Crime and Punishment Part 5, Pevear and Volokhonsky trans.

MJKubus (United States of America)
Note word meanings, of course, and pay attention to the word origins. Sometimes, they're interesting and helpful.Click a word for explanation, usage notes, etc. When I don't like vocabulary.com's definition, I use the Oxford Dictionary: https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/The page number listed for each word is probably the page number I take the Crime and Punishment sentences from. (Note the word probably.)
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. vigorous
    characterized by forceful and energetic action or activity
    You kind of hope there is vigorous debate on the board when they’re picking a new leader.
    362
  2. trousseau
    clothes and linens that a bride brings to a marriage
    “My mother and I have been embroidering linens for my trousseau for ages ... what have you been working on?”
    362
  3. bustle
    move or cause to move energetically or busily
    Babies cry in the bustling waiting room of the women’s health center.
    363
  4. nihilism
    complete denial of established authority and institutions
    The late Christopher Hitchens called this attitude “a contempt for all things of this world” – an acceptable form of nihilism.
    363

    word origin: Early 19th century: from Latin nihil ‘nothing’ + -ism.
  5. scrofula
    a form of tuberculosis characterized by swellings of the lymphatic glands
    Feeble constitution and muscular tenuity; unsound health from whatever cause; indications of former disease; glandular swellings, or other symptoms of scrofula.
    364, Andrei Semyonovich.
  6. towheaded
    of hair color; whitish
    Standing cross-armed on the beach, stiff with anticipation, I watched as my little towheaded son made his first solo ride on a surfboard.
    364
  7. vulgarian
    a vulgar person
    Many western men wear diamond rings—pieces of jewelry which the east allots to ladies or to gamblers and vulgarians.
    365, Andrei Semyonovich.

    word origin: Late Middle English: from Latin vulgaris, from vulgus ‘common people’. The original senses were ‘used in ordinary calculations’ (surviving in vulgar fraction) and ‘in ordinary use, used by the people’ (surviving in vulgar tongue).
  8. despot
    a cruel and oppressive dictator
    Most of all, it would rid the world of Kim — a brutal, dangerous despot — and end his family’s absolute rule.
    367
  9. commune
    share or interact intimately with
    Talk spread of an “American Commune,” and the Workingmen’s Party led 10,000 in a parade singing “La Marseillaise.”
    370
  10. propriety
    correct behavior
    Trump can’t be accused of doing something improper because he’s never understood the rules of propriety.
    373
  11. iridescent
    varying in color when seen in different lights
    It was pretty, with iridescent colours in its cleanly sheared crystal surface.
    374

    word origin: Late 18th century: from Latin iris, irid- ‘rainbow’ + -escent.
  12. commiserate
    feel or express sympathy or compassion
    Afterward, I met her outside, where she was cheerful but mildly annoyed, commiserating with a group of editors who also missed the show.
    374

    word origin: Late 16th century: from Latin commiserat- ‘commiserated’, from the verb commiserari, from com- ‘with’ + miserari ‘to lament’ (from miser ‘wretched’).
  13. commemorate
    call to remembrance
    Birthdays are the number one celebration, but we also receive questions about how to commemorate wedding anniversaries, graduations, sweet 16 celebrations, quinceañeras, first visits.
    375
  14. philanthropy
    the act of donating money or time to promote human welfare
    The majority of those names, the center reported, used words associated with philanthropy and aid, including “help,” ”relief,” ”donate” and “victims.”
    376

    word origin: Early 17th century: via late Latin from Greek philanthrōpia, from philanthrōpos ‘man-loving’ (see philanthrope).
  15. paroxysm
    a sudden uncontrollable attack
    THE release of “Wonder Woman” last week sent many critics and viewers into paroxysms of excitement.
    378

    word origin: Late Middle English: from French paroxysme, via medieval Latin from Greek paroxusmos, from paroxunein ‘exasperate’, from para- ‘beyond’ + oxunein ‘sharpen’ (from oxus ‘sharp’).
  16. irksome
    tedious or irritating
    The spellings of some words were more irksome than others.
    378
  17. berate
    censure severely or angrily
    On one occasion, he said, she called him at 3 a.m. to berate him for buying milk in a bag rather than a carton.
    379
  18. dissonance
    disagreeable sounds
    “I call it the dissonance between the ideal and the real,” Hudson told Salon in an email.
    379
  19. irrepressible
    impossible to control
    With his backward baseball cap and irrepressible enthusiasm, Shapovalov looks like the teenager he is, but he plays with maturity and self belief.
    383
  20. predominate
    be larger in number, quantity, power, status or importance
    Large-leaved plants predominate in tropical jungle - something that was noted as early as the 19th Century.
    383
  21. swimmingly
    with no problems or difficulties
    For about six weeks, the mayoral campaign was going swimmingly, but then a new batch of scandalous photos and texts showed up online.
    385
  22. quail
    draw back, as with fear or pain
    Some of the private foundations’ publicity-shy directors quailed at becoming named as partners with a New Deal program detested by their corporate patrons.
    385
  23. deign
    do something that one considers to be below one's dignity
    The masses in the middle are angry at being mocked and marginalized by coastal liberals who wouldn’t deign to visit “The Flyover.”
    386, Katerina Ivanovna.
  24. contemptuous
    expressing extreme scorn
    The Constitution provides no carve-outs for cases where the underlying crime is a deprivation of civil liberties or a contemptuous defiance of a judicial order.
    387
  25. drivel
    a worthless message
    Does this mean all that drivel about the Augurs being possessed by spirits of the dead is true?
    389
  26. nominal
    existing in name only
    The prizes on offer for those who manage to grab one of the flags are nominal.
    393
  27. implacable
    incapable of being appeased or pacified
    The legitimacy of the Kim dynasty's political leadership is rooted in a narrative of defence against an implacably hostile United States.
    394
  28. pettifogger
    a person who uses unscrupulous or unethical methods
    But Domitian was a pettifogger as well as a plunderer; he would fleece or assassinate his victims under forms of law.
    395

    word origin: Mid 16th century: from petty + obsolete fogger ‘underhand dealer’, probably from Fugger, the name of a family of merchants in Augsburg in the 15th and 16th centuries. (If the word does indeed derive from the family name Fugger, then it's an example of an eponym.)
  29. rend
    tear or be torn violently
    “I claw at the air, but my hands strike nothing; they rend no doorways to that golden isle. Absence. Isolation. I keen.”
    396
  30. wither
    lose freshness, vigor, or vitality
    In general, a single daylily bud is in bloom for just one day before it begins to wither.
    397
  31. complicity
    guilt as a confederate in a crime or offense
    The squad’s history in Afghanistan, and complicity in abuses there, plays a part.
    397
  32. indelicate
    in violation of good taste even verging on the indecent
    His indelicate language and behavior associated him with the common man, which was considered a negative.
    400
  33. impunity
    exemption from punishment or loss
    “Impunity for crimes against migrants in Mexico is at alarming levels.”
    404
  34. vindication
    the act of defending against criticism or censure
    When federal authorities finally deemed two dilapidated public housing developments in the fading city of Cairo, Ill., uninhabitable, it felt like vindication for its residents.
    404
  35. advocate
    speak, plead, or argue in favor of
    One of the things you advocate for is a “yes means yes” standard.
    405

    word origin: Middle English: from Old French avocat, from Latin advocatus, past participle (used as a noun) of advocare ‘call (to one's aid)’, from ad- ‘to’ + vocare ‘to call’.
  36. corrosive
    capable of destroying or eating away by chemical action
    Meanwhile, no one should be fooled by the president’s fancy words about a free press nor by his corrosive practice of buying off journalists.
    408

    word origin: Late Middle English: from Old French corosif, -ive, from medieval Latin corrosivus, from Latin corros- ‘gnawed through’, from the verb corrodere (see corrode).
  37. relentless
    not willing or able to stop or yield
    But the releases were not enough to relieve the pressure after the relentless downpours, Army Corps of Engineers officials said.
    410
  38. throttle
    place limits on
    The KC side throttled the Sounders on the road back in May and on Saturday pay a visit to CenturyLink Field.
    learn this meaning: verb: Attack or kill (someone) by choking or strangling them.
  39. pernicious
    exceedingly harmful
    The pernicious effects of bribery by the drug and device companies require aggressive policing.
    416

    word origin: Late Middle English: from Latin perniciosus ‘destructive’, from pernicies ‘ruin’, based on nex, nec- ‘death’.
  40. louse
    a wingless, parasitic insect
    "Hi—Harry, you big louse," came from Evelyn before Pearl could say a word.
    419

    learn this meaning: noun: A contemptible or unpleasant person.
  41. bequest
    a gift of personal property by will
    The bequest required Purdue to preserve the trees and wildflowers as a bird sanctuary and example of a native Hoosier forest.
    426
  42. antic
    ludicrously odd
    Fleck just heard the stories about the emotional sideline antics of Woody Hayes and Bo Schembechler being as entertaining as the games.
    431
  43. hapless
    unfortunate and deserving pity
    They rankled me as much as Bartleby’s “I would prefer not to” exasperated his hapless boss.
    435. Hap means luck or fortune. Hap-py derives from this word.
  44. quagmire
    a situation from which extrication is difficult
    Americans are less inclined to support military intervention, and they are clearly wary of any deepening military mission in quagmires like Syria.
    435
  45. congenial
    suitable to your needs
    Then came cable TV and the talk radio boom, and suddenly people could seek out ideologically congenial sources and tune out the old mass-culture authorities.
    436, Svidrigailov uses it of himself, ironically.

    learn this meaning: (of a person) pleasing or liked on account of having qualities or interests that are similar to one's own.
Created on Sat Oct 07 09:33:33 EDT 2017

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