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VOCABULARY LISTS > USER LISTS

A Story of an Hour 23 words

September 15, 2009 By Rashunda Y. (Lyon, MS)
Kate Chopin's short story

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Definitions Notes & Examples Words Only
  1. abandon
    forsake, leave behind
    When she abandoned herself a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips.
  2. abandonment
    the act of giving something up
    She wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister's arms.
  3. afflict
    cause physical pain or suffering in
    "The Story of An Hour"
    Kate Chopin (1894)
    Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband's death.
  4. assure
    inform positively and with certainty and confidence
    He had only taken the time to assure himself of its truth by a second telegram, and had hastened to forestall any less careful, less tender friend in bearing the sad message.
  5. clasp
    hold firmly and tightly
    She clasped her sister's waist, and together they descended the stairs.
  6. conceal
    prevent from being seen or discovered
    It was her sister Josephine who told her, in broken sentences; veiled hints that revealed in half concealing.
  7. descend
    move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way
    She clasped her sister's waist, and together they descended the stairs.
  8. elixir
    a substance believed to cure all ills
    No; she was drinking in a very elixir of life through that open window.
  9. elusive
    skillful at eluding capture
    She did not know; it was too subtle and elusive to name.
  10. exalt
    praise, glorify, or honor
    A clear and exalted perception enabled her to dismiss the suggestion as trivial.
  11. forestall
    act in advance of; deal with ahead of time
    He had only taken the time to assure himself of its truth by a second telegram, and had hastened to forestall any less careful, less tender friend in bearing the sad message.
  12. gaze
    a long fixed look
    But now there was a dull stare in her eyes, whose gaze was fixed away off yonder on one of those patches of blue sky.
  13. glance
    throw a glance at; take a brief look at
    It was not a glance of reflection, but rather indicated a suspension of intelligent thought.
  14. haunt
    follow stealthily or recur constantly and spontaneously to
    Into this she sank, pressed down by a physical exhaustion that haunted her body and seemed to reach into her soul.
  15. impose
    impose and collect
    There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature.
  16. keen
    intense or sharp
    They stayed keen and bright.
  17. monstrous
    distorted and unnatural in shape or size; abnormal and hideous
    She did not stop to ask if it were or were not a monstrous joy that held her.
  18. perception
    the process of perceiving
    A clear and exalted perception enabled her to dismiss the suggestion as trivial.
  19. persistence
    the act of persisting or persevering; continuing or repeating behavior
    There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature.
  20. significance
    the quality of being significant
    She did not hear the story as many women have heard the same, with a paralyzed inability to accept its significance.
  21. subtle
    difficult to detect or grasp by the mind or analyze
    She did not know; it was too subtle and elusive to name.
  22. suspension
    the act of suspending something (hanging it from above so it moves freely)
    It was not a glance of reflection, but rather indicated a suspension of intelligent thought.
  23. triumph
    a successful ending of a struggle or contest
    There was a feverish triumph in her eyes, and she carried herself unwittingly like a goddess of Victory.