Collection 4: The Tragedy of Hamlet, Act 1

As you read Act 1 of William Shakespeare's "The Tragedy of Hamlet," learn this word list. Here are links to lists for texts in Grade 12's Collection 4: Hamlet, Act 1, Hamlet, Act 2, Hamlet, Act 3, Hamlet, Act 4, Hamlet, Act 5, Hamlet's Dull Revenge, Tell Them Not to Kill Me!, Blocking the Transmission of Violence, Hatred
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. unfold
    open to the view
  2. rival
    the contestant you hope to defeat
  3. apparition
    a ghostly appearing figure
  4. approve
    judge to be right or commendable; think well of
  5. scholar
    a learned person
  6. harrowing
    causing extreme distress
  7. usurp
    seize and take control without authority
  8. avouch
    admit openly and bluntly
  9. parley
    a negotiation between enemies
  10. smite
    inflict a heavy blow on, with the hand, a tool, or a weapon
  11. bode
    indicate by signs
  12. brazen
    made of or resembling brass, as in color or hardness
  13. mart
    an area in a town where a public mercantile establishment is set up
  14. moiety
    one of two approximately equal parts
  15. competent
    legally qualified or sufficient
  16. mettle
    the courage to carry on
  17. rummage
    a thorough search for something
  18. portentous
    of momentous or ominous significance
  19. mote
    a tiny piece of anything
  20. palmy
    very lively and profitable
  21. gibber
    speak (about unimportant matters) rapidly and incessantly
  22. disaster
    an event resulting in great loss and misfortune
  23. Neptune
    god of the sea; counterpart of Greek Poseidon
  24. precursor
    something indicating the approach of something or someone
  25. omen
    a sign of a thing about to happen
  26. harbinger
    something indicating the approach of something or someone
  27. extort
    obtain by coercion or intimidation
  28. partisan
    a pike with a long tapering blade with lateral projections
  29. extravagant
    unrestrained, especially with regard to feelings
  30. err
    stray from a direct course or at random
  31. probation
    a trial period during which one's abilities are tested
  32. auspicious
    indicating favorable circumstances and good luck
  33. dirge
    a song or hymn of mourning as a memorial to a dead person
  34. colleague
    an associate that one works with
  35. advantage
    the quality of having a superior or more favorable position
  36. import
    indicate or signify
  37. impotent
    lacking power or ability
  38. dilate
    add details, as to an account or idea
  39. native
    belonging to one by birth
  40. consent
    permission to do something
  41. particular
    unique or specific to a person or thing or category
  42. obsequious
    attentive in an ingratiating or servile manner
  43. obstinate
    marked by tenacious unwillingness to yield
  44. impart
    bestow a quality on
  45. immediate
    directly before or after as in a chain of cause and effect
  46. retrograde
    move in a direction contrary to the usual one
  47. jocund
    full of or showing high-spirited merriment
  48. sully
    make dirty or spotty
  49. canon
    a collection of books accepted as holy scripture
  50. Hyperion
    (Greek mythology) a Titan who was the son of Gaea and Uranus and the father of Helios and Selene and Eos in ancient mythology
  51. satyr
    one of a class of woodland deities
  52. Niobe
    (Greek mythology) the daughter of Tantalus whose boasting about her children provoked Apollo and Artemis to slay them all; Niobe was turned to stone while bewailing her loss
  53. galled
    painful from having the skin abraded
  54. incestuous
    relating to or involving incest
  55. cap-a-pie
    at all points from head to foot
  56. truncheon
    a short stout club used primarily by police officers
  57. distill
    give off (a liquid)
  58. dreadful
    causing fear or terror
  59. deliver
    utter (an exclamation, noise, etc.)
  60. beaver
    a movable piece of armor on a medieval helmet
  61. grizzled
    having gray or partially gray hair
  62. sable
    a very dark black
  63. tenable
    based on sound reasoning or evidence
  64. requite
    make repayment for or return something
  65. doubt
    lack confidence in
  66. wax
    increase, rise, or advance
  67. circumscribed
    subject to limits or subjected to limits
  68. yielding
    tending to give in or surrender or agree
  69. chaste
    abstaining from unlawful sexual intercourse
  70. importunity
    insistent solicitation and entreaty
  71. canker
    a fungal disease of woody plants that damages the bark
  72. disclose
    expose to view as by removing a cover
  73. contagious
    (of disease) capable of being spread by infection
  74. precept
    a rule of personal conduct
  75. unfledged
    young and inexperienced
  76. husbandry
    the practice of cultivating the land or raising stock
  77. invest
    give qualities or abilities to
  78. tender
    offer or present for acceptance
  79. sterling
    British money
  80. woodcock
    game bird of the sandpiper family that resembles a snipe
  81. prodigal
    recklessly wasteful
  82. broker
    a businessman who buys or sells for another
  83. slander
    attack the good name and reputation of someone
  84. eager
    having or showing keen interest or intense desire
  85. pith
    the choicest or most vital part of some idea or experience
  86. marrow
    the most essential or vital part of some idea or experience
  87. attribute
    a characteristic that distinguishes objects or individuals
  88. mole
    a small congenital pigmented spot on the skin
  89. virtue
    any admirable quality or attribute
  90. dram
    a unit of apothecary weight equal to an eighth of an ounce
  91. scandal
    a disgraceful event
  92. questionable
    able to be refuted
  93. cerement
    burial garment in which a corpse is wrapped
  94. horridly
    in a hideous manner
  95. disposition
    your usual mood
  96. desperation
    hopeless recklessness
  97. Nemean lion
    (Greek mythology) an enormous lion strangled by Hercules as the first of his 12 labors
  98. bound
    governed by fate
  99. orchard
    a small cultivated area where fruit trees are planted
  100. adulterate
    make impure by adding a foreign or inferior substance
  101. porch
    a structure attached to the exterior of a building often forming a covered entrance
  102. leprous
    relating to or resembling or having leprosy
  103. lazar
    a person afflicted with leprosy
  104. dispatch
    dispose of rapidly and without delay and efficiently
  105. luxury
    something that is an indulgence rather than a necessity
  106. fond
    extravagantly or foolishly loving and indulgent
  107. saw
    condensed but memorable saying embodying some important fact
  108. knave
    a deceitful and unreliable scoundrel
  109. circumstance
    formal ceremony about important occasions
  110. honest
    marked by truth
  111. pioneer
    someone who helps to open up a new line of technology or art
  112. philosophy
    the rational investigation of existence and knowledge
  113. antic
    ludicrously odd
  114. encumbered
    loaded to excess or impeded by a heavy load
  115. perturbed
    thrown into a state of agitated confusion
Created on July 15, 2014 (updated July 24, 2014)

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