Scarlet Letter Vocabulary

Front 1

imbue

Back 1

to impregnate or inspire, as with feelings, opinions, etc.

Front 2

mutability

Back 2

the condition of being liable or subject to change or alteration

Front 3

imbibe

Back 3

to absorb or soak up, as water, light, or heat

Front 4

enjoin

Back 4

to prescribe (a course of action) with authority or emphasis

Front 5

anathema

Back 5

a person or thing detested or loathed

Front 6

requite:

Back 6

to give or do in return

Front 7

preternatural:

Back 7

out of the ordinary course of nature; exceptional or abnormal

Front 8

singularity:

Back 8

the state, fact, or quality of being singular (of being extraordinary; remarkable;
exceptional OR unusual or strange; odd; different)

Front 9

intrinsic:

Back 9

belonging to a thing by its very nature

Front 10

ignominy:

Back 10

disgrace; dishonor; public contempt

Front 11

extant:

Back 11

in existence; still existing; not destroyed or lost

Front 12

cabalistic:

Back 12

mystic; occult (cabal: a small group of secret plotters, as against a government or person
in authority)

Front 13

estate:

Back 13

condition or circumstances with reference to worldly prosperity, estimation, etc.; social
status or rank

Front 14

draught

Back 14

Drawn directly from the barrel, or other receptacle, in distinction from
bottled; “on draught”—said of ale, cider, and the like

Front 15

panoply:

Back 15

a wide-ranging and impressive array or display

Front 16

exigency:

Back 16

the need, demand, or requirement intrinsic to a circumstance, condition, etc.

Front 17

eldritch:

Back 17

eerie; weird; spooky

Front 18

expatiate:

Back 18

to enlarge in discourse or writing; be copious in description or discussion

Front 19

catechism:

Back 19

a. an elementary book containing a summary of the principles of the Christian religion,
esp. as maintained by a particular church, in the form of questions and answers; b. the contents of
such a book.

Front 20

temporal:

Back 20

pertaining to or concerned with the present life or this world; worldly

Front 21

essay (verb):

Back 21

to try; attempt

Front 22

indefeasible:

Back 22

not to be annulled or made void; not forfeitable

Front 23

tremulous:

Back 23

characterized by trembling, as from fear, nervousness, or weakness

Front 24

mountebank:

Back 24

a person who sells quack medicines, as from a platform in public places, attracting and
influencing an audience by tricks, storytelling, etc.

Front 25

boon:

Back 25

something to be thankful for; blessing; benefit

Front 26

vehemence:

Back 26

ardor; fervor

Front 27

countenance

Back 27

to permit or tolerate

Front 28

importunate

Back 28

urgent or persistent in solicitation, sometimes annoyingly so

Front 29

leech

Back 29

a physician

Front 30

celibacy

Back 30

abstention from sexual relations

Front 31

physic

Back 31

any medicine; a drug or medicament AND (archaic) the medical art or profession

Front 32

erudition

Back 32

knowledge; learning; scholarly quality

Front 33

incurious

Back 33

not curious; not inquisitive or observant; inattentive; indifferent

Front 34

intimate

Back 34

to indicate or make known indirectly; hint; imply; suggest

Front 35

proximity

Back 35

nearness in place, time, order, occurrence, or relation

Front 36

wherefore

Back 36

why

Front 37

perforce

Back 37

of necessity; necessarily; by force of circumstance

Front 38

armorial

Back 38

of or pertaining to heraldry or heraldic bearings

Front 39

decorous

Back 39

haracterized by or exhibiting decorum; proper

Front 40

palliate

Back 40

to relieve or lessen without curing; mitigate; alleviate

Front 41

somniferous

Back 41

bringing or inducing sleep, as drugs or influences

Front 42

latent

Back 42

present but not visible, apparent, or actualized; existing as potential

Front 43

antipathy

Back 43

a natural, basic, or habitual repugnance; aversion

Front 44

machination

Back 44

the act of plotting

Front 45

abstruse

Back 45

hard to understand; recondite; esoteric AND (obsolete) secret; hidden

Front 46

doctrinal

Back 46

pertaining to, or containing, doctrine or something taught and to be believed (doctrine: a
particular principle, position, or policy taught or advocated, as of a religion or government)

Front 47

apostolic

Back 47

of or characteristic of an apostle (apostle: any of the early followers of Jesus who carried the
Christian message into the world)

Front 48

ethereal

Back 48

light, airy, or tenuous

Front 49

scourge

Back 49

a whip or lash, esp. for the infliction of punishment or torture (noun); to whip with a
scourge; lash (verb)

Front 50

dissemble

Back 50

to give a false or misleading appearance to; conceal the truth or real nature of

Front 51

pall

Back 51

a cloth, often of velvet, for spreading over a coffin, bier, or tomb

Front 52

expiation

Back 52

The act of making satisfaction or atonement for any crime or fault; the extinguishing of guilt
by suffering or penalty

Front 53

lurid

Back 53

gruesome; horrible; revolting OR glaringly vivid or sensational; shocking

Front 54

wax

Back 54

to increase in extent, quantity, intensity, power, etc

Front 55

archfiend

Back 55

a chief fiend OR Satan

Front 56

erudite

Back 56

characterized by great knowledge; learned or scholarly

Front 57

efficacy

Back 57

capacity for producing a desired result or effect; effectiveness

Front 58

scurrilous

Back 58

grossly or obscenely abusive OR coarsely jocular or derisive

Front 59

despotic

Back 59

autocratic; tyrannical

Front 60

effluence

Back 60

something that flows out; emanation

Front 61

acquiesce

Back 61

submit or comply silently or without protest; agree; consent

Front 62

propinquity

Back 62

nearness in place; proximity

Front 63

usurp

Back 63

to seize and hold (a position, office, power, etc.) by force or without legal right

Front 64

bane

Back 64

a person or thing that ruins or spoils

Front 65

sere

Back 65

dry; withered

Front 66

verdure

Back 66

greenness, esp. of fresh, flourishing vegetation

Front 67

sedulous

Back 67

diligent in application or attention; persevering; assiduous

Front 68

deleterious

Back 68

harmful; injurious

Front 69

founder

Back 69

to become wrecked; fail utterly

Front 70

acrid

Back 70

sharp or biting to the taste or smell; bitterly pungent

Front 71

enigma

Back 71

a puzzling or inexplicable occurrence or situation

Front 72

primeval

Back 72

of or pertaining to the first age or ages, esp. of the world

Front 73

scrofula

Back 73

a form of tuberculosis affecting the lymph nodes, especially of the neck, that is most common in children and is usually spread by unpasteurized milk from infected cows