A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man — Vocabulary
James Joyce
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Exemplary sample	Uses	ACT/SAT
	31	top 500
aestheticaesthetic → aesthetically:related to beauty or good taste It was not aesthetically pleasing.more Show context notes Aesthetically is the British spelling. Americans spell it esthetically. Show sample from book This supreme quality is felt by the artist when the esthetic image is first conceived in his imagination.30 more aesthetic → esthetic:related to beauty -- often referring to one's appreciation of beauty or one's sense of what is beautiful Show general definition related to beauty or good taste -- often referring to one's appreciation of beauty or one's sense of what is beautiful or: beautiful or tasteful
	28	top 1000
repentto feel regret for having done wrong and to firmly decide to be a better person in the future Prisoners who repent are more likely to be released on parole.more Show sample from book No matter how many or how foul the sins if you only repent of them they will be forgiven you.27 more to feel regret for having done something wrong and to resolve to be a better person in the future
	19	top 1000
pioushighly religious The cartoon with a drawing of Muhammad outraged many pious Muslims.more Show sample from book Why did you turn aside from your pious practices and good works?18 more Show general definition for pious (as in: a good, pious woman) religious or highly moral
	10	top 200
scornscorn → scorned:rejected Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.more Show sample from book Heron gave the lead and all three joined in a scornful laugh.†9 more scorn → scornful:full of strong disrespect or rejection Show general definition disrespect or reject as not good enough
	13	top 1000
peasantpeasant → peasants:an historical term describing people of low income, education, and social standing Most people in the Middle Ages were peasants.more Show sample from book peasants greeted them along the roads in the country;12 more peasant → peasants:people of low income, education, and social standing -- especially those who raise crops or livestock Show general definition used historically or possibly in relation to a very poor country: a person of low income, education, and social standing -- especially one who raises crops or livestock
	12	top 2000
ardententhusiastic (feeling intense emotion) I am her most ardent fan.more Show sample from book An afterglow deepened within his spirit, whence the white flame had passed, deepening to a rose and ardent light.†11 more feeling intense emotion (often enthusiasm or love) Show general definition showing or feeling intense emotion -- typically strong positive feelings such as enthusiasm or love
	9	top 1000
languidslow, unhurried No urging could increase his languid pace.more Show sample from book A gradual warmth, a languorous weariness passed over him descending along his spine from his closely cowled head.8 more languid → languorous:slow, relaxed, or with little energy Show general definition lacking energy or relaxed or moving slowly
	7	top 200
malicemalice → malicious:evil; or made with the intent to make others suffer I am not interested in hearing malicious gossip.more Show sample from book While he was still repeating the CONFITEOR amid the indulgent laughter of his hearers and while the scenes of that malignant episode were still passing sharply and swiftly before his mind he wondered why he bore no malice now to those who had tormented him.†6 more the desire to hurt others or see them suffer Show general definition the intention or desire to see others suffer
	10
heresysomething immoral It is a hardline form of Sunni Islam that condemns all other strains as heresy.more Show sample from book This fellow has heresy in his essay.9 more opinions most people consider immoral Show general definition opinions or actions most people consider immoral
	10	top 2000
baptismbaptism → baptized:"spiritually renewed" in a Christian ceremony She was baptized at the same church as her grandmother.more Show context notes The suffix "-ize" converts a word to a verb. This is the same pattern you see in words like apologize, theorize, and dramatize. Show sample from book He went from country to country in the east, from Africa to India, from India to Japan, baptizing the people.†9 more baptism → baptizing:"spiritual renewing" a person in a Christian ceremony OR initiating or purifying by a challenging experience Show context notes The suffix "-ize" converts a word to a verb. This is the same pattern you see in words like apologize, theorize, and dramatize. Show general definition a Christian ceremony signifying spiritual cleansing and rebirth or: a challenging experience that initiates or purifies Show editor's word notes Most churches baptize infants, but some require an adult to request baptism, and a few (such as the Quakers) require no baptism at all. Typically, water is used as part of the ceremony, such as sprinkling a little water on a baby's head; though some churches use complete submersion in water.
	9	top 1000
mortifiedexceedingly embarrassed She was mortified when her father questioned the boy who came to pick her up.more Show sample from book He chronicled with patience what he saw, detaching himself from it and tasting its mortifying flavour in secret.†8 more mortified → mortifying:extremely embarrassed and ashamed—so humiliated that pride feels wounded. Show general definition for mortified (as in: felt mortified) extremely embarrassed and ashamed—so humiliated that pride feels wounded.
	7	top 1000
listlesslacking energy and normal enthusiasm She was listless and bored.more Show sample from book Now, as then, he stood listlessly in his place, seemingly a tranquil watcher of the scene before him.†6 more listless → listlessly:with a lack of energy and normal enthusiasm
	1	top 500
obscureobscure → obscured:hidden or made less visible The stars are obscured by the clouds.more Show sample from book A dusk like that of the outer world obscured his mind as he heard the mare's hoofs clattering along the tramtrack on the Rock Road and the great can swaying and rattling behind him.2 more obscure → obscured:clouded (made less clear) Show general definition for obscure (as in: it obscured my view) to block from view or make less visible or understandable Show editor's word notes Although this meaning of obscure typically refers to seeing or understanding, it can also refer to situation where something makes something else harder to detect or as when a noise makes another noise difficult to hear. Similarly it can reference something overshadowing something else, as in "Her memory of her dog's death was obscured by her brother's death the next day."
	2	top 1000
obscure#2not clearly understood For some obscure reason that goes back many years, they don't like each other.more Show sample from book He would know obscure things, hidden from others,2 more mysterious (hard for others to understand) Show general definition for obscure (as in: the view or directions are obscure) not clearly seen, understood, or expressed Show editor's word notes Although this meaning of obscure typically refers to seeing or understanding, it can refer to difficulty with any type of detection as when something is hard to hear. It can also more specifically mean vague, or mysterious, or unknown by anyone. Much more rarely, it can mean secretive.
	9	top 2000
penitentsorry for having done wrong When her anger passed, she was penitent.more Show sample from book The penitent emerged from the side of the box.8 more a person who expresses remorse (sorrow) for misdeeds Show general definition feeling or expressing sorrow for having done wrong; or a person who does such
	4	top 500
omnipotentall powerful When I was young, I believed in the myth of omnipotent science, technology and logic.more Show sample from book And through the several torments of the senses the immortal soul is tortured eternally in its very essence amid the leagues upon leagues of glowing fires kindled in the abyss by the offended majesty of the Omnipotent God and fanned into everlasting and ever-increasing fury by the breath of the anger of the God-head.†3 more Show general definition all powerful Show editor's word notes note: "omni" means "all". It is often said that God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent (all powerful, all knowing, and all present; i.e., present everywhere)
	5	top 2000
squalorextremely dirty and unpleasant living conditions To meet her today, you would never guess she lived in squalor as a child.more Show sample from book He was conscious of failure and of detection, of the squalor of his own mind and home, and felt against his neck the raw edge of his turned and jagged collar.†4 more Show general definition (describing a place) extremely dirty and unpleasant -- typically due to poverty
	4	top 2000
spurnspurn → spurned:rejected She spurned his advances.more Show sample from book His soul had arisen from the grave of boyhood, spurning her grave-clothes.†3 more spurn → spurning:rejecting as not good enough Show general definition reject as not good enough
	4	top 2000
squaliddirty and unpleasant She lives in a squalid overcrowded apartment in the poorest part of town.more Show sample from book His sensitive nature was still smarting under the lashes of an undivined and squalid way of life.†3 more dirty and unpleasant;; OR (more rarely) immoral Show general definition dirty and unpleasant; or (more rarely) immoral
	3	top 1000
jargonwords or expressions commonly used in a particular field but not elsewhere The medical jargon used by the doctors was difficult for the patient to understand.more Show sample from book Had he felt the need of an implicit faith amid the welter of sectarianism and the jargon of its turbulent schisms, six principle men, peculiar people, seed and snake baptists, supralapsarian dogmatists?†2 more specialized vocabulary Show general definition words or expressions commonly used in a particular field but not understood by most people