Vocabulary Unit

English
Mr. Sta. Maria
1. APOCRYPHAL

adjective
APOCRYPHAL:

Of doubtful authenticity
 In Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde:
“I took the liberty of pointing out to my
gentleman that the whole business
looked apocryphal, and that a man
does not, in real life, walk into a cellar
door at four in the morning and come
out with another man's cheque for close
upon a hundred pounds.”
2. AUSTERE

adjective
 AUSTERE:

1. Morally strict
2. Simple or undecorated
 In Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde:
“He was austere with himself; drank gin
when he was alone, to mortify a taste
for vintages; and though he enjoyed the
theater, had not crossed the doors of
one for twenty years.”
3. CONFLAGRATION

noun
CONFLAGRATION:

A large, disastrous fire

 In Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde:
“…there would be a glow of a rich, lurid
brown, like the light of some strange
conflagration.”
4. COQUETRY

noun
 COQUETRY:

A flirtatious act or attitude

 In Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde:
“…their way led them down a by-street
in a busy quarter of London. The street
was small and what is called quiet, but it
drove a thriving trade on the weekdays.
The inhabitants were all doing well, it
seemed and all emulously hoping to do
better still, and laying out the surplus of
their grains in coquetry.”
5. DISQUIETUDE

noun
DISQUIETUDE

Anxiety or agitation
 In Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde:
“The lawyer stood awhile when Mr.
Hyde had left him, the picture of
disquietude. Then he began slowly to
mount the street, pausing every step or
two and putting his hand to his brow…”
6. EDDY

noun
EDDY:

Whirlpool
 In Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde:
“…he could not help a certain
apprehension lest the good name of
another should be sucked down in the
eddy of the scandal.”
7. ENIGMA

noun
 ENIGMA :

Something hard to understand or

explain
 In Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde:
“‘Sir,’ said I, affecting a coolness that I
was far from truly possessing, ‘you speak
enigmas, and you will perhaps not
wonder that I hear you with no very strong
impression of belief.’”
8. ESTRANGE

verb
 ESTRANGE:

To cause someone to be no
longer close or affectionate;
to alienate
 In Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde:
“‘Such unscientific balderdash,’ added
the doctor, flushing suddenly purple,
‘would have estranged Damon and
Pythias.’” (*)

* Damon and Pythias are characters in Greek mythology, representing trust and
loyalty in true friendship
9. FLORID

adjective
 FLORID:

Very flowery in style; elaborately

decorated
 In Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde:
“Even on Sunday, when it veiled its
more florid charms and lay
comparatively empty of passage, the
street shone out in contrast to its dingy
neighbourhood, like a fire in a forest.”
10. HERESY

adjective
 HERESY

A deviation from a dominant

theory, opinion, or practice
 In Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde:
“‘I incline to Cain's heresy,’ he used to
say quaintly: ‘I let my brother go to the
devil in his own way.’”
11. MIEN

noun
 MIEN

Demeanor or expressive
appearance
 In Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde:
“The middle one of the three windows
was half-way open; and sitting close
beside it, taking the air with an infinite
sadness of mien, like some
disconsolate prisoner, Utterson saw Dr.
Jekyll.”
12. ODIOUS

adjective
 ODIOUS

Appalling; awful; distasteful

 In Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde:
A flash of odious joy appeared upon
the woman's face. "Ah!" said she, "he is
in trouble! What has he done?”
13. PEDANTICALLY

adverb
 PEDANTICALLY

In the manner of one who flaunts

useless knowledge
 In Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde:
“If you have been inexact in any point you
had better correct it."
"I think you might have warned me,”
returned the other with a touch of
sullenness. "But I have been
pedantically exact, as you call it.
14. PEEVISHLY

adverb
 PEEVISHLY

Ill-tempered; prone to whining

 In Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde:
“What, what? Are you all here?" said
the lawyer peevishly. "Very irregular,
very unseemly; your master would be
far from pleased."
15. PROTÉGÉ

noun
 PROTÉGÉ

One whose career is furthered by a

person of experience or influence
 In Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde:
“Did you ever come across one protégé
of his––one Hyde?” he asked.
16. REPUGNANCE

noun
 REPUGNANCE

A strong dislike or distaste

 In Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde:
“And yet when I looked upon that ugly
idol in the glass, I was conscious of no
repugnance, rather of a leap of
welcome.”
17. SEDULOUS

adjective
 SEDULOUS

Diligent; careful; persevering

 In Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde:
"One moment. I thank you, sir;" and the
clerk laid the two sheets of paper
alongside and sedulously compared
their contents. "Thank you, sir," he said
at last, returning both; "it's a very
interesting autograph."
18. SORDID

adjective
 SORDID:

Arousing moral distaste or

contempt
 In Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde:
“It was two storeys high; showed no
window, nothing but a door on the lower
storey and a blind forehead of
discoloured wall on the upper; and bore
in every feature, the marks of prolonged
and sordid negligence.”
19. STRINGENT

adjective
 STRINGENT

Strict or severe, especially in

regard to rules
 In Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde:
“A great curiosity came on the trustee,
to disregard the prohibition and dive at
once to the bottom of these mysteries;
but professional honour and faith to his
dead friend were stringent obligations.”
20. TURPITUDE

noun
 TURPITUDE

Wickedness; vileness
 In Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde:
“As for the moral turpitude that man
unveiled to me, even with tears of
penitence, I can not, even in memory,
dwell on it without a start of horror.”