allude
17 uses
The same superstition is alluded to in the Paradise, Canto II.
alluded = indirectly referenced
Definition
Generally allude means:to make an indirect reference
Word Statistics
| Book | 17 uses |
| Library | 3 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 100 |
| 1st use | Canto 1.N |
avarice
4 uses
Your avarice O'ercasts the world with mourning, under foot Treading the good, and raising bad men up.
avarice = excessive desire for wealth
Word Statistics
| Book | 4 uses |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Canto 1.12-22 |
bard
16 uses
This is that Homer, of all bards supreme:
bards = someone who composes and recites or sings poems about important events and people; or (as a proper noun) Shakespeare
Word Statistics
| Book | 16 uses |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Canto 1.1-11 |
benevolent
1 use
This said, departs the sire benevolent, And quits me.
benevolent = kind, generous, or charitable
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 5 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 1000 |
| 1st use | Canto 1.1-11 |
chasm
14 uses
On our right hand new misery I saw, New pains, new executioners of wrath, That swarming peopled the first chasm.
chasm = a large and deep and steep-sided opening on the earth's surface
Definition
Generally chasm means:a large and deep and steep-sided opening on the earth's surface; or (more rarely) any large gap
or:
a very large difference — often of opinion
or:
a very large difference — often of opinion
Word Statistics
| Book | 14 uses |
| Library | 4 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Canto 1.1-11 |
discord
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
discord amongst the group
jarring discord hath assail'd it
discord = conflict
Definition
Generally this sense of discord means:conflict or disagreement — especially among those expected to cooperate
or (especially in the form discordant):
seeming different or wrong along with everything else
or (especially in the form discordant):
seeming different or wrong along with everything else
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 1000 |
| 1st use | Canto 1.1-11 |
disdain
5 uses
then in disdainful mood Address'd me: "Say, what ancestors were thine?"
disdainful = full of disrespect
Definition
Generally disdain means:a lack of respect — often suggesting distaste and an undeserved sense of superiority
or:
to reject as not good enough
or:
to reject as not good enough
Word Statistics
| Book | 5 uses |
| Library | 7 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 500 |
| 1st use | Canto 1.1-11 |
doleful
1 use
our doleful prison
doleful = full of sadness or causing sadness
Definition
Generally doleful means:expressing or causing sadness
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Canto 1.23-22 |
dwell (2 meanings)
2 meanings, 2 uses
1 —1 use as in:
It dwells in the forest.
I come To take you to the other shore across, Into eternal darkness, there to dwell In fierce heat and in ice.
dwell = live or make one's home (in a geographic place)
Definition
Generally this sense of dwell means:make one's home in; or to live in; or to stay (in a place)
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 8 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 1000 |
| 1st use | Canto 1.1-11 |
2 —1 use as in:
a modest dwelling
A cavern was his dwelling,
dwelling = a house or shelter in which someone lives
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 4 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 1000 |
| 1st use | Canto 1.12-22 |
engender
2 uses
...seed that did engender them and give them birth.
engender = cause (to exist)
Definition
Generally engender means:cause — usually a feeling (possibly a situation)
Word Statistics
| Book | 2 uses |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Canto 1.12-22 |
forthwith
18 uses
Forthwith I understood for certain...
forthwith = immediately
Definition
Generally forthwith means:immediately — (most typically seen in legal documents, formal use, or classic literature)
Word Statistics
| Book | 18 uses |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Canto 1.1-11 |
guile
4 uses
...the wealth, for which thou fearedst not in guile to take...
guile = cunning and deceit
Definition
Generally guile means:cunning (shrewdness and cleverness) and deceitful
Word Statistics
| Book | 4 uses |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Canto 1.12-22 |
heresy
3 uses
heretical doctrines
heretical = counter to popular belief of what is proper
Definition
Generally heresy means:opinions or actions most people consider immoral
Word Statistics
| Book | 3 uses |
| Library | 3 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Canto 1.N |
lament
12 uses
what doth aggrieve them thus, That they lament so loud?
lament = express grief or regret
Definition
Generally lament means:to express grief or regret
Word Statistics
| Book | 12 uses |
| Library | 7 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 1000 |
| 1st use | Canto 1.1-11 |
penitent
3 uses
...the Count first with loud cries declared his penitence,
penitence = sorrow for having done wrong
Definition
Generally penitent means:feeling or expressing sorrow for having done wrong; or a person who does such
Word Statistics
| Book | 3 uses |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Canto 1.1-11 |
prodigal
2 uses
Lano, a Siennese, who, being reduced by prodigality to a state of extreme want,
prodigality = reckless, extravagant spending
Definition
Generally prodigal means:recklessly wasteful
or more rarely:
abundant (extravagant in amount)
or more rarely still:
long absent (someone who has been away a long time)
or more rarely:
abundant (extravagant in amount)
or more rarely still:
long absent (someone who has been away a long time)
Word Statistics
| Book | 2 uses |
| Library | 0 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Canto 1.N |
sage
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
sage advice
...where are assembled many emperors, kings, and sages.
sages = people known for being wise
Definition
Generally this sense of sage means:profound wisdom; or one known for being wise
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 3 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Canto 1.N |
stagnate
2 uses
In the heat of autumn it was formerly rendered unwholesome by the stagnation of the water, but has since been drained by the Emperor Leopold II.
stagnation = lack of movement
(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.)
(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.)
Definition
Generally stagnate means:staying still or not developing
Word Statistics
| Book | 2 uses |
| Library | 0 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Canto 1.N |
zeal
3 uses
I felt redoubled zeal to serve thee.
zeal = active interest and enthusiasm
Word Statistics
| Book | 3 uses |
| Library | 4 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Canto 1.1-11 |