Scarlet Letter Vocabulary

Petrify: To make someone so frightened that they are unable to move or think.

Transgressor: A person who violates a law, command, or moral code.

Purport: To claim or appear to be something, often falsely; also means the meaning or substance of something.

Visage: A person’s facial expression or the surface appearance of something.

Iniquity: Gross injustice or wickedness; a sinful act.

Rankle: To cause lasting irritation or resentment.

Fervor: Intense and passionate feeling.

Exhort: To strongly encourage or urge someone to do something.

Efficacy: The ability to produce a desired or intended result.

Retribution: Punishment inflicted as vengeance for a wrong or criminal act.

Progenitors: Ancestors or parents; someone who originates or creates something.

Emolument: Compensation or profit derived from employment or office.

Concoct: To create or devise something, especially a story or plan.

Insidious: Proceeding in a gradual, subtle way, but with harmful effects.

Inopportune: Occurring at an inconvenient or inappropriate time.

Procure: To obtain something, especially with effort.

Attire: Clothing, especially fine or formal wear.

Revile: To criticize in an abusive or angrily insulting manner.

Enmity: A state of active hostility or opposition.

Preternatural: Beyond what is normal or natural; extraordinary.

Caper: A playful skip or movement; a wild or reckless escapade.

Extant: Still in existence; surviving.

Pestilence: A fatal epidemic disease, especially the plague.

Vista: A pleasing view, especially one seen through a long, narrow opening.

Depravity: Moral corruption or wickedness.

Mountebank: A person who deceives others, especially in order to trick them out of their money; a charlatan.

Profane: Showing disrespect toward sacred things; secular, not religious.

Scrupulous: Extremely attentive to details or moral principles.

Sagacity: Wisdom or keen perception and judgment.

Vilify: To speak or write about someone in an abusively disparaging manner.

Decorous: In keeping with good taste and propriety; polite and restrained.

Bestow: To give or present something, typically an honor or gift.

Repose: A state of rest or tranquility.

Machination: A plot or scheme, typically with evil intent.

Abase: To degrade or humiliate someone.

Pristine: In its original condition; unspoiled.

Accost: To approach and address someone boldly or aggressively.

Propinquity: Nearness in space, proximity, or close kinship.

Dexterity: Skill in performing tasks, especially with the hands.

Petulant: Childishly sulky or bad-tempered.

Cadence: A modulation or inflection of the voice; rhythmic flow of a sequence of sounds.

Mollify: To appease the anger or anxiety of someone.

Vex: To irritate, annoy, or frustrate someone.

Requite: To make appropriate return for a favor, service, or wrongdoing.

Mien: A person's appearance or manner, especially as an indication of their mood or character.

Fortitude: Courage in pain or adversity.

Auditor: A person who officially examines and verifies accounts or listens carefully, especially to judge the quality of something.

Venerable: Accorded a great deal of respect, especially because of age, wisdom, or character.

Necromancer: A person who practices necromancy; a wizard or magician who communicates with the dead.