Excerpt from "Les Miserables"

Before it became a beloved Broadway musical and Hollywood movie, "Les Miserables" was an 1862 French novel that was criticized for being unrealistic and preachy. Try to catch the tones of Victor Hugo in this list based on a translation of his words.

Here are all the word lists to support the reading of Grade 10 Unit 4's texts from SpringBoard's Common Core ELA series: Romeo and Juliet, A Sport of Nature, Julius Caesar, Les Miserables, Oedipus Rex, Antigone
10 words 124 learners

Learn words with Flashcards and other activities

Definition First
Print Flashcards

Other learning activities

Answer a few questions about each word. Use this to prep for your next quiz! Compete with other teams in real time to see who answers the most questions correctly! Test your spelling acumen. Read the definition, listen to the word and try spelling it!

Teaching tools

Create and assign quizzes to your students to test their vocabulary. Assign learning activities including Practice, Vocabulary Jams and Spelling Bees to your students, and monitor their progress in real-time.

Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. beseech
    ask for or request earnestly
    Monsieur Javert, I beseech your mercy.
  2. bourgeois
    a member of the middle class
    That gentleman, the bourgeois, whom I do not know, put snow in my back.
  3. impertinent
    improperly forward or bold
    And then, he had been saying impertinent things to me for a long time: "You are ugly! You have no teeth!"
  4. vivacity
    high spirits and animation
    One gives way to vivacity; and then, when someone puts something cold down your back just when you are not expecting it!
  5. pardon
    the act of excusing a mistake or offense
    Oh, my God! It makes no difference to me whether I ask his pardon.
  6. favor
    an act of gracious kindness
    Do me the favor to-day, for this once, Monsieur Javert.
  7. gluttony
    habitual eating to excess
    It is not cowardliness and gluttony that have made me what I am.
  8. misery
    a state of ill-being due to affliction or misfortune
    If I have drunk brandy, it was out of misery.
  9. coquettish
    like a flirtatious woman
    When I was happy, it was only necessary to glance into my closets, and it would have been evident that I was not a coquettish and untidy woman.
  10. pity
    a feeling of sympathy and sorrow for misfortunes of others
    Have pity on me, Monsieur Javert!
Created on Wed Oct 15 12:20:09 EDT 2014 (updated Wed Oct 15 15:47:00 EDT 2014)

Sign up now (it’s free!)

Whether you’re a teacher or a learner, Vocabulary.com can put you or your class on the path to systematic vocabulary improvement.