absolutely nothing (24).

vicinity

The area around or near a particular place. A white ashen dust veiled his dark suit and his pale hair as it veiled everything in the vicinity—except his wife (26).

indeterminate

Not able to be determined or stated in a precise way; vague. In a basket swung from his neck cowered a dozen very recent puppies of an indeterminate breed (27).

countenance

The face as an expression of mood, emotion, or character; a facial expression that offers approval or moral support. Looked at from a distance, however, the hen resolved itself into a bonnet, and the countenance of a stout old lady beamed down into the room (29).

discreetly

Unobtrusively; done without drawing undue attention to oneself.

shiftlessness

Laziness or passivity; an unwillingness to work; a lack of ambition or drive.

strident

Unpleasantly loud or harsh.

incredulously

Done in a manner that conveys a reluctance to believe; skeptically.

repel

To drive away, repulse; to cause aversion or disgust.

console

To give comfort to someone, esp. after that person has suffered a disappointment.

toil

To engage in long and tiresome work; to labor with great effort and at long length.

gaudy

Tastelessly showy or extravagant; marked by a garish ornamentation that reflects bad taste.

permeate

To spread throughout an area; to diffuse through something.

vehemently

Done with passionate emotion; fervidly.

homogeneity

The quality of being made up of the same kind of people or things; the opposite of heterogeneity or diversity.

vacuous

Empty of ideas or content; lacking meaning or substance; hollow, superficial.

provincial

Of or related to the provinces or country life; having a narrow mind or limited outlook; lacking a broad-minded or worldly outlook.

convivial

Fond of the pleasure of good company.

dissension

Disagreement that causes people to argue.

elude

To escape one's perception or understanding; to avoid being grasped.

resourcefulness

The ability to cope with a difficult situation; the ability to find solutions to difficult problems.

punctilious

Very careful about behaving properly or conducting oneself in accordance with social conventions.

disconcerting

Causing a person to lose their composure or equanimity; upsetting or troubling.

threadbare

Worn out by overuse; used so often that its interest or freshness has been exhausted; hackneyed, trite, or clichéd.

breeding

Good manners that result from training in the kinds of behavior expected from wealthy people.

denizen

Someone who frequents a particular place; a regular.

strained

Done with effort; not friendly and relaxed.

engrossed

Completely attentive to someone or something; immersed or absorbed, esp. in some activity.

dispense

To give out, distribute, or provide.

disembodied

Detached from the body; bodiless.

defunct

No longer functional; inactive or inoperable.

distraught

Profoundly upset or disappointed.

serf

A vassal under medieval feudalism who pays rent to a nobleman in exchange for being able to farm on his land; a laborer who lives and works on land owned by a wealthy person.

peasantry

The class of farmers who own and work on a small parcel of land; rural farmers deemed to have low social status or be unsophisticated.

radiate

To send out something as if in rays; to emit heat or energy from a central source; to shine.

vestige

A visible indication of something that had been present earlier; a last shred or trace.

confound

To be confusing or perplexing; to cause someone to be unable to think clearly.

exultation

A feeling of great happiness and excitement.

swathe

To wrap, bind, or cover something; to envelop.

corrugated

Having a wavy surface.

vitality

The quality of being lively, energetic, or vigorous; endurance or longevity.

transpire

To take place; to occur.

laudable

Worthy of praise; commendable.

meretricious

Attractive in a cheap, tawdry, or false way; of or relating to prostitution.

ineffable

Unspeakable; indescribable; too immense, complex, beautiful, or horrifying to be expressed in words.

reverie

A daydream; the condition of being lost in thought, especially about pleasant things.

turgid

Swollen with liquid or gas; ostentatiously lofty in style.

ingratiate

To gain favor with someone through deliberate effort.

genially

Done in a friendly, cheerful, and pleasant manner.

unprecedented

Having no precedent; being the first of its kind.

menagerie

A collection of wild animals kept on exhibition; a varied mixture.

perishable

Lacking immortality and liable to perish; likely to spoil or decay quickly.

affront

A deliberately offensive act.

relinquish

To release or give up something; to stop holding something; to give over possession of something.

disquieting

Taking away one's peace and tranquility; disturbing or anxiety-producing.

tumultuous

Loud, excited, and emotional; involving confusion and disorder.

portentous

Suggesting that something bad or unpleasant is going to happen; ominous.

vicarious

Experienced indirectly, as by watching or reading about someone else rather than by doing it oneself.

magnanimous

Showing a generosity of spirit; high-minded and forgiving, especially toward someone who may have attempted to harm one; free from petty vindictiveness.

presumptuous

Overly confident; overstepping appropriate bounds; presuming to enjoy a social status or access to privileges that others believe one doesn't deserve.

truculent

Easily annoyed and likely to argue.

vigil

A period of time in which a group of people stays awake to keep watch or pray; a ritual of watchful attention or devotional observance.

grotesque

Disturbingly ugly, twisted, or unnatural.

indiscernible

Impossible to perceive clearly; imperceptible or indistinct.

redolent

Having a strong smell; invoking thoughts or memories of something; suggestive or evocative.

pretense

An act or appearance that looks real but is false; a false reason or explanation that is used to hid the real purpose of something.

stratum

One of many layers of a substance (such as rock); a level of society made up of people of the same socioeconomic status.

corroborate

To confirm or support someone else's statement by providing additional information or evidence.

interminable

Seeming to have no end; tiresomely long.

tactful

Behaving in a considerate or sensitive way toward others; showing the ability to avoid offending other people.

garrulous

Talkative in a rambling or tedious manner; babbling.

fortuitously

Happening by luck; done by fortunate chance.

circumstantial

Pertinent but not essential; based on information which suggests that something is true but does not prove that it is true.

superfluous

Not necessary; beyond what is sufficient to achieve something.

token

A symbol or sign of something; a souvenir or keepsake.

defer

To delay, postpone, or put off until a later time.

indignantly

Done in a manner that shows anger in response to something unjust.

reverent

Very respectful; showing solemn respect.

poise

A state of easy self-possession and self-assurance; a state of emotional composure or equilibrium.

resentment

A feeling of anger or displeasure towards someone or something regarded as unfair.

transitory

Lasting for a very short time; quick to fade away or expire; fleeting or ephemeral.

commensurate

Equal to something in size or degree; large enough or adequate to.