Victorian Literature

LD (United States of America)
377 words 39 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. tintinnabulation
    the sound of a bell ringing
  2. disconsolate
    sad beyond comforting; incapable of being soothed
  3. apothegm
    a short pithy instructive saying
  4. denouement
    the outcome of a complex sequence of events
  5. manumit
    free from slavery or servitude
  6. incipient
    only partly in existence; imperfectly formed
  7. laconic
    brief and to the point
  8. conflagration
    a very intense and uncontrolled fire
  9. decorum
    propriety in manners and conduct
  10. hauteur
    overbearing pride with a superior manner toward inferiors
  11. punctilious
    marked by precise accordance with details
  12. filigree
    delicate and intricate ornamentation
  13. paroxysm
    a sudden uncontrollable attack
  14. mien
    a person's appearance, manner, or demeanor
  15. vicissitude
    a variation in circumstances or fortune
  16. brocade
    thick expensive material with a raised pattern
  17. curious
    beyond or deviating from the usual or expected
  18. quaff
    swallow hurriedly or greedily or in one draught
  19. abeyance
    temporary cessation or suspension
  20. corpulent
    excessively large
  21. doff
    remove
  22. propitious
    presenting favorable circumstances
  23. excoriation
    severe censure
  24. sojourn
    a temporary stay
  25. epithet
    a defamatory or abusive word or phrase
  26. idiosyncrasy
    a behavioral attribute peculiar to an individual
  27. wont
    an established custom
  28. doggerel
    a comic verse of irregular measure
  29. vacillate
    be undecided about something
  30. sedition
    an illegal action inciting resistance to lawful authority
  31. viand
    a choice or delicious dish
  32. expostulation
    an exclamation of protest, opposition, or criticism
  33. dissimulation
    the act of deceiving
  34. disapprobation
    an expression of strong disapproval
  35. dyspeptic
    suffering from indigestion
  36. avarice
    reprehensible acquisitiveness; insatiable desire for wealth
  37. deign
    do something that one considers to be below one's dignity
  38. pallid
    pale, as of a person's complexion
  39. verdant
    characterized by abundance of vegetation and green foliage
  40. equivocal
    open to two or more interpretations
  41. nonplussed
    filled with bewilderment
  42. gainsay
    take exception to
  43. ineffable
    defying expression or description
  44. patrician
    a person of refined upbringing and manners
  45. pernicious
    exceedingly harmful
  46. mollify
    cause to be more favorably inclined
  47. chagrin
    strong feelings of embarrassment
  48. colloquy
    formal conversation
  49. moiety
    one of two approximately equal parts
  50. educe
    construe a meaning or elicit a principle
  51. waylay
    wait in hiding to attack
  52. sanguine
    confidently optimistic and cheerful
  53. vestige
    an indication that something has been present
  54. morass
    a soft wet area of low-lying land that sinks underfoot
  55. soliloquy
    speech you make to yourself
  56. palliative
    moderating pain or sorrow by making it easier to bear
  57. demur
    politely refuse or take exception to
  58. sodden
    wet through and through; thoroughly wet
  59. expectorate
    clear out the chest and lungs
  60. abase
    cause to feel shame
  61. sunder
    break apart or in two, using violence
  62. pendulous
    hanging loosely or bending downward
  63. epigram
    a witty saying
  64. phantasmagoric
    characterized by fantastic and incongruous imagery
  65. evince
    give expression to
  66. aquiline
    curved down like an eagle's beak
  67. vignette
    a brief literary description
  68. partisan
    a fervent and even militant proponent of something
  69. erudition
    profound scholarly knowledge
  70. scintillating
    having brief brilliant points or flashes of light
  71. supercilious
    having or showing arrogant superiority
  72. physiognomy
    the human face
  73. derision
    the act of treating with contempt
  74. obtuse
    lacking in insight or discernment
  75. sanctimonious
    excessively or hypocritically pious
  76. discomfit
    cause to lose one's composure
  77. fete
    an elaborate party, often outdoors
  78. grandiloquent
    lofty in style
  79. raconteur
    a person skilled in telling anecdotes
  80. spurious
    plausible but false
  81. admonish
    scold or reprimand; take to task
  82. admonition
    a firm rebuke
  83. admonish
    counsel in terms of someone's behavior
  84. admonition
    cautionary advice about something imminent
  85. expedient
    appropriate to a purpose
  86. satyr
    one of a class of woodland deities
  87. effulgence
    the quality of being bright and sending out rays of light
  88. mendicant
    a pauper who lives by begging
  89. abstruse
    difficult to understand
  90. evanescent
    short-lived; tending to vanish or disappear
  91. promulgate
    state or announce
  92. ennui
    the feeling of being bored by something tedious
  93. torpid
    in a condition of biological rest or suspended animation
  94. frieze
    an ornament consisting of a horizontal sculptured band
  95. obstreperous
    noisily and stubbornly defiant
  96. laconic
    brief and to the point
  97. prodigious
    great in size, force, extent, or degree
  98. conflagration
    a very intense and uncontrolled fire
  99. abase
    cause to feel shame
  100. dissemble
    behave unnaturally or affectedly
  101. bespoke
    custom-made
  102. scion
    a descendent or heir
  103. natty
    marked by up-to-dateness in dress and manners
  104. mettle
    the courage to carry on
  105. sundry
    consisting of a haphazard assortment of different kinds
  106. quixotic
    not sensible about practical matters
  107. seamy
    morally degraded
  108. bellicose
    having or showing a ready disposition to fight
  109. voluble
    marked by a ready flow of speech
  110. fret
    carve a pattern into
  111. verisimilitude
    the appearance of truth; the quality of seeming to be true
  112. filial
    designating the generation following the parental generation
  113. contretemps
    an awkward clash
  114. vouchsafe
    grant in a condescending manner
  115. declamation
    a long, impassioned speech
  116. sunder
    break apart or in two, using violence
  117. ardor
    intense feeling of love
  118. visage
    the human face
  119. ebony
    hard dark-colored wood used to make furniture
  120. cloister
    residence that is a place of religious seclusion
  121. cadaverous
    very thin, especially from disease or hunger or cold
  122. pettish
    easily irritated or annoyed
  123. venerable
    profoundly honored
  124. sanguine
    confidently optimistic and cheerful
  125. importune
    beg persistently and urgently
  126. insolent
    marked by casual disrespect
  127. prattle
    speak about unimportant matters rapidly and incessantly
  128. alacrity
    liveliness and eagerness
  129. lascivious
    driven by lust
  130. bereft
    lacking or deprived of something
  131. facile
    arrived at without due care or effort; lacking depth
  132. assay
    a test of a substance to determine its components
  133. obsequious
    attempting to win favor from influential people by flattery
  134. timorous
    shy and fearful by nature
  135. implacable
    incapable of being appeased or pacified
  136. mire
    a soft wet area of low-lying land that sinks underfoot
  137. defile
    spot, stain, or pollute
  138. nether
    located below or beneath something else
  139. hoary
    covered with fine whitish hairs or down
  140. interminable
    tiresomely long; seemingly without end
  141. equity
    the quality of being fair, reasonable, or impartial
  142. solicitor
    a British lawyer who gives legal advice
  143. rejoinder
    a quick reply to a question or remark
  144. blight
    a state or condition being devastated or run-down
  145. slipshod
    marked by great carelessness
  146. sallow
    unhealthy looking
  147. conglomeration
    a sum total of many varied things taken together
  148. deface
    mar or spoil the appearance of
  149. regale
    occupy in an agreeable, entertaining or pleasant fashion
  150. saturnine
    showing a brooding ill humor
  151. expatiate
    add details to clarify an idea
  152. abscond
    run away, often taking something or somebody along
    Run away; usually includes taking something or somebody along
  153. engender
    call forth
  154. sully
    make dirty or spotty
  155. remonstrate
    argue in protest or opposition
  156. irascible
    quickly aroused to anger
  157. avocation
    an auxiliary activity
  158. facetious
    cleverly amusing in tone
  159. cornice
    the topmost projecting part of an entablature
  160. imprecation
    the act of calling down a curse that invokes evil
  161. denizen
    a plant or animal naturalized in a region
  162. interpose
    insert between other elements
  163. portly
    fairly large
  164. nicety
    conformity with some standard of correctness or propriety
  165. sanguinary
    accompanied by bloodshed
  166. allay
    lessen the intensity of or calm
  167. bewail
    express sorrow or regret about something
  168. apothecary
    a health professional who prepares and dispenses drugs
  169. wend
    direct one's course or way
  170. invective
    abusive language used to express blame or censure
  171. catechism
    an elementary book summarizing the principles of a religion
  172. descry
    catch sight of
  173. parry
    impede the movement of
  174. functionary
    a worker who holds or is invested with an office
  175. indolent
    disinclined to work or exertion
  176. unwonted
    out of the ordinary
  177. eddy
    a miniature whirlpool or whirlwind
  178. whit
    a tiny or scarcely detectable amount
    synonym: mote
  179. pauper
    a person who is very poor
  180. genteel
    marked by refinement in taste and manners
  181. cant
    a slope in the turn of a road or track
  182. consign
    give over to another for care or safekeeping
  183. wrest
    obtain by seizing forcibly or violently, also metaphorically
  184. proffer
    present for acceptance or rejection
  185. purport
    have the often misleading appearance of being or intending
  186. shroud
    burial garment in which a corpse is wrapped
  187. cleave
    separate or cut with a tool, such as a sharp instrument
  188. affected
    speaking or behaving artificially to make an impression
  189. pluck
    the trait of showing courage and determination
  190. repose
    freedom from activity
  191. carping
    persistent petty and unjustified criticism
  192. jeer
    laugh at with contempt and derision
  193. refractory
    stubbornly resistant to authority or control
  194. parley
    a negotiation between enemies
  195. blucher
    a high shoe with laces over the tongue
  196. confound
    be confusing or perplexing to
  197. inure
    cause to accept or become hardened to
  198. dismantle
    take off or remove
  199. abut
    lie adjacent to another or share a boundary
  200. noisome
    causing or able to cause nausea
  201. pell-mell
    in a wild or reckless manner
  202. mountebank
    a flamboyant deceiver
  203. propitiate
    make peace with
  204. maudlin
    very sentimental or emotional
  205. panacea
    hypothetical remedy for all ills or diseases
  206. circumspect
    careful to consider potential consequences and avoid risk
  207. lineament
    the characteristic parts of a person's face
  208. sluice
    conduit that carries a rapid flow of water
  209. squalor
    sordid dirtiness
  210. guileless
    innocent and free of deceit
  211. forestall
    keep from happening or arising; make impossible
  212. ungainly
    lacking grace in movement or posture
  213. obdurate
    stubbornly persistent in wrongdoing
  214. accede
    yield to another's wish or opinion
  215. importunate
    making persistent or urgent requests
  216. ballast
    any heavy material used to stabilize a ship or airship
  217. hovel
    small crude shelter used as a dwelling
  218. unearthly
    suggesting the operation of supernatural influences
  219. blanch
    turn pale, as if in fear
  220. dint
    force or effort
    interchangeable with `means' in the expression `by means of'
    NOTES:
    'I'll tell you more,' said Fagin, after he had reassured the girl, by dint of friendly nods and muttered encouragements.
  221. uncouth
    lacking refinement or cultivation or taste
  222. forbear
    resist doing something
  223. brandish
    move or swing back and forth
  224. craven
    lacking even the rudiments of courage; abjectly fearful
  225. impotent
    lacking power or ability
  226. epitaph
    an inscription in memory of a buried person
  227. staunch
    firm and dependable especially in loyalty
  228. pestilence
    any epidemic disease with a high death rate
  229. impertinent
    improperly forward or bold
  230. stratagem
    an elaborate or deceitful scheme to deceive or evade
  231. ponderous
    having great mass and weight and unwieldiness
  232. semblance
    the outward or apparent appearance or form of something
  233. teetotal
    practicing complete abstinence from alcoholic beverages
  234. ruffian
    a cruel and brutal fellow
  235. gall
    the trait of being rude and impertinent
  236. sullen
    showing a brooding ill humor
  237. cogitate
    consider carefully and deeply
  238. putrefy
    decay with an offensive smell
  239. actuate
    put in motion
  240. pomposity
    lack of elegance from being puffed up with vanity
  241. encumbrance
    an onerous or difficult concern
  242. encumber
    hold back, impede, or weigh down
  243. indenture
    formal agreement as to terms of a debt
  244. diurnal
    having a daily cycle or occurring every day
  245. recommence
    cause to start anew
  246. discursive
    tending to cover a wide range of subjects
  247. decrepitude
    a state of deterioration due to old age or long use
  248. sobriquet
    a familiar name for a person
  249. choleric
    characterized by anger
  250. sinecure
    a job that involves minimal duties
  251. edify
    make understand
  252. controvert
    prove to be false or incorrect
  253. pilfer
    make off with belongings of others
  254. convivial
    occupied with or fond of the pleasures of good company
  255. encomium
    a formal expression of praise
  256. coterie
    an exclusive circle of people with a common purpose
  257. emanate
    give out, as breath or an odor
  258. ablution
    the act of washing oneself, as for ritual purposes
  259. augury
    an event indicating important things to come
  260. incorrigible
    impervious to correction by punishment
  261. advert
    a public promotion of some product or service
    Now, it so happened that Mr. Fang was at that moment perusing a leading article in a newspaper of the morning, adverting to some recent decision of his, and commending him, for the three hundred and fiftieth time, to the special and particular noti
  262. foible
    a minor weakness or peculiarity in someone's character
  263. temerity
    fearless daring
  264. obeisance
    bending the head or body in reverence or submission
  265. feint
    any distracting or deceptive maneuver
  266. nettle
    disturb, especially by minor irritations
  267. conclave
    a confidential or secret meeting
  268. imprecation
    the act of calling down a curse that invokes evil
  269. capacious
    large in the amount that can be contained
  270. gratuitous
    unnecessary and unwarranted
  271. arrears
    the state of being behind in payments
  272. ignominious
    deserving or bringing disgrace or shame
  273. corporeal
    having material or physical form or substance
  274. incorporeal
    without material form or substance
  275. inestimable
    beyond calculation or measure
  276. laudable
    worthy of high praise
  277. propound
    put forward, as of an idea
  278. presentiment
    a feeling of evil to come
  279. impious
    lacking piety or reverence for a god
  280. antipathy
    a feeling of intense dislike
  281. victuals
    a source of food or nourishment
  282. salutary
    tending to promote physical well-being; beneficial to health
  283. extant
    still in existence; not extinct or destroyed or lost
  284. propensity
    a natural inclination
  285. conveyance
    something that serves as a means of transportation
  286. abject
    of the most contemptible kind
  287. audacious
    disposed to venture or take risks
  288. manifold
    many and varied; having many features or forms
  289. precept
    a rule of personal conduct
  290. attenuate
    become weaker, in strength, value, or magnitude
  291. suffuse
    cause to spread or flush or flood through, over, or across
  292. acerbity
    a sharp bitterness
  293. waggish
    witty or joking
  294. multifarious
    having many aspects
  295. stentorian
    very loud or booming
  296. capitulate
    surrender under agreed conditions
  297. turbid
    clouded as with sediment
  298. devolve
    pass on or delegate to another
  299. knotty
    tangled in snarls
  300. seemly
    according with custom or propriety
  301. presage
    a foreboding about what is about to happen
  302. cupidity
    extreme greed for material wealth
  303. askance
    with suspicion or disapproval
  304. rookery
    a breeding ground for gregarious birds (such as rooks)
  305. aspect
    the feelings expressed on a person's face
  306. condescend
    do something that one considers to be below one's dignity
  307. decorous
    characterized by propriety and dignity and good taste
  308. florid
    elaborately or excessively ornamented
  309. florid
    inclined to a healthy reddish color
  310. indecorous
    lacking propriety and good taste in manners and conduct
  311. munificence
    liberality in bestowing gifts
  312. munificent
    given or giving freely, generously, or without restriction
  313. penurious
    excessively unwilling to spend
  314. ward
    a person who is under the protection of another
  315. acrimony
    a rough and bitter manner
  316. aplomb
    great coolness and composure under strain
  317. ascetic
    someone who practices self denial as a spiritual discipline
  318. belie
    be in contradiction with
  319. circumscribe
    draw a geometric figure around another figure
  320. compatriot
    a person from your own country
  321. demagogue
    a leader who seeks support by appealing to popular passions
  322. diffident
    showing modest reserve
  323. disavow
    refuse to acknowledge
  324. drub
    beat thoroughly and conclusively in a competition or fight
  325. emend
    make corrections to
  326. enervate
    weaken physically, mentally, or morally
  327. espouse
    choose and follow a theory, idea, policy, etc.
  328. exculpate
    pronounce not guilty of criminal charges
  329. impute
    attribute or credit to
  330. impugn
    attack as false or wrong
  331. insipid
    lacking interest or significance or impact
  332. intemperate
    excessive in behavior
  333. inviolable
    incapable of being transgressed or dishonored
  334. malediction
    the act of calling down a curse that invokes evil
  335. malinger
    avoid responsibilities and duties, often by faking illness
  336. missive
    a written message addressed to a person or organization
  337. perfidy
    an act of deliberate betrayal
  338. perfunctory
    hasty and without attention to detail; not thorough
  339. perspicacity
    the ability to assess situations or circumstances shrewdly
  340. phlegmatic
    showing little emotion
  341. potentate
    a powerful ruler, especially one who is unconstrained by law
  342. prehensile
    having a keen intellect
  343. prehensile
    immoderately desirous of acquiring e.g. wealth
  344. profundity
    the quality of being physically deep
  345. prosaic
    lacking wit or imagination
  346. recrimination
    mutual accusations
  347. redoubtable
    inspiring fear
  348. sublime
    of high moral or intellectual value
  349. surfeit
    indulge (one's appetite) to satiety
  350. truculent
    defiantly aggressive
  351. unheralded
    without warning or announcement
  352. prepossessing
    creating a favorable impression
  353. verisimilitude
    the appearance of truth; the quality of seeming to be true
  354. vitiate
    make imperfect
  355. specific
    stated explicitly or in detail
  356. toady
    a person who tries to please someone to gain an advantage
  357. swain
    a young male suitor
  358. prig
    a person regarded as arrogant and annoying
  359. crosspatch
    a bad-tempered person
  360. coiffure
    the arrangement of the hair
  361. foolscap
    a size of paper used especially in Britain
  362. tete-a-tete
    a private conversation between two people
  363. de rigueur
    required by etiquette, custom, or fashion
  364. hoyden
    a girl who behaves in a boyish manner
  365. modiste
    someone who makes or mends dresses
  366. ruff
    a high tight collar
  367. saturnine
    bitter or scornful
  368. mobcap
    large high frilly cap with a full crown
  369. priggish
    exaggeratedly or self-righteously proper
  370. parvenu
    a person who has suddenly risen to a higher economic status
  371. shrift
    the act of being shriven
  372. scullery
    a small room next to the kitchen for household jobs
  373. trousseau
    clothes and linens that a bride brings to a marriage
  374. strop
    a leather strap used to sharpen razors
  375. foretoken
    an event that is experienced as indicating important things to come
  376. beshrew
    wish harm or evil upon
  377. abroach
    of a cask or barrel
Created on Fri Feb 15 11:49:50 EST 2013 (updated Tue Sep 02 19:34:39 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.