antagonism
1 use
It made him the most visible and memorable person at every gathering, and cartoonists had fastened onto the theatricality of his white hair and big black mustache whenever they depicted local political antagonism.
antagonism = hostility
Definition
Generally antagonism means:hostility, opposition, or tension between opposing forces or ideas
Word Statistics
Book | 1 use |
Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
1st use | Part 3 |
benevolent
1 use
...asked how he might get North. Free North. Magical North. Welcoming, benevolent North.
benevolent = kind
Definition
Generally benevolent means:kind, generous, or charitable
Word Statistics
Book | 1 use |
Library | 5 uses in 10 avg bks |
SAT®* | top 1000 |
1st use | Part 1 |
cleave
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
cleave through
This here Sethe talked about love like any other woman; talked about baby clothes like any other woman, but what she meant could cleave the bone.
cleave = cut through
Definition
Generally this sense of cleave means:to split something — especially with violent force
or:
to cut through something
or:
to cut through something
Word Statistics
Book | 1 use |
Library | 6 uses in 10 avg bks |
1st use | Part 1 |
contentious
1 use
Now, eight years after her contentious funeral ... he changed his mind.
contentious = combative (involving argument or heated differences)
Definition
Generally contentious means:causing or likely to cause disagreement; or argumentative
Word Statistics
Book | 1 use |
Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
1st use | Part 2 |
discriminate
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
discriminating taste
made her believe she could discriminate among them.
discriminate = recognize the differences
Definition
Generally this sense of discriminate means:to recognize or perceive differences — especially fine distinctions
Word Statistics
Book | 1 use |
Library | 4 uses in 10 avg bks |
SAT®* | top 1000 |
1st use | Part 2 |
futile
1 use
Caught red-handed, so to speak, they would seem to recognize the futility of outsmarting a whiteman and the hopelessness of outrunning a rifle.
futility = pointlessness (because there is no gain from it)
Definition
Generally futile means:effort that is pointless because it is unproductive or unsuccessful
Word Statistics
Book | 1 use |
Library | 8 uses in 10 avg bks |
1st use | Part 1 |
indolent
1 use
Plotting has changed Denver markedly. Where she was once indolent, resentful of every task, now she is spry, executing, even extending the assignments Sethe leaves for them.
indolent = lazy (disinclined to work)
Definition
Generally this sense of indolent means:lazy; disinclined to work
Word Statistics
Book | 1 use |
Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
1st use | Part 1 |
indulgent
1 use
Privacy was an adult indulgence, but when he got to be one, he seemed not to need it.
indulgence = thing enjoyed
Definition
Generally indulgent means:to treat with extra kindness or tolerance
Word Statistics
Book | 1 use |
Library | 6 uses in 10 avg bks |
1st use | Part 3 |
listless
1 use
Listless and sleepy with hunger Denver saw the flesh between her mother's forefinger and thumb fade.
listless = lacking energy and normal enthusiasm
Word Statistics
Book | 1 use |
Library | 4 uses in 10 avg bks |
1st use | Part 3 |
perfunctory
1 use
Together they waged a perfunctory battle against the outrageous behavior of that place; against turned-over slop jars, smacks on the behind, and gusts of sour air.
perfunctory = done quickly without concern or attention to detail
Definition
Generally perfunctory means:done without much interest or effort — especially as when dispensing with a formality
Word Statistics
Book | 1 use |
Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
1st use | Part 1 |
profound
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
profound sadness
Sethe learned the profound satisfaction Beloved got from storytelling.
profound = of greatest intensity or emotional depth
Word Statistics
Book | 1 use |
Library | 8 uses in 10 avg bks |
1st use | Part 1 |
rancor
1 use
she dispensed with rancor, was indiscriminately polite, saving her real affection for the unpicked children of Cincinnati,
rancor = deep and bitter anger or hatred
Definition
Generally rancor means:deep and bitter anger or hatred — especially when long-standing
Word Statistics
Book | 1 use |
Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
1st use | Part 3 |
rebuke
3 uses
all that had been mocked and rebuked by the bloodspill in her backyard.
rebuked = criticized severely
Definition
Generally rebuke means:criticize severely; or such criticism
Word Statistics
Book | 3 uses |
Library | 4 uses in 10 avg bks |
1st use | Part 1 |
rectify
1 use
If I did you harm, I'm here to rectify it.
rectify = fix or make right
Definition
Generally this sense of rectify means:correct, fix, or make right
Word Statistics
Book | 1 use |
Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
1st use | Part 2 |
reproach
1 use
Buglar and Howard grew furious at the company of the women in the house, and spent in sullen reproach any time they had away from their odd work...
reproach = criticism
Definition
Generally reproach means:a criticism; or to express criticism — especially where a relationship makes the disapproval result in disappointment or shame
Word Statistics
Book | 1 use |
Library | 7 uses in 10 avg bks |
SAT®* | top 2000 |
1st use | Part 1 |
resignation
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
accepted it with resignation
...resigned to life without aunts, cousins, children.
resigned = Having accepted something undesired as unavoidable
Definition
Generally this sense of resignation means:acceptance of something undesired as unavoidable or the lesser of evils
Word Statistics
Book | 1 use |
Library | 7 uses in 10 avg bks |
SAT®* | top 2000 |
1st use | Part 2 |
scrutiny
1 use
Beloved did not look at Paul D; her scrutiny was for Sethe.
scrutiny = careful look
Definition
Generally scrutiny means:careful examination of something
Word Statistics
Book | 1 use |
Library | 10 uses in 10 avg bks |
SAT®* | top 1000 |
1st use | Part 1 |
simulate
1 use
Later he punctured her calf to simulate snakebite so she could use it in some way as an excuse for not being on time to shake worms from tobacco leaves.
simulate = imitate
Definition
Generally simulate means:make an imitation or representation of
Word Statistics
Book | 1 use |
Library | 8 uses in 10 avg bks |
SAT®* | top 1000 |
1st use | Part 1 |
tranquil
1 use
A tranquil Republic?
tranquil = calm and undisturbed
Word Statistics
Book | 1 use |
Library | 8 uses in 10 avg bks |
1st use | Part 3 |
undulate
1 use
followed her through the door straight into a pool of red and undulating light that locked him where he stood.
undulating = a smooth wave-like motion (physical or auditory)
or:
having a wavy or rippled form or surface
or:
having a wavy or rippled form or surface
Word Statistics
Book | 1 use |
Library | 4 uses in 10 avg bks |
SAT®* | top 2000 |
1st use | Part 1 |