Grade 10 College Vocabulary, Week 21

Definition: Not to be accounted for or explained; free from control or responsibility.

From the reading: "It is unaccountable! in every view it is unaccountable!” “My dear Lizzy, do not give way to such feelings as these." (Pride and Prejudice)

Synonyms:

unexplainable, inexplicable, incomprehensible

Antonyms:

explicable, responsible

Root:un-, not + account (Old French aconter, from Latin computare, to reckon) + -able: not able to be reckoned or explained.

Definition: Beyond calculation or measure.

From the reading: "I will not admit that one speech or one action of this inestimable man is incapable of being reconciled with reality, and I should not wonder if many of these words and actions are historically true." (Pride and Prejudice)

Synonyms:

incomputable, immeasurable, incalculable

Antonyms:

calculable

Root:Latin inaestimabilis: compare French inestimable. (Webster, 1913)

Definition: Of the heart, to beat rapidly, strongly, or irregularly; to tremble.

From the reading: "Nearly all of them would have been in speechless awe of the magnificent Darcy; nearly all of them would have palpitated and fluttered at the idea of proposals, even naughty ones, from the fascinating Wickham." (Pride and Prejudice)

Synonyms:

quiver, quake, flutter

Antonyms:

(none exact)

Root:Latin palpitare, palpitatum, v. intens. from pappare. (Webster, 1913)

Definition: To reduce costs or spending in response to economic difficulty.

From the reading: "The plot, though not elaborate, is almost regular enough for Fielding; hardly a character, hardly an incident could be retrenched without loss to the story." (Pride and Prejudice)

Synonyms:

economize, cut back, curtail

Antonyms:

expand

Root:Old French retrenchier, French retrancher; pref. re- re- + Old French trenchier, French trancher, to cut. (Webster, 1913)

Definition: A miniature model of something.

From the reading: "If her world is a microcosm, the cosmic quality of it is at least as eminent as the littleness." (Pride and Prejudice)

Synonyms:

model, example

Antonyms:

(none exact)

Root:Greek mikros kosmos, a little world: a little world reflecting a larger one.

Definition: The outcome of a complex sequence of events; the final resolution of the main complication of a literary or dramatic work.

From the reading: "Rushworth, a coup de théâtre; it connects itself in the strictest way with the course of the story earlier, and brings about the denouement with complete propriety." (Pride and Prejudice)

Synonyms:

result, resultant

Antonyms:

(none exact)

Root:French dénouement, from dénouer to untie; pref. dé- (Latin dis-) + nouer to tie, from Latin nodus knot, perh. for gnodus and akin to English knot. (Webster, 1913)

Definition: Sparkling or shining brightly; brilliantly lively and witty.

From the reading: "Thou fain wouldst know who is within this light That here beside me thus is scintillating, Even as a sunbeam in the limpid water." (The Divine Comedy)

Synonyms:

brilliant, sparkling, dazzling

Antonyms:

dull, boring

Root:Latin scintilla, spark.

Definition: Showing a cheerful willingness to do favors for others.

From the reading: "When the card tables were placed, he had an opportunity of obliging her, in return, by sitting down to whist." (Pride and Prejudice)

Synonyms:

complaisant, accommodating, accommodative

Antonyms:

unaccommodating

Root:Latin obligare, to bind, from ob-, to + ligare, to tie: willing to bind oneself to do favors.

Definition: Too small or unimportant to be worth consideration.

From the reading: "Miss de Bourgh was pale and sickly: her features, though not plain, were insignificant; and she spoke very little, except in a low voice, to Mrs." (Pride and Prejudice)

Synonyms:

trivial, minor, negligible

Antonyms:

significant, important

Root:in-, not + Latin significare, to show by a sign (signum, sign + facere, to make): not signifying anything.

Definition: A sudden unforeseen crisis (usually involving danger) that requires immediate action; a pressing or urgent situation.

From the reading: "I sometimes wish that the exigencies of the story had permitted Miss Austen to unite these personages, and thus at once achieve a notable mating and soothe poor Mrs." (Pride and Prejudice)

Synonyms:

emergency, pinch

Antonyms:

(none exact)

Root:Late Latin exigentia: compare French exigence. (Webster, 1913)

Definition: Overbearing pride evidenced by a superior manner toward inferiors.

From the reading: "A deeper shade of hauteur overspread his features, but he said not a word; and Elizabeth, though blaming herself for her own weakness, could not go on." (Pride and Prejudice)

Synonyms:

arrogance, haughtiness, high-handedness

Antonyms:

(none exact)

Root:French, from haut high. (Webster, 1913)

Definition: A sternly critical remark; a restriction on a person or activity.

From the reading: "What would I give to hear your strictures on them!” “Your conjecture is totally wrong, I assure you." (Pride and Prejudice)

Synonyms:

criticism, censure; restriction

Antonyms:

praise

Root:Latin strictura a contraction, from stringere, strictum, to draw tight: compare French stricture. (Webster, 1913)

Definition: Giving or marked by complete attention to; written formally in a large clear script, as a deed or other legal document.

From the reading: "Bingley’s love?” “I never saw a more promising inclination; he was growing quite inattentive to other people, and wholly engrossed by her." (Pride and Prejudice)

Synonyms:

captive, absorbed, enwrapped

Antonyms:

inattentive, spoken

Root:Old French engrosser, to write in large letters (en-, in + gros, large); also to buy up the whole: wholly absorbed.

Definition: Harshness of tone or manner.

From the reading: "Bennet, who assured him, with some asperity, that they were very well able to keep a good cook, and that her daughters had nothing to do in the kitchen." (Pride and Prejudice)

Synonyms:

harshness, sharpness, severity

Antonyms:

gentleness, mildness

Root:Latin asperitas, from asper rough: compare French aspérité. (Webster, 1913)

Definition: Unpleasantly or arrogantly domineering.

From the reading: "Even now I do not think that it would be impossible to find persons, especially female persons, not necessarily of noble birth, as overbearing, as self-centred, as neglectful of good manners, as Lady Catherine." (Pride and Prejudice)

Synonyms:

domineering, imperious, high-handed

Antonyms:

meek, humble

Root:over + bear, to carry (Old English beran): bearing down on others, domineering.

Definition: Free from admixture.

From the reading: "These bitter accusations might have been suppressed, had I, with greater policy, concealed my struggles, and flattered you into the belief of my being impelled by unqualified, unalloyed inclination; by reason, by reflection, by everything." (Pride and Prejudice)

Synonyms:

pure

Antonyms:

impure

Root:un-, not + alloy (Old French aloi, from Latin alligare, to bind): pure, not mixed with baser metal.

Definition: (behavioral attributes) the way a person behaves toward other people.

From the reading: "When, after examining the mother, in whose countenance and deportment she soon found some resemblance of Mr." (Pride and Prejudice)

Synonyms:

demeanor, demeanour, behavior

Antonyms:

(none exact)

Root:French déportement misconduct, Old French, demeanor. (Webster, 1913)

Definition: A reluctance or unwillingness to do something.

From the reading: "And even Mary could assure her family that she had no disinclination for it." (Pride and Prejudice)

Synonyms:

reluctance, hesitancy, hesitation

Antonyms:

inclination

Root:dis-, not + Latin inclinare, to lean toward (in-, toward + clinare, to bend): a not leaning toward.

Definition: Slow to act; intended to cause delay.

From the reading: "His letter was soon despatched; for though dilatory in undertaking business, he was quick in its execution." (Pride and Prejudice)

Synonyms:

slow, tardy, procrastinating

Antonyms:

prompt

Root:Latin dilatorius, from dilator a delayer, from dilatus, used as past participle of differe to defer, delay: compare French dilatoire. (Webster, 1913)

Definition: Representing the perfect example of a class or quality.

From the reading: "It seems to me the most perfect, the most characteristic, the most eminently quintessential of its author’s works; and for this contention in such narrow space as is permitted to me, I propose here to show cause." (Pride and Prejudice)

Synonyms:

(none exact)

Antonyms:

(none exact)

Root:Medieval Latin quinta essentia, the fifth essence, the pure substance thought to make up the heavens: the purest form.