English - Glossary test A thousand splendid suns

Bleating

the cry by a sheep/calve/goat

Heirloom

valuable family object

Plump

a full or rounded shape

Nomad

person that travels all the time

Sprightly

full of energy/ lively

Surmise

suppose that something is true without having evidence to confirm it (to think)

Decency

conformity to prevailing standards of propriety or modesty

scurrying

a person or animal that is moving with short steps

concede

to admit/acknowledge your defeat

droopy

something hanging down with no strength

frayed

your mood when you are worried or upset

prickly

feeling when something difficult to handle

vinyl

plastic that can't be bent

rueful

feeling sorry, regretting an action

teeter

unable to decide between different courses/move/balance unsteadily

reclusive

avoiding the company of other people

Barring

exept for; if not for

aloofness

removed or distant either physically or emotionally

disingenous

not candid or sincere, untrue, honest

stalagmite

a colum of rocks that rises from the floor of the cave

bisecting

to cut or divide into two equal parts

handkerchief

square piece of cotton that you have in your suit pocket

smiled pithingly

smile at someone but its a smile of sympathy or sadness

cobbler

a person who makes or repairs shoes

Pawnshop

a store where you can leave possessions in order to borrow money, or buy objects that others have left there and that are now for sale

Vindicate

to prove that someone is not guilty or is free from blame, after other people blamed them

Serrated

having a row of sharp points along the edge

Derision

the situation in which someone or something is laughed at and considered stupid or of no value

Unfathomably

in a way that is impossible to understand

Heirloom

something that has been in a family for generations

Penance

punishment for sin

flourescent

giving off a very bright light

surmise

to guess something

Kinship

blood relationship

cherished

to hold dear, treat someone with affections

loathsome

using while decribing how much you dislike a person

solidifed

to change from being liquid or gas to solid form

amend

compensation or make up for something

hypocrisy

the practise of claiming to having higher standards

irrelevance

the quality or state of something being unimportant

turmoil

a state of great disturbance, confusion, or uncertainty

retching

making the sound and movement of vomiting

stingy

ungenerous

illicit

improper or something being socially forbidden