Michelle Dupray 10-29-09

Michelle Dupray 10-29-09

Cry, The Beloved Country Vocabulary 1. Mute (adjective) - refraining from speech or temporarily speechless; not expressed in speech; characterized by an absence of sound; quiet. a. Sentence: “Then she sat down at his table, and put her head on it, and was silent, with the patient suffering of black women, with the suffering of oxen, with the suffering of any that are mute.” (page 40) b. My sentence: The class was mute while they worked. 2. Gravely (adjective) – giving cause for alarm; seriously a. Sentence: “Msimangu said gravely, yes, she is very sick.” (page 53) b. My sentence: The man spoke gravely to his son. 3. Articulately (adjective) – having the ability to speak fluently or coherently a. Sentence: “Inarticulately he strokes her face, his heart filled with pity.” (page 61) b. My sentence: She spoke the foreign language articulately. 4. Reconciled (verbs) – restore friendly relations between a. Sentence: “And thus reconciled, they sat hand in hand.” (page 61) b. My sentence: My friend and I reconciled last time we saw each other. 5. Stipend (noun) – a fixed regular sum paid as salary or allowance a. Sentence: “To save ten pounds from a stipend of eight months takes much patience and time…” (page 64) b. My sentence: At the end of the week, she receives her stipend. 6. Irresolute (adjective) – showing or feeling hesitancy; uncertain a. Sentence: “…but most of them walked resolutely, as indeed they had been doing now these past few weeks.” (page 81) b. My sentence: He was irresolute about going with his friends to the movies tomorrow night. 7. Corrugated (adjective) – shaped into alternate ridges or grooves

a. Sentence: “There is corrugated iron at the Reformatory, they use it to cover the bricks.” (page 88) b. My sentence: The hill was corrugated.

8. Travail (noun) – painful or laborious effort a. Sentence: “God save this piece of Africa that is my own, delivered in travail from my body….” (page 90) b. My sentence: Working on the backyard was a travailing effort. 9. Obscure (adjective) – not discovered or known about; uncertain a. Sentence: “…with a purpose obscure to the adult mind, but completely absorbing.” (page 93) b. My sentence: The reason behind the kind man’s actions was obscure to the people. 10. Desolate (adjective) – deserted of people and in a state of bleak emptiness a. Sentence: “And then in one fraction of time the hills with deep melodious names stood out waste and desolate beneath the pitiless sun, the streams ceased to run, the cattle moved thin and listless over the red and rootless earth.” (page 93) b. My sentence: The town was very desolate. 11. Muse (verb) – be absorbed in thought a. Sentence: His voice would falter and die away, and he would fall silent and muse.” (page 93) b. My sentence: The woman was musing while working. 12. Dubious (adjective) – hesitating or doubting 13. Tenaciously (adjective) - not readily letting go of, giving up, or separated from an object that one holds, a position, or a principle 14. Ruefully (adjective) – expressing sorrow or regret, esp. in a slightly humorous way 15. Apprehension (noun) – anxiety or fear that something bad will happen

16. Prodigal (adjective) – spending money or resources freely and recklessly; wastefully extravagant 17. Reproachfully (adjective) – expressing disapproval or disappointment 18. Congenial (adjective) – pleasant because of a personality, qualities, or interests that are the same as one’s own 19. Innumerable (adjective) – too many to be counted 20. Quaintness (adjective) – attractively unusual or old-fashioned 21. Repression (verb) – subdue (someone or something) by force 22. Reverie (noun) – a state of being pleasantly lost in one’s thoughts; a daydream 23. Expedient (adjective) – convenient or practical, although possibly immoral or improper 24. Prestige (noun) - widespread respect and admiration felt for someone or something on the basis of a perception of their achievements or quality 25. Scrupulous (adjective) – diligent, thorough, extremely attentive to detail 26. Renounce (verb) – formally declare abandonment (claim, right, possession) 27. Profoundly (adjective) – very great, intense 28. Humility (noun) – a modest or low view of one’s importance; humbleness 29. Transmuted (verb) – in form, nature, or substance