Of Human Bondage Glossary

Of Human Bondage Glossary

vicious

deliberately cruel or violent

vulgar

lacking sophistication or good taste

conspiracy

a secret plan by a group to do something unlawful

inevitable

unavoidable

preposterous

absurd

charitably

full of love for and goodwill toward others

perusal

reading or examining something

affectation

Behaviour put on on display to impress as someone more interesting than one's normal personality.

corpulent

Fat; stout; overweight; notably obese.

austerity

Simple, plain and stripped-down to the essentials.

apparition

A spectral figure of ghostlike quality and intent.

whet

An increase in the desire of something.

facile

Unsophisticated and lacking in intellectual depth and curiosity.

wizened

Aged in appearance, but projecting a sense of wisdom through experience.

incommensurate

Failure to correspond in size or degree or amount.

hackneyed

Trite and unimaginative.

mawkish

Overly sentimental to the point of being sappy rather than emotionally moving.

barrister

The equivalent of a lawyer in courts in England, Canada and Australia.

prestidigitator

A magician or someone who peforms sleight of hand just for fun.

dyspepsia

Indigestion.

rudimentary

At the most basic and simplistic level.

repartee

Fast and witty conversation showing an adroitness in handling social situations where small talk is required.

slatternly

A woman behaving promiscuously; slutty.

malodorous

Emitting a distinctly foul and disagreeable odor.

stodgy

Conventional, stiff, unimaginative and set in one's old-fashioned ways.

mendacious

Given to repeatedly telling lies, half-truths, fibs and unfactual assertions.

supercilious

Scornfully and disdainfully superior toward others in a display of arrogance often unnoticed by those exhibiting this personality trait.

perspicacity

Quick to intelligently assess a situation and apply a logical response.

timorous

A tendency to naturally display timidity and shyness.

decree nisi

An order from a court which nevertheless remains inapplicable or unenforced until a specific condition or conditions have been met.

grandiloquence

An especially lofty and ornate sense of style.

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