The Darkling Thrush — Vocabulary
Thomas Hardy
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Exemplary sample Uses ACT/SAT
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lamentlament → lamented:expressed grief about
She lamented the loss.more
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The wind [was] his death-lament.
vocal expression of grief or regret
Show general definition to express grief or regret
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ecstaticecstatic → ecstatically:with feelings of intense happiness
They are ecstatically in love.more
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So little cause for carolings
Of such ecstatic sound
intensely happy
Show general definition feeling intense happiness and excitement (as when in a state of ecstasy)
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gauntvery thin
She looked gaunt from the chemotherapy.more
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The ancient pulse of germ and birth Was shrunken hard and dry, And every spirit upon earth Seemed fervourless as I. At once a voice arose among The bleak twigs overhead In a full-hearted evensong Of joy illimited; An aged thrush, frail, gaunt, and small, In blast-beruffled plume, Had chosen thus to fling his soul Upon the growing gloom.†
very thin and bony
Show general definition very thin and bony -- often from hunger or as though having been worn to the bone
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desolatevery sad
I heard a low desolate wail.more
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  I leant upon a coppice gate
  When Frost was spectre-grey,
  And Winter's dregs made desolate
  The weakening eye of day.
feeling very sad and alone (and/or providing no shelter or sustenance)
Show general definition for desolate (as in: felt desolate) sad or miserable--and often lonely
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specterspecter → specters:a mental image of something frightening or disturbing
It aroused specters from her past.more
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I leant upon a coppice gate When Frost was spectre-grey, And Winter's dregs made desolate The weakening eye of day.†
specter → spectre:a frightening or disturbing mental image or possibility…
Show context notes This is a British spelling. Americans use specter.
Show general definition a frightening or disturbing mental image or possibility

or:

a ghostly appearing image