The Great Gatsby Vocabulary Words Chapters 1 3

The Great Gatsby Vocabulary Words Chapters 1 -3

To feign: to pretend to be affected by something; to make up a fictitious excuse Context clue: Most of the confidences were unsought— frequently I have feigned sleep [to avoid them]. Sentence: I feigned excitement about my dad’s promotion, but really I dreaded having to move again.

Supercilious: showing arrogant superiority over those one views as unworthy Context clue: Now [Tom] was a sturdy, straw haired man of thirty with a rather hard mouth and a supercilious manner. Sentence: The cheerleaders put on a supercilious attitude toward the newcomer.

Apathetic: not interested or concerned Context clue: A dog biscuit… decomposed apathetically in the saucer of milk all afternoon. Sentence: The student protesters were apathetic about climate change; they just wanted to get out of class for the day.

Languid: showing a disinterest in physical exertion or effort; slow and relaxed; OR weak or faint from fatigue or illness Context clue: [Mrs. Wilson] was shrill, languid, handsome and horrible. Sentence: The dog lay languidly on the pavement as the heat of the sun bore down on him.

To permeate: to pass into or through every part; to saturate Context clue: Floating rounds of cocktails permeate the garden outside until the air is alive with chatter and laughter. Sentence: The odor of onions permeated the classroom.

Homogeneous (homogeneity): of the same kind; alike Context clue: Instead of rambling, this party had preserved a dignified homogeneity (44). Sentence: The English classes were divided homogenously by skill level: Honors, Regular and Support.

Impetuous: acting or done quickly and without thought or care Context clue: “What do you think? ” he demanded impetuously (45). Sentence: The impetuous teenager jumped off the roof into the swimming pool below.

Vacuous: having a lack of thought or intelligence Context clue: Happy vacuous bursts of laughter rose toward the summer sky (46). Sentence: The handsome, vacuous man who accompanied the professor was clearly not there for his conversation skills.

Corpulent: obese, fat Context clue: I had expected that Mr. Gatsby would be a florid and corpulent person in his middle years (48). Sentence: The corpulent contestants on The Biggest Loser sacrificed a lot to lose the weight quickly.

Wan: pale and giving the impression of illness or exhaustion Context clue: She answered with a wan smile (49). Sentence: The man’s wan face showed how little he had been sleeping.

Provincial: unsophisticated; rustic and narrow-minded Context clue: In my provincial inexperience I believed [young men didn’t] drift coolly out of nowhere and buy a palace on Long Island Sound (49). Sentence: The provincial girl from Poulsbo experienced severe culture shock when she moved to New York City.

Jaunty: having a lively, cheerful and selfconfident manner Context clue: Her brown hand waved a jaunty salute as she melted into her party at the door (52). Sentence: He wore his hat at a jaunty angle.

Tumultuous: loud, confused and excited Context clue: The prolonged and tumultuous argument that ended by herding us into that room eludes me (53). Sentence: His tumultuous relationship with his girlfriend made him long for his peaceful days as a single guy.

The Great Gatsby Vocabulary Chapters 4 -end

Sporadic: occurring irregularly; scattered or isolated (events) Context clue: He was balancing himself on the dashboard of his car with that resourcefulness of movement …that comes, I suppose…with the formless grace of our nervous, sporadic games (64). Sentence: His sporadic attendance in class impacted his grade.

Somnambulatory: related to sleep-walking Context clue: Mr. Wolfshiem…lapsed into a somnambulatory abstraction (69). Sentence: My brother’s somnambulatory conversations always make me laugh.

Nebulous: hazy, vague, indistinct or confused Context clue: He was now decently clothed in a ‘sport shirt’ open at the neck, sneakers and duck trousers of a nebulous hue (94). Sentence: The witness’s memories of the events were too nebulous to persuade the jury.

Laudable: deserving praise Context clue: This was his day off and with laudable initiative he had hurried out ‘to see’ (97). Sentence: The heroism of the first-responders to the 9/11 attacks is laudable.

Insidious: proceeding in a gradual, subtle way, with harmful effects Context clue: …He saw Dan Cody’s yacht drop anchor over the most insidious flat on Lake Superior (98). Sentence: The insidious cancer spread through her body without her realizing.

Oblivious: not aware of or concerned about what is happening around oneself Context clue: Each night he added to the pattern of his fancies until drowsiness closed down upon some vivid scene with an oblivious embrace (99). Sentence: The stray dog was oblivious to the speeding cars around him as he crossed the highway.

Reverie: a daydream; the state of being pleasantly lost in one’s thoughts Context clue: For a while these reveries provided an outlet for his imagination… (99). Sentence: The distracted student appeared lost in reverie during the entire lecture.

Turgid: (regarding language) tediously pompous and inflated; also, swollen Context clue: The none too savory ramifications by which Ella Kaye… sent him to sea in a yacht were common knowledge to the turgid journalism of 1902 (99). Sentence: The teacher’s turgid lecture put his students to sleep.

To ingratiate (oneself with): to bring oneself into favor with someone else by flattering or trying to please them Context clue: Mostly I was in New York, trotting around with Jordan and trying to ingratiate myself with her senile aunt… (101). Sentence: The young man made a special effort to ingratiate himself with his girlfriend’s parents.

Dilatory: slow to act; procrastinating Context clue: The dilatory limousine came rolling up the drive (108). Sentence: The dilatory student always turned in his work late.

Portentous: indicating that something (often, bad) is about to happen Context clue: …We were listening to the portentous chords of Mendelssohn’s Wedding March from the ballroom below (127). Sentence: The portentous black clouds indicated that a storm was coming.

Vicarious: felt or enjoyed through imagined participation in the experience of another Context clue: …It would be a privilege to partake vicariously of their emotions (131). Sentence: I took a vicarious pleasure in watching the girl enjoy her chocolate cake.

Grail: a thing that is being earnestly pursued or sought after (literally, the cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper) Context clue: …Now he found that he had committed himself to the following of a grail (149). Sentence: Winning a Super Bowl ring is the holy grail of the NFL.

Garrulous: excessively talkative about trivial matters Context clue: …Some garrulous man [told] over and over what had happened until it became less and less real even to him and he could tell it no longer… (156). Sentence: Even though she called me, my garrulous aunt would not let me get a word in edgewise.

Superfluous: being more than is sufficient or required; excessive, unnecessary or needless Context clue: That request seemed superfluous when I wrote it (165). Sentence: After yelling at me for 5 minutes, slamming the door in my face felt like a superfluous gesture.

Elocution: the skill of clear and expressive speech Context clue: Practice elocution, poise and how to attain it 5. 00 -6. 00 P. M. (173). Sentence: NFL wide receiver Jerry Rice took elocution lessons to improve his chances at getting ad endorsements.