Great Gatsby hard vocab

Supercilious

Behaving or looking as though one thinks one is superior to others.

Fractiousness

The trait of being irritable, quarrelsome, or difficult to control.

Euphemistic

Using mild or indirect words to substitute for those considered too harsh or blunt.

Harlequin

In varied colors; a character (traditionally a clown) in multicolored, diamond-patterned clothes.

Prodigality

Wasteful extravagance in spending or using resources.

Innuendo

An allusive or oblique remark or hint, typically a suggestive or disparaging one.

Punctilious

Showing great attention to detail or very correct behavior.

Mollifying

To appease the anger or anxiety of someone; to reduce severity.

Meretricious

Apparently attractive but having in reality no value or integrity.

Ineffable

Too great or extreme to be expressed or described in words.

Turgid

Swollen and distended; or, (of language) pompous and bombastic.

Debauchee

A person given to excessive indulgence in sensual pleasures.

Caravansary

A large inn or a group of people traveling together (often used to describe Gatsby’s house).

Perfunctory

An action carried out with a minimum of effort or reflection.

Naivete

Lack of experience, wisdom, or judgment; innocence.

Omniscience

The state of knowing everything.

Redolent

Strongly reminiscent or suggestive of something; fragrant or sweet-smelling.

Fortuitously

By chance rather than intention; fortunately or luckily.

Amorphous

Without a clearly defined shape or form; vague.

Sardonic

Grimly mocking or cynical.

Corrugated

Shaped into alternate ridges and grooves (like cardboard or certain metal roofs).

Transitory

Not permanent; brief or fleeting.

Commensurate

Corresponding in size or degree; in proportion.

Pandered

To gratify or indulge an immoral or distasteful desire.

Aesthetic

Concerned with beauty or the appreciation of beauty.