Vocabulary and Themes from Act Two and Three

undistinguished (adj)

common; nothing special

pretense (n)

pretending or feigning; make-believe; a false show of something, “All pretenses but living itself have long since vanished from the very atmosphere of this room.” 

exasperated (adj)

irritated; provoked; irked

viciously (adv)

with violence or fury

sullen (adj)

showing irritation or ill humor by a gloomy silence or reserve

vindicated (v)

cleared of accusation, blame, or doubt

proposition (n)

a suggested plan

vengeance (n)

revenge

tentatively (adv)

uncertainly

furtively (adv)

stealthily; in a way that hides motive

futile (adj)

useless

tyrant (n)

dictator; harsh ruler

forlornly (adv)

pitifully; desperately; hopelessly

mutilated (adj)

maimed; damaged

assimilationism (n)

belief that minority cultures should be absorbed into a dominant culture

insinuatingly (adv)

with more meaning than is spoken; implied

haphazardly (adv)

carelessly

arrogant (adj)

proud; haughty

eccentric (adj)

deviating from the norm; strange

oppressive (adj)

tyrannical

cliché (n)

trite or overused expression or idea

plaintively (adv)

sorrowfully; pathetically

menacingly (adv)

threateningly

exuberant (adj)

marked by unrestrained enthusiasm

presumably (adv)

probably; reasonably supposed

rebuff (n)

blunt refusal

revelation (n)

new information

amiably (adv)

good-naturedly

ludicrous (adj)

ridiculous

ominous (adj)

menacing; threatening

plunder

to rob; to loot

wrought

shaped; made

monologue

long speech by one person

eccentricity

quality of being strange or unusual in behavior

epitaph

inscription on a tombstone

amid

among; in the midst of