Vocabulary 401

Back in 9th grade, I did something that made a lasting impression on my English teacher.  (Wow!  Who knew that was even possible, being the younger sibling of "Mr. Genius," who'd already gone through that same school and completely amazed all the teachers?!?)  Every time I, or someone in my family, have run into her since then, she always mentions this memory she has of me.

This is what I did - and I totally thought it was the perfectly NATURAL thing to do in the situation, so I've never been able to figure out what the big deal was - when I was reading a novel, and I came across a word that I did not know the meaning of, I looked it up in the dictionary, and wrote the word & definition down in my notebook.  (I filled quite a few pages of that notebook!)  
That's it.  So, now you know a "secret" to making your mark with your teacher!  haha.

So, I still read novels these days (I'll have to do another book review on my blog soon), but usually I understand all the words.  It may have something to do with the fact that, admittedly, I prefer what I label, "easy reads."  ;)

Until.....I recently read a book by a different publisher/genre than I most frequently read......and in the first couple of pages, I found myself back in 9th grade!  I didn't know the definitions of all the words, even the context of the sentence didn't help me understand the word's meaning!  They really were "advanced" words, in my defense. ;)  So, I jotted the words down on a post-it note and got out my handy-dandy dictionary again. 
These days, I don't know where that old vocab notebook is, but now I can just document them on this blog!

So, I present to you a vocabulary lesson from the novel, Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler (which happened to be a book I rated 4 STARS!) 


SURREPTITIOUSLY - obtained, done, made, etc. by stealth; secret or unauthorized
 
SLATTERNLY - slovenly and untidy
 
QUERULOUS - full of complaints; complaining
 
BESOTTED - to muddle or stupefy

ABSCONDED - to depart in a sudden and secret manner, especially to avoid capture and legal prosecution

TOREADOR - a bullfighter

LOTHARIOS - a man who obsessively seduces and deceives women, in reference to
the young seducer in Nicholas Rowe's 1703 play, The Fair Penitent 
 
IMPERVIOUS - incapable of being influenced, persuaded, or affected; impenetrable

MAWKISHLY - characterized by sickly sentimentality; weakly emotional

OBSEQUIOUS - compliant, obedient; dutiful; respectful

ABDICATED - to renounce or relinquish a throne, right, power, claim, responsibility, or the like, especially in a formal manner

IMPERIOUS - domineering in a haughty manner; dictatorial; overbearing

APPURTENANCES - something subordinate to another, more important thing

DIRIGIBLES - designed for or capable of being directed, controlled, or steered


How did y'all fare?  Were you besotted by these vocabulary words?

Am I the only one who didn't know all of these words?  I am???  Are you sure you didn't surreptitiously use your dictionary to get all the answers?!?

I've got a favorite from the list: obsequious.  I want obsequious children!!!  ;)