The Phantom of the Opera - Chapter 1: Is it the Ghost?

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.]
37 words 8 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. gala
    a lavish public entertainment or celebration
    Debienne and Poligny, the managers of the Opera, were giving a last gala performance to mark their retirement.
  2. invade
    march aggressively into a territory by military force
  3. vent
    a hole for the escape of gas, air, or liquid
    They rushed in amid great confusion, some giving vent to forced and unnatural laughter, others to cries of terror.
  4. tumultuous
    characterized by unrest or disorder or insubordination
  5. tilt
    lean over; tip
  6. elegance
    a refined quality of gracefulness and good taste
    Sorelli's dressing-room was fitted up with official, commonplace elegance.
  7. relic
    an antiquity that has survived from the distant past
  8. quarrel
    an angry dispute
  9. shudder
    tremble convulsively, as from fear or excitement
  10. swarthy
    naturally having skin of a dark color
  11. undertaker
    one whose business is the management of funerals
  12. supernatural
    not able to be explained by physical laws
    All the girls pretended to have met this supernatural being more or less often.
  13. horrible
    shockingly frightful or awful
  14. inexplicable
    incapable of being explained or accounted for
  15. shrewd
    marked by practical hardheaded intelligence
  16. uneasy
    causing or fraught with or showing anxiety
  17. venture
    an undertaking with an uncertain outcome
  18. anecdote
    short account of an incident
    [1] I have the anecdote, which is quite authentic, from M. Pedro Gailhard himself, the late manager of the Opera.
  19. consternation
    sudden shock or dismay that causes confusion
    The corps de ballet was flung into consternation.
  20. fiery
    like or suggestive of a flame
    At first sight, this fiery head in no way corresponded with Joseph Buquet's description of the ghost.
  21. administration
    the act of governing or exercising authority
  22. rustling
    a light noise, like leaves blowing in the wind
    Everybody seemed to hear a rustling outside the door.
  23. quavering
    (of the voice) shaking as from weakness or fear
  24. dispel
    cause to separate and go in different directions
    It was empty; a gas-flame, in its glass prison, cast a red and suspicious light into the surrounding darkness, without succeeding in dispelling it.
  25. timid
    showing fear and lack of courage
    Jammes declared, returning with timid little steps to her place beside Sorelli.
  26. prowl
    move about in or as if in a predatory manner
  27. coral
    a very small ocean creature that often forms reefs
  28. adorn
    make more attractive, as by adding ornament or color
  29. providence
    prudence and care exercised in the management of resources
  30. reticence
    the trait of being uncommunicative
    This reticence exasperated the curiosity of the young ladies, who crowded round little Giry, begging her to explain herself.
  31. exasperated
    greatly annoyed; out of patience
    This reticence exasperated the curiosity of the young ladies, who crowded round little Giry, begging her to explain herself.
  32. simultaneously
    at the same instant
  33. entreaty
    earnest or urgent request
    They were there, side by side, leaning forward simultaneously in one movement of entreaty and fear, communicating their terror to one another, taking a keen pleasure in feeling their blood freeze in their veins.
  34. vacant
    not containing anyone or anything; unfilled or unoccupied
    A respectable lady, built on the lines of a Pomeranian grenadier, burst into the dressing-room and dropped groaning into a vacant arm-chair.
  35. stricken
    grievously affected especially by disease
    All around her, her panic-stricken companions repeated under their breaths:
  36. memoir
    an account of the author's personal experiences
  37. grievous
    causing or marked by grief or anguish
Created on Sat Jan 10 13:53:59 EST 2015

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