A Modest Proposal Vocab

Melancholy (1.1)

a feeling of pensive sadness, typically with no obvious cause.

Rags (1.2)

a piece of old cloth, especially one torn from a larger piece, used typically for cleaning things.

Importuning (1.2)

persistent harassment of someone for or to do something.

Passenger (1.2)

a traveler on a public or private conveyance other than the driver, pilot, or crew.

Alms (1.2)

(in historical contexts) money or food given to poor people.

Livelihood (1.4)

a means of securing the necessities of life.

Stroling (archaic spelling of strolling) (1.5)

walk in a leisurely way.

Sustenance (1.5)

food and drink regarded as a source of strength; nourishment.

Prodigious (2.1)

remarkably or impressively great in extent, size, or degree.

Deplorable (2.2)

deserving strong condemnation, shockingly bad in quality.

Grievance (2.3)

a real or imagined wrong or other cause for complaint or protest, especially unfair treatment.

Commonwealth (2.5)

an independent country or community, especially a democratic republic.

Confined (3.1)

(of a space) restricted in area or volume; cramped.

Professed (3.1)

(of a quality, feeling, or belief) claimed or asserted openly but often falsely.

Extent (3.2)

the area covered by something.

Projectors (4.2)

an object that is used to project rays of light, especially an apparatus with a system of lenses for projecting slides or film onto a screen.

Computation (4.3)

the action of mathematical calculation.

Dam (4.3)

a barrier constructed to hold back water and raise its level, forming a reservoir used to generate electricity or as a water supply.

Nourishment (4.4)

the food or other substances necessary for growth, health, and good condition.

Occupation (4.5)

a job or profession.

Propose (4.6)

put forward (an idea or plan) for consideration or discussion by others.

Parish (4.7)

(in the Christian Church) a small administrative district typically having its own church and a priest or pastor, a territorial division corresponding to a county in other states.

Raiment (4.8)

clothing

Reckoned (6.1)

establish by counting or calculation; calculate.

Maintain (6.3)

cause or enable (a condition or state of affairs) to continue.

Apprehend (6.4)

cause or enable (a condition or state of affairs) to continue, understand or perceive.

Distresses (6.4)

cause (someone) anxiety, sorrow, or pain.

Reared (6.8)

bring up and care for (a child) until they are fully grown, especially in a particular manner or place

Hitherto (6.10)

until now or until the point in time under discussion.

Handicraft (6.10)

a particular skill of making decorative objects by hand.

Cultivate (6.11)

refined and well educated.

Seldom (6.11)

not often; rarely.

Towardly (6.12)

pleasant, affable.

Rudiments (6.13)

the first principles of (a subject).

Probationers (6.14)

a person who is serving a probationary or trial period in a job or position to which they are newly appointed.

Principal (6.14)

first in order of importance; main.

Protested (6.15)

express an objection to what someone has said or done.

Instances (6.15)

an example or single occurrence of something.

Renowned (6.16)

known or talked about by many people; famous.

Proficiency (6.16)

a high degree of competence or skill; expertise.

Assured (7.1)

confident

Saleable (7.1)

fit or able to be sold

Commodity (7.2)

a raw material or primary agricultural product that can be bought and sold, such as copper or coffee

Yield (7.2)

produce or provide (a natural, agricultural, or industrial product), give way to arguments, demands, or pressure.

Exchange (7.3)

an act of giving one thing and receiving another (especially of the same type or value) in return.

Nutriments (7.4)

nourishment, sustenance

Liable (8.1)

responsible by law; legally answerable, likely to do or to be something.

Objection (8.2)

an expression or feeling of disapproval or opposition; a reason for disagreeing.

Acquaintance (9.1)

a person's knowledge or experience of something, a person one knows slightly, but who is not a close friend.

Fricasee (archaic spelling of fricassee) (9.4)

a stew made with pieces of meat that have been browned in butter then served in a sauce flavored with the cooking stock.

Ragoust (9.4)

a highly seasoned stew of meat or fish, with or without vegetables.

Computed (10.2)

determined by calculation; reckon; calculate.

Reserved (10.2)

kept or set apart for some particular use or purpose.

Swine (10.3)

any stout, cloven-hoofed artiodactyl of the Old World family Suidae, having a thick hide sparsely covered with coarse hair, a disklike snout, and an often short, tasseled tail: now of worldwide distribution and hunted or raised for its meat and other products. Compare hog, pig, wild boar.

Plentifully (10.7)

yielding abundantly.

Render (10.8)

to cause to be or become; make.

Fore (10.9)

situated at or toward the front, as compared with something else.

Hind (10.9)

situated in the rear or at the back; posterior.

Tolerably (11.2)

in an acceptable (but not outstanding) manner.

Encreaseth (archaic for encreases) (11.2)

obsolete or archaic form of increase.

Devoured (12.2)

swallowed or ate up hungrily, voraciously, or ravenously.

Title (12.2)

the distinguishing name of a book, poem, picture, piece of music, or the like.

Grave (13.1)

an excavation made in the earth in which to bury a dead body.

Eminent (12.2)

high in station, rank, or repute; prominent; distinguished.

Prolifick (archaic spelling of prolific) (13.3)

producing offspring, young, fruit, etc., abundantly; highly fruitful.

Lent (13.4)

simple past tense and past participle of lend.

Glutted (13.5)

to feed or fill to excess; cloy.

Popish/Papist (13.5/7)

of, relating to, or characteristic of the Roman Catholic Church.

Collateral (13.6)

property or other assets pledged by a borrower as security for the repayment of a loan.

Annum (14.2)

year.

Repine (14.3)

to be fretfully discontented; fret; complain.

Carcass (14.3)

the dead body of an animal.

Particular (14.5)

of or relating to a single or specific person, thing, group, class, occasion, etc., rather than to others or all; special rather than general.

Neat (14.6)

in a pleasingly orderly and clean condition.

Thrifty (15.1)

practicing thrift or economical management; frugal.

Flay (15.1)

peel the skin off (a corpse or carcass).

Admirable (15.2)

arousing or deserving respect and approval.

Shambles (16.1)

a state of total disorder.

Virtues (17.1)

behavior showing high moral standards.

Discoursing (17.2)

speak or write authoritatively about a topic.

Refinement (17.2)

the process of removing impurities or unwanted elements from a substance.

Conceived (17.3)

form or devise (a plan or idea) in the mind.

Venison (17.4)

meat from a deer

Disposed (of)

(17.6)- inclined or willing

Deference (17.7)

humble submission and respect.

Disagreeable (17.10)

not pleasant or enjoyable.

Improbable (17.13)

not likely to be true or to happen

Scrupulous (17.13)

(of a person or process) diligent, thorough, and extremely attentive to details.

Apt (17.13)

appropriate or suitable in the circumstances.

Censure (17.13)

strong or vehement expression of disapproval.

Expedient (18.1)

tending to promote some proposed or desired object; fit or suitable for the purpose; proper under the circumstances.

Prime (18.1)

of the first importance; demanding the fullest consideration.

Dainty (18.2)

of delicate beauty; exquisite.

Groat (18.9)

a silver coin of England, equal to four pennies, issued from 1279 to 1662.

Desponding (19.1)

to be depressed by loss of hope, confidence, or courage.

Maimed (19.2)

partly or wholly deprived of the use of some part of the body by wounding or the like.

Incumbrance (19.3)

a thing that impedes or is burdensome; hindrance.

Vermin (19.5)

noxious, objectionable, or disgusting animals collectively, especially those of small size that appear commonly and are difficult to control, as flies, lice, bedbugs, cockroaches, mice, and rats.

Digressed (20.1)

to deviate or wander away from the main topic or purpose in speaking or writing; depart from the principal line of argument, plot, study, etc.

Design (21.3)

to prepare the preliminary sketch or the plans for (a work to be executed), especially to plan the form and structure of