The Phantom of the Opera - Author's Introduction

Julie G. (United Kingdom)
Words from Gaston Leroux's novel "The Phantom of the Opera" (English translation by Alexander Teixeira de Mattos, 1911).

[The maker of this vocabulary list would like to add that although this is the best-known and most widely available English translation of Leroux's novel, it is in fact an abridged version, despite some publishers' claims to the contrary. It is, however, in the public domain, and has a very nice style to it. Personally, I recommend either Lowell Bair's or Mireille Ribiere's translations if you're looking for the full text in English.]
40 words 58 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. singular
    being a single and separate person or thing
    In Which the Author of This Singular Work Informs the Reader How he Acquired the Certainty That the Opera Ghost Really Existed
  2. acquired
    gotten through environmental forces
  3. imagination
    the ability to form mental pictures of things or events
  4. superstition
    an irrational belief arising from ignorance or fear
  5. manager
    someone who controls resources and expenditures
  6. impressionable
    easily influenced
  7. concierge
    a caretaker in an apartment complex or hotel
  8. spectral
    resembling or characteristic of a phantom
    Yes, he existed in flesh and blood, although he assumed the complete appearance of a real phantom; that is to say, of a spectral shade.
  9. archives
    collection of records especially about an institution
  10. academy
    a learned establishment for the advancement of knowledge
  11. coincidence
    the property of two things happening at the same time
  12. phenomenon
    any state or process known through the senses
  13. fantastic
    extravagantly fanciful in design, construction, appearance
  14. mysterious
    beyond ordinary understanding
  15. dramatic
    characteristic of a stage performance
  16. legendary
    so celebrated as to having taken on the nature of a myth
    But none of those witnesses had until that day thought that there was any reason for connecting the more or less legendary figure of the Opera ghost with that terrible story.
  17. pursuit
    the act of following in an effort to overtake or capture
  18. presentiment
    a feeling of evil to come
    At last, I received the proof that my presentiments had not deceived me, and I was rewarded for all my efforts on the day when I acquired the certainty that the Opera ghost was more than a mere shade.
  19. frivolous
    not serious in content, attitude, or behavior
  20. skeptical
    marked by or given to doubt
  21. despair
    a state in which all hope is lost or absent
  22. magistrate
    a lay judge or civil authority who administers the law
  23. manifestation
    a clear appearance
  24. visionary
    a person with unusual powers of foresight
    The magistrate took him for a visionary.
  25. eccentric
    conspicuously or grossly unconventional or unusual
    I wanted, if there were still time, to find this valuable and eccentric witness.
  26. candor
    the quality of being honest and straightforward
  27. myth
    a traditional story serving to explain a world view
    No, the ghost was not a myth!
  28. seductive
    tending to entice into a desired action or state
  29. inference
    a conclusion you can draw based on known evidence
  30. mourning
    state of sorrow over the death or departure of a loved one
  31. malevolent
    wishing or appearing to wish evil to others
  32. perceived
    detected by instinct or inference
    All that my eyes saw, all that my mind perceived, corroborated the Persian's documents precisely; and a wonderful discovery crowned my labors in a very definite fashion.
  33. indifference
    the trait of remaining calm and seeming not to care
    I made the acting-manager put this proof to the test with his own hand; and it is now a matter of supreme indifference to me if the papers pretend that the body was that of a victim of the Commune.
  34. massacre
    the savage and excessive killing of many people
  35. siege
    an action of an armed force that surrounds a fortified place
  36. secretary
    an assistant who handles correspondence and clerical work
  37. admirable
    inspiring approval
  38. veracious
    habitually speaking the truth
  39. amiable
    diffusing warmth and friendliness
  40. architect
    someone who creates plans to be used in making something
Created on Fri Jan 09 15:57:22 EST 2015 (updated Sat Jan 10 09:52:40 EST 2015)

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