Scarlet Letter Focused Vocabulary

Ponderous

Slow and clumsy because of great weight.

Indubitably

Unquestionably.

Scourged

Subjected to severe criticism.

Infamy

Fame for something evil.

Behoof

Advantage.

Abashed

Embarrassed.

Sumptuary

Designed to regulate habits on moral or religious grounds.

Congenial

Pleasant, friendly.

Inauspicious

Not prosperous or promising.

Gentility

The upper class.

Evanescent

Tending to vanish, like vapor.

Ignominy

Public shame for dishonorable conduct, quality, or action.

Brazen

Bold.

Iniquity

Wickedness.

Visage

Face.

Mien

Appearance; aspect.

Sagacity

Shrewdness/wisdom.

Efficacy

Effectiveness.

Mutability

Changeableness.

Erudition

Knowledge acquired chiefly from books.

Latent

Present but not visible or active; dormant.

Odious

Deserving of hatred.

Ethereal

Celestial; heavenly.

Petulant

Insolent or rude.

Precocity

The quality of exhibiting mature qualities at an unusually early age.

Acrid

Bitter.

Enigma

Something hard to understand or explain; mystery.

Accosting

Attacking.

Propensity

Intense inclination.

Misanthropy

Hatred or distrust of humankind.

Vicissitude

Changing circumstances.

Introspection

Examination of one’s own emotional or mental state.

Irrefragable

Not to be disputed or contested.

Gratuitous

Without apparent reason or justification.

Penitence

Regret for sin or wrongdoing.