Unit 3: Selection Vocabulary 2

This list covers A Vindication of the Rights of Woman and Literary Focus: Romanticism.
11 words 6 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. agitate
    try to stir up (e.g., public opinion)
    Yet, because I am a woman, I would not lead my readers to suppose, that I mean violently to agitate the contested question respecting the equality and inferiority of the sex; but as the subject lies in my way, and I cannot pass it over without subjecting the main tendency of my reasoning to misconstruction, I shall stop a moment to deliver, in a few words, my opinion.
  2. abrogate
    revoke formally
    The male pursues, the female yields—this is the law of nature; and it does not appear to be suspended or abrogated in favour of woman.
  3. inveigh
    complain bitterly
    I am aware of an obvious inference: from every quarter have I heard exclamations against masculine women; but where are they to be found? If, by this appellation, men mean to inveigh against their ardour in hunting, shooting, and gaming, I shall most cordially join in the cry...
  4. cultivate
    foster the growth of
    ...if it can be proved, that in aiming to accomplish them, without cultivating their understandings, they are taken out of their sphere of duties, and made ridiculous and useless when the short lived bloom of beauty is over, I presume that RATIONAL men will excuse me for endeavouring to persuade them to become more masculine and respectable.
  5. pernicious
    exceedingly harmful
    Love, from its very nature, must be transitory. To seek for a secret that would render it constant, would be as wild a search as for the philosopher's stone, or the grand panacea; and the discovery would be equally useless, or rather pernicious to mankind.
  6. indolent
    disinclined to work or exertion
    Do passive indolent women make the best wives?
  7. Romanticism
    a movement in literature and art during the late 18th and early 19th centuries that celebrated nature rather than civilization
    The literary period known as Romanticism was born from concerns about modernization, and the movement flourished in the first half of the 19th century.
  8. reason
    the capacity for rational thought
    The Enlightenment was an intellectual movement that championed the power of reason.
  9. conformity
    compliance with accepted standards, rules, or norms
    Romanticism values emotions over reason, individualism over conformity, and freedom over order.
  10. ecology
    study of the relations of organisms to their environment
    Although modern environmentalism is connected to fields of science like ecology and biology, the Romantics were generally opposed to science, which was seen as an attempt to impose rules and order upon the natural world.
  11. contemplation
    a calm, lengthy, intent consideration
    Romantic poetry involved contemplation and reflection on the part of the speaker.
Created on Wed Dec 23 10:28:35 EST 2020 (updated Tue Jan 05 15:12:36 EST 2021)

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