Much Ado About Nothing: Act 3

by William Shakespeare
Tired of their constant bickering, Beatrice and Benedick's friends hatch a plan to get the two to fall in love. Learn these words from Shakespeare's comedy about fidelity and deception. Read the full text here.

Here are links to our lists for the play: Act 1, Act 2, Act 3, Act 4, Act 5
40 words 2864 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. discourse
    an extended communication dealing with some particular topic
    Whisper her ear and tell her I and Ursula
    Walk in the orchard, and our whole discourse
    Is all of her.
  2. crafty
    marked by skill in deception
    Of this matter
    Is little Cupid's crafty arrow made,
    That only wounds by hearsay.
  3. treacherous
    tending to betray
    The pleasant'st angling is to see the fish
    Cut with her golden oars the silver stream
    And greedily devour the treacherous bait.
    This treacherous metaphor does not seem fitting for someone who wants to "help my cousin to a good husband." Although the metaphor is given by Ursula, Hero agrees with another image: "Some Cupid kills with arrows, some with traps." For Hero, making fun of a cousin who normally would "press me to death with wit" could be seen as payback. For Beatrice, she could see her cousin talking badly about her as betrayal, but instead, she vows to change to be worthy of Benedick's love.
  4. coy
    affectedly shy especially in a playful or provocative way
    I know her spirits are as coy and wild
    As haggards of the rock.
  5. troth
    a mutual promise to marry
    URSULA: But are you sure
    That Benedick loves Beatrice so entirely?
    HERO: So says the Prince and my new-trothèd lord.
  6. entreat
    ask for or request earnestly
    They did entreat me to acquaint her of it,
    But I persuaded them, if they loved Benedick,
    To wish him wrestle with affection
    And never to let Beatrice know of it.
  7. endear
    make attractive or lovable
    She cannot love,
    Nor take no shape nor project of affection,
    She is so self- endeared.
  8. lance
    a long pointed rod used as a weapon
    I never yet saw man,
    How wise, how noble, young, how rarely featured,
    But she would spell him backward. If fair-faced,
    She would swear the gentleman should be her sister;
    If black, why, Nature, drawing of an antic,
    Made a foul blot; if tall, a lance ill-headed;
    If low, an agate very vilely cut;
    If speaking, why, a vane blown with all winds
  9. vane
    mechanical device attached to an elevated structure
    I never yet saw man,
    How wise, how noble, young, how rarely featured,
    But she would spell him backward. If fair-faced,
    She would swear the gentleman should be her sister;
    If black, why, Nature, drawing of an antic,
    Made a foul blot; if tall, a lance ill-headed;
    If low, an agate very vilely cut;
    If speaking, why, a vane blown with all winds
  10. carping
    persistent petty and unjustified criticism
    Sure, sure, such carping is not commendable.
    This line from Ursula could be punning on and extending her earlier metaphor (a carp is a freshwater fish). Here, Ursula and Hero criticize Beatrice for always turning every man the wrong side out and for not recognizing that Benedick is commendable as a man of good name, shape, bearing, argument, and valor. Because their criticism is justified, spoken only once, and leading toward a bigger goal, it would not be considered carping.
  11. consume
    destroy completely
    Therefore let Benedick, like covered fire,
    Consume away in sighs, waste inwardly.
  12. devise
    come up with after a mental effort
    No, rather I will go to Benedick
    And counsel him to fight against his passion;
    And truly I’ll devise some honest slanders
    To stain my cousin with. One doth not know
    How much an ill word may empoison liking.
  13. condemn
    express strong disapproval of
    Stand I condemned for pride and scorn so much?
  14. adieu
    a farewell remark
    Contempt, farewell, and maiden pride, adieu!
  15. requite
    make repayment for or return something
    And, Benedick, love on; I will requite thee,
    Taming my wild heart to thy loving hand.
  16. incite
    urge on; cause to act
    If thou dost love, my kindness shall incite thee
    To bind our loves up in a holy band.
  17. consummate
    perfect and complete in every respect
    I do but stay till your marriage be consummate, and then go I toward Aragon.
  18. clapper
    metal striker that hangs inside a bell and makes a sound
    He hath a heart as sound as a bell, and his tongue is the clapper, for what his heart thinks, his tongue speaks.
  19. fancy
    a predisposition to like something
    There is no appearance of fancy in him, unless it be a fancy that he hath to strange disguises, as to be a Dutchman today, a Frenchman tomorrow, or in the shape of two countries at once, as a German from the waist downward, all slops, and a Spaniard from the hip upward, no doublet.
  20. bode
    indicate by signs
    If he be not in love with some woman, there is no believing old signs. He brushes his hat o’ mornings. What should that bode?
  21. melancholy
    a feeling of thoughtful sadness
    The greatest note of it is his melancholy.
  22. manifest
    provide evidence for
    You may think I love you not. Let that appear hereafter, and aim better at me by that I now will manifest.
  23. ensue
    take place or happen afterward or as a result
    For my brother, I think he holds you well, and in dearness of heart hath holp to effect your ensuing marriage—surely suit ill spent and labor ill bestowed.
  24. bestow
    give as a gift
    For my brother, I think he holds you well, and in dearness of heart hath holp to effect your ensuing marriage—surely suit ill spent and labor ill bestowed.
  25. hither
    to this place
    I came hither to tell you; and, circumstances shortened, for she has been too long a-talking of, the lady is disloyal.
  26. woo
    seek someone's favor
    And, as I wooed for thee to obtain her, I will join with thee to disgrace her.
  27. disparage
    express a negative opinion of
    I will disparage her no farther till you are my witnesses.
  28. untoward
    contrary to your interests or welfare
    O day untowardly turned!
  29. thwart
    hinder or prevent, as an effort, plan, or desire
    O mischief strangely thwarting!
  30. knave
    a deceitful and unreliable scoundrel
    Why, then, take no note of him, but let him go, and presently call the rest of the watch together and thank God you are rid of a knave.
  31. defile
    make dirty or spotty
    SEACOAL: If we know him to be a thief, shall we not lay hands on him?
    DOGBERRY: Truly, by your office you may, but I think they that touch pitch will be defiled. The most peaceable way for you, if you do take a thief, is to let him show himself what he is and steal out of your company.
  32. shilling
    a former monetary unit in Great Britain
    Five shillings to one on ’t, with any man that knows the statutes, he may stay him—marry, not without the Prince be willing, for indeed the watch ought to offend no man, and it is an offense to stay a man against his will.
  33. statute
    an act passed by a legislative body
    Five shillings to one on ’t, with any man that knows the statutes, he may stay him—marry, not without the Prince be willing, for indeed the watch ought to offend no man, and it is an offense to stay a man against his will.
  34. vigilant
    carefully observant or attentive
    Adieu, be vigitant, I beseech you.
  35. amiable
    diffusing warmth and friendliness
    I should first tell thee how the Prince, Claudio, and my master, planted and placed and possessed by my master Don John, saw afar off in the orchard this amiable encounter.
  36. commonwealth
    a politically organized body of people under a government
    We have here recovered the most dangerous piece of lechery that ever was known in the commonwealth.
  37. quaint
    attractively old-fashioned
    By my troth, ’s but a nightgown in respect of yours—cloth o’ gold, and cuts, and laced with silver, set with pearls, down sleeves, side sleeves, and skirts round underborne with a bluish tinsel. But for a fine, quaint, graceful, and excellent fashion, yours is worth ten on ’t.
  38. apprehension
    the cognitive condition of someone who understands
    BEATRICE: O, God help me, God help me! How long have you professed apprehension?
    MARGARET: Ever since you left it. Doth not my wit become me rarely?
  39. tedious
    using or containing too many words
    DOGBERRY: Comparisons are odorous. Palabras, neighbor Verges.
    LEONATO: Neighbors, you are tedious.
  40. arrant
    complete and without qualification
    Marry, sir, our watch tonight, excepting your Worship’s presence, ha’ ta’en a couple of as arrant knaves as any in Messina.
Created on Tue Apr 28 15:03:45 EDT 2015 (updated Fri Jun 10 12:25:25 EDT 2022)

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.