Metamorphosis

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But his mother was to be punished still more for what she had done, as hardly had his sister arrived home in the evening than she noticed the change in Gregor's room and, highly aggrieved, ran back into the living room where, despite her mothers raised and imploring hands, she broke into convulsive tears.

aggrieved = upset (by bad treatment)

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some kind of caustic medicine splashed all over him;

caustic = harsh feeling (burning or corrosive)

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...sucking greedily at the cheese which had immediately, almost compellingly, attracted him much more than the other foods on the newspaper.

compellingly = in a manner that could not be resisted

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Gregor would sometimes catch a friendly comment, or at least a comment that could be construed as friendly.

construed = interpreted

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his attention was suddenly caught by the picture ... of the lady dressed in copious fur.

copious = abundant (large)

2 uses

once the difficulty has been removed, he will certainly work with all the more diligence and concentration.

diligence = hard work and care

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Gregor's mother, her hair still dishevelled from bed despite the chief clerk's being there, looked at his father.

dishevelled = messy

(editor's note:  This is a British spelling. Americans use disheveled.)

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"Gregor!" shouted his sister, glowering at him and shaking her fist.

glowering = staring angrily

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Then, however much mother and sister would importune him with little reproaches and warnings he would keep slowly shaking his head for a quarter of an hour with his eyes closed and refusing to get up.

importune = beg persistently and urgently

2 uses

...the others were being so insistent, and he was curious to learn what they would say when they caught sight of him. If they were shocked then it would no longer be Gregor's responsibility and he could rest.

insistent = demanding

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Long after he had finished eating and lay lethargic in the same place, his sister...

lethargic = without energy

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He took his cap, with its gold monogram from, probably, some bank, and threw it in an arc right across the room onto the sofa,

monogram = design of alphabetic letters

3 uses

she probably even had to overcome the urge to flee when she saw the little bit of him that protruded from under the couch.

protruded = stuck out

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He remained in this state of empty and peaceful rumination until he heard the clock tower strike three in the morning.

rumination = thinking again and again about something

(editor's note:  The suffix "-tion", converts a verb into a noun that denotes the action or result of the verb. Typically, there is a slight change in the ending of the root verb, as in action, education, and observation.)

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Mr. and Mrs. Samsa were struck, almost simultaneously, with the thought of how their daughter was blossoming into a well built and beautiful young lady.

simultaneously = at the same time

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For this reason, many things had become superfluous which, although they could not be sold, the family did not wish to discard.

superfluous = unnecessary

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Gregor went and waited immediately by the door, resolved either to bring the timorous visitor into the room in some way or at least to find out who it was;

timorous = timid