The Phantom of the Opera - Chapter 3: The Mysterious Reason

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 4 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. foyer
    a large entrance or reception room or area
    All these people met, after the performance, in the foyer of the ballet, where Sorelli waited for the arrival of the retiring managers with a glass of champagne in her hand and a little prepared speech at the tip of her tongue.
  2. opera
    a drama set to music
    "The Opera ghost!"
  3. memorandum
    a written proposal or reminder
    "M. Poligny went to his desk and returned with a copy of the memorandum-book. The memorandum-book begins with the well-known words saying that `the management of the Opera shall give to the performance of the National Academy of Music the splendor that becomes...
  4. ballet
    a theatrical performance of a story by trained dancers
    All these people met, after the performance, in the foyer of the ballet, where Sorelli waited for the arrival of the retiring managers with a glass of champagne in her hand and a little prepared speech at the tip of her tongue.
  5. cadaverous
    of or relating to a corpse
    The friends of Firmin Richard and Armand Moncharmin thought that this lean and skinny guest was an acquaintance of Debienne's or Poligny's, while Debienne's and Poligny's friends believed that the cadaverous individual belonged to Firmin Richard and Armand Moncharmin's party.
  6. hermetic
    completely sealed or airtight
    ...at them for a moment and advised us to have new locks made, with the greatest secrecy, for the rooms, closets and presses that we might wish to have hermetically closed. They said this so funnily that we began to laugh and to ask if there were thieves at the Opera. They replied that there was something worse, which...
  7. retiring
    of a person who has held and relinquished a position
    All these people met, after the performance, in the foyer of the ballet, where Sorelli waited for the arrival of the retiring managers with a glass of champagne in her hand and a little prepared speech at the tip of her tongue.
  8. gossamer
    a gauze fabric with an extremely fine texture
    A few of the dancers had already changed into ordinary dress; but most of them wore their skirts of gossamer gauze; and all had thought it the right thing to put on a special face for the occasion: all, that is, except little Jammes, whose fifteen summers--happy age!--seemed already to have forgotten the ghost and the death of Joseph Buquet.
  9. manager
    someone who controls resources and expenditures
    All these people met, after the performance, in the foyer of the ballet, where Sorelli waited for the arrival of the retiring managers with a glass of champagne in her hand and a little prepared speech at the tip of her tongue.
  10. funereal
    suited to or suggestive of a grave or burial
    Those who began by looking at him with a smile ended by turning away their heads, for the sight of him at once provoked the most funereal thoughts.
  11. lugubrious
    excessively mournful
    Jammes yelled these words in a tone of unspeakable terror; and her finger pointed, among the crowd of dandies, to a face so pallid, so lugubrious and so ugly, with two such deep black cavities under the straddling eyebrows, that the death's head in question immediately scored a huge success.
  12. gruesome
    shockingly repellent; inspiring horror
    He did not miss a morsel of it, though the seasoning was a little gruesome because of the death of Buquet.
  13. gauze
    bleached cotton cloth of plain weave used for bandages
    A few of the dancers had already changed into ordinary dress; but most of them wore their skirts of gossamer gauze; and all had thought it the right thing to put on a special face for the occasion: all, that is, except little Jammes, whose fifteen summers--happy age!--seemed already to have forgotten the ghost and the death of Joseph Buquet.
  14. transparency
    the quality of being clear
    M. Moncharmin may have taken for transparency what was only shininess.
  15. servile
    submissive or fawning in attitude or behavior
    I could think of nothing better than to give him a servile imitation of this attitude of despair.
  16. pallid
    pale, as of a person's complexion
    Jammes yelled these words in a tone of unspeakable terror; and her finger pointed, among the crowd of dandies, to a face so pallid, so lugubrious and so ugly, with two such deep black cavities under the straddling eyebrows, that the death's head in question immediately scored a huge success.
  17. dandy
    very good
    Jammes yelled these words in a tone of unspeakable terror; and her finger pointed, among the crowd of dandies, to a face so pallid, so lugubrious and so ugly, with two such deep black cavities under the straddling eyebrows, that the death's head in question immediately scored a huge success.
  18. morsel
    a small amount of solid food; a mouthful
    He did not miss a morsel of it, though the seasoning was a little gruesome because of the death of Buquet.
  19. wan
    pale, as of a person's complexion
    And those little keys, the object of general curiosity, were being passed from hand to hand, when the attention of some of the guests was diverted by their discovery, at the end of the table, of that strange, wan and fantastic face, with the hollow eyes, which had already appeared in the foyer of the ballet and been greeted by little Jammes' exclamation:
  20. merriment
    activities that are enjoyable or amusing
    Debienne and Poligny, who, seeing us pass straight from the gloomiest state of mind to one of the most insolent merriment, acted as though they thought that we had gone mad.
  21. skeptical
    marked by or given to doubt
    ...However, in their relief at leaving a domain where that tyrannical shade held sway, they had hesitated until the last moment to tell us this curious story, which our skeptical minds were certainly not prepared to entertain. But the announcement of the death of Joseph Buquet had served them as a brutal reminder that, whenever they had disregarded the...
  22. stipulate
    make an express demand or provision in an agreement
    ...the splendor that becomes the first lyric stage in France' and ends with Clause 98, which says that the privilege can be withdrawn if the manager infringes the conditions stipulated in the memorandum-book. This is followed by the conditions, which are four in number. "The copy produced by M. Poligny was written in black ink and exactly similar...
  23. gaiety
    a joyful feeling
    None will ever be a true Parisian who has not learned to wear a mask of gaiety over his sorrows and one of sadness, boredom or indifference over his inward joy.
  24. brutal
    resembling a beast; showing lack of human sensibility
    And they were already smiling rather too broadly upon Sorelli, who had begun to recite her speech, when an exclamation from that little madcap of a Jammes broke the smile of the managers so brutally that the expression of distress and dismay that lay beneath it became apparent to all eyes:
  25. relish
    vigorous and enthusiastic enjoyment
    Richard, in his student days, had acquired a great reputation for practical joking, and he seemed to relish the dish which was being served up to him in his turn.
  26. lavish
    given or giving freely, generously, or without restriction
    Here they found the new managers, M. Armand Moncharmin and M. Firmin Richard, whom they hardly knew; nevertheless, they were lavish in protestations of friendship and received a thousand flattering compliments in reply, so that those of the guests who had feared that they had a rather tedious evening in store for them at once put on brighter faces.
  27. insolent
    marked by casual disrespect
    Debienne and Poligny, who, seeing us pass straight from the gloomiest state of mind to one of the most insolent merriment, acted as though they thought that we had gone mad.
  28. suicide
    the act of killing yourself
    They were more excited than they need have been, that is to say, more excited than any one need be by the announcement of the suicide of a chief scene-shifter.
  29. sublime
    of high moral or intellectual value
    I mention the incident, not because I wish for a second to make the reader believe--or even to try to make him believe-- that the ghost was capable of such a sublime piece of impudence; but because, after all, the thing is impossible.
  30. cordial
    politely warm and friendly
    The supper was almost gay and a particularly clever speech of the representative of the government, mingling the glories of the past with the successes of the future, caused the greatest cordiality to prevail.
  31. jest
    activity characterized by good humor
    "The joke became a little tedious; and Richard asked half-seriously and half in jest: "`But, after all, what does this ghost of yours want?'
  32. melancholy
    a constitutional tendency to be gloomy and depressed
    They had been assisted in the realization of their ideal, though melancholy, program by all that counted in the social and artistic world of Paris.
  33. corps
    an army unit usually consisting of two or more divisions
    Behind her, the members of the Corps de Ballet, young and old, discussed the events of the day in whispers or exchanged discreet signals with their friends, a noisy crowd of whom surrounded the supper-tables arranged along the slanting floor.
  34. magnificent
    characterized by grandeur
    I have already said that this magnificent function was being given on the occasion of the retirement of M. Debienne and M. Poligny, who had determined to "die game," as we say nowadays.
  35. sorrow
    an emotion of great sadness associated with loss
    None will ever be a true Parisian who has not learned to wear a mask of gaiety over his sorrows and one of sadness, boredom or indifference over his inward joy.
  36. vain
    having an exaggerated sense of self-importance
    He had slipped through the crowd; and the others vainly hunted for him, while two old gentlemen tried to calm little Jammes and while little Giry stood screaming like a peacock.
  37. glory
    a state of high honor
    The supper was almost gay and a particularly clever speech of the representative of the government, mingling the glories of the past with the successes of the future, caused the greatest cordiality to prevail.
Created on Tue May 19 13:46:08 EDT 2015

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.