Jailbird - Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

Garrett M.
Diction of the great Kurt Vonnegut Jr.. Taken from text of Jailbird.
23 words 8 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. derring-do
    brave and heroic action
    "He is sometimes mentioned in histories of American labor for his deeds of derring-do in strikes and at the protests about the execution of Sacco and Vanzetti, and so on." Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
  2. extort
    obtain by coercion or intimidation
    "Unions were admirable instruments for extorting something like economic justice from employers then." Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
  3. fey
    suggestive of an elf in strangeness and otherworldliness
  4. ardent
    characterized by intense emotion
  5. aver
    declare or affirm solemnly and formally as true
  6. stevedore
    a laborer who loads and unloads ships at a waterfront
  7. doff
    remove
  8. taciturn
    habitually reserved and uncommunicative
  9. ostensibly
    from appearances alone
  10. brackish
    slightly salty
  11. querulous
    habitually complaining
  12. piquant
    having an agreeably pungent taste
  13. catatonia
    a form of schizophrenia characterized by a tendency to remain in a fixed stuporous state for long periods; the catatonia may give way to short periods of extreme excitement
  14. forfeiture
    the act of losing something as a penalty
  15. caftan
    a long cloak with full sleeves
  16. lazaret
    hospital for persons with infectious diseases
  17. bagnio
    a building containing public baths
  18. phlogiston
    a hypothetical substance once believed to be present in all combustible materials and to be released during burning
  19. jilt
    cast aside capriciously or unfeelingly
  20. rapt
    feeling great delight and interest
  21. pratfall
    a tumble backward, especially for comic effect
  22. madrigal
    an unaccompanied partsong for several voices
  23. incredulous
    not disposed or willing to believe; unbelieving
Created on Thu Jan 05 13:14:38 EST 2012

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