aesthetic
1 use
He held forth on the love of ornament—the cottage parlour moved him thereto—and its connection with aesthetics.
aesthetics = beauty
Definition
Generally aesthetic means: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
or:
beautiful or tasteful
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 4 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 1000 |
| 1st use | Chapter 2.11 |
agony
17 uses
The real agony was that he had nowhere to go, nothing to do, nothing to say, and WAS nothing himself.
agony = intense suffering
Definition
Generally agony means:intense feelings of suffering — can be from mental or physical pain
Word Statistics
| Book | 17 uses |
| Library | 15 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 1.5 |
anguish
11 uses
She always felt a mixture of anguish in her love for him.
anguish = distress
Definition
Generally anguish means:extreme pain, suffering, or distress (of body or mind)
Word Statistics
| Book | 11 uses |
| Library | 12 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 2.15 |
anxiety
14 uses
But the anxiety remained inside him, like a wound that did not close.
anxiety = nervousness or worry
Word Statistics
| Book | 14 uses |
| Library | 23 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 1000 |
| 1st use | Chapter 1.3 |
candid
2 uses
1 —2 uses as in:
your candid opinion
There was about him a candour and gentleness which made the women trust him.
candour = honesty and directness
(editor's note: This is a British spelling. Americans use candor.)
(editor's note: This is a British spelling. Americans use candor.)
Definition
Generally this sense of candid means:honest and direct
Word Statistics
| Book | 2 uses |
| Library | 4 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 500 |
| 1st use | Chapter 1.1 |
cease
14 uses
But his mother had ceased to listen.
ceased = stopped or discontinued
Definition
Generally cease means:to stop or discontinue
Word Statistics
| Book | 14 uses |
| Library | 26 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 1000 |
| 1st use | Chapter 2.13 |
conciliatory
1 use
The efforts of his father to conciliate him next day were a great humiliation to him.
conciliate = make him feel better
Definition
Generally conciliatory means:intended to end bad feelings or build trust
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 2.8 |
condescending
7 uses
...Miss Western would have been a lady condescending to her inferiors.
condescending = treating others as inferiors
Definition
Generally condescending means:treating others as inferior; or doing something considered beneath one's position or dignity
Word Statistics
| Book | 7 uses |
| Library | 5 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 1.5 |
deference
4 uses
He could have wept with gratitude that she was deferential to him.
deferential = politely respectful
Definition
Generally deference means:polite respect — often when submitting to another's wishes
Word Statistics
| Book | 4 uses |
| Library | 5 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 500 |
| 1st use | Chapter 1.1 |
despise
22 uses
He hated her, for she seemed in some way to make him despise himself.
despise = dislike strongly and look upon with disdain
Definition
Generally despise means:to dislike strongly and to look down upon with disrespect
Word Statistics
| Book | 22 uses |
| Library | 14 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 1.1 |
dissent
1 use
He was sorry to be the cause of this new dissension.
dissension = disagreement
(editor's note: The suffix "-sion", 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 admission from admit, discussion from discuss, and invasion from invade.)
(editor's note: The suffix "-sion", 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 admission from admit, discussion from discuss, and invasion from invade.)
Definition
Generally dissent means:to disagree; or disagreement or conflict — typically between people who cooperate, and often with official or majority beliefs
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 2.10 |
establish
3 uses
1 —3 uses as in:
establish a positive tone
In him was established her life now.†
established = placed
Definition
Generally this sense of establish means:create, start, or set in [a] place
Word Statistics
| Book | 3 uses |
| Library | 25 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 100 |
| 1st use | Chapter 1.5 |
indifferent
15 uses
somewhere far away inside her, she felt indifferent to him and to his suffering.
indifferent = unconcerned (without interest)
Definition
Generally indifferent means:without interest
in various senses, including:
- unconcerned — as in "She is indifferent to what is served to eat."
- unsympathetic — as in "She is indifferent to his needs."
- not of good quality (which may imply average or poor quality depending upon context) — as in "an indifferent performance"
- impartial — as in "We need a judge who is indifferent."
Word Statistics
| Book | 15 uses |
| Library | 15 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 1000 |
| 1st use | Chapter 1.4 |
indignant
13 uses
Mrs. Morel was always indignant with the drunken men that they must sing that hymn when they got maudlin.
indignant = angered or annoyed at something wrong
(editor's note: maudlin means "tearfully sentimental")
(editor's note: maudlin means "tearfully sentimental")
Definition
Generally indignant means:angered or annoyed at something unjust or wrong
Word Statistics
| Book | 13 uses |
| Library | 16 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 500 |
| 1st use | Chapter 1.5 |
irony
2 uses
1 —2 uses as in:
verbal irony
"There's certainly no reason why you shouldn't," said Mrs. Morel, and she returned to her book. He winced from his mother's irony,
irony = saying one thing while meaning the opposite
Definition
Generally this sense of irony means:saying one thing, while meaning the opposite or something else — usually as humor or sarcasm
Word Statistics
| Book | 2 uses |
| Library | 6 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 2.9 |
mock
19 uses
His mockery always hurt her; it was too near the reality.
mockery = ridicule (with an absurd and unfair imitation)
Definition
Generally mock means:making fun of
or:
not real
or:
not real
Word Statistics
| Book | 19 uses |
| Library | 31 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 100 |
| 1st use | Chapter 1.3 |
ponder
17 uses
She waited for his coming home in the evening, and then she unburdened herself of all she had pondered, or of all that had occurred to her during the day.
pondered = thought about (reflected deeply upon)
Definition
Generally ponder means:to think deeply or carefully about something
Word Statistics
| Book | 17 uses |
| Library | 15 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 2.7 |
scrupulous
2 uses
Miriam, who always went scrupulously through his books and papers, saw the drawings.
scrupulously = carefully
Definition
Generally scrupulous means:careful to behave ethically and/or diligently (with great care and attention to detail)
Word Statistics
| Book | 2 uses |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 1000 |
| 1st use | Chapter 1.1 |
sufficient
12 uses
And the money was just sufficient.
sufficient = adequate (enough — often without being more than is needed)
Word Statistics
| Book | 12 uses |
| Library | 22 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 100 |
| 1st use | Chapter 1.2 |
trepidation
3 uses
When her inside dream was shaken, her body quivered with trepidation.
trepidation = nervousness
Definition
Generally trepidation means:nervousness (fear or anxiety about what will happen)
Word Statistics
| Book | 3 uses |
| Library | 3 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 1.6 |