Vocabulary 1-11

• Mute (adjective) – refraining from speech or temporarily

speechless; not expressed in speech; characterized by an
absence of sound; quiet
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)
My sentence – Mute people can’t talk.
• Gravely (adverb) – giving cause for alarm
Sentence – Msimangu said gravely, yes, she is very sick.
My sentence – He gravely gave me the news.
• Inarticulately (adjective) – unable to speak distinctly or express
oneself clearly
Sentence – Inarticulately he strokes her face, his heart filled with
pity. (Page 61)
My sentence – I was inarticulately
• Reconciled (verb) [transitive] – restored friendly relations
between
Sentence – And thus reconciled, they sat hand in hand. (Page 28)
My sentence – I reconciled with my friend.
• Stipend (noun) – a fixed regular sum paid as a salary or
allowance
Sentence – To save ten pounds from a stipend of eight pounds a
month takes much patience and time, especially for a parson,
who must dress in full black clothes. (Page 30)
My sentence – I have a small monthly stipend.
• Irresolute (adjective) – showing or feeling hesitancy; uncertain
Sentence – So getting no peace, she rose irresolute, and went to
a room behind, and after some time she returned with the Bible.
(Page 43)
My sentence – I was irresolute about that topic.
• Corrugated (adjective) – (of a material, surface, or structure)
shaped into alternate ridges and grooves
Sentence – There is corrugated iron at the Reformatory, they use
it to cover the bricks. (Page 52)
My sentence – That car has been corrugated.
• Travail (noun) – painful or laborious effort
Sentence – God save this piece of Africa that is my own,
delivered in travail from my body, fed from my breast, loved by
my heart, because that is the nature of women. (Page 53)
My sentence – This is a travail.
• Obscure (adjective) – not discovered or known about; uncertain
 Sentence - …an obscure eight-page pamphlet brought out
weekly by that extraordinary Father Beresford, who looks as
though he hasn’t eaten for weeks. … (Page 154)
My sentence – That place is obscure.
• Desolate (adjective) – (of a place) deserted of people and in a
state of bleak and dismal emptiness
Sentence – It is all these things together that have made this
valley desolate. (Page 243)
My sentence – That place is desolate.
• Muse (verb) [intransitive] – be absorbed in thought
Sentence – His voice would falter and die away, and he would fall
silent and muse. (Page 56)
My Sentence – The person was in a muse.

Vocabulary 12 – 29

• Dubious (adjective) – hesitating or doubting; not to be relied

upon; suspect
• Tenaciously (adverb) – not readily letting go of, giving up, or
separated from an object that one holds, a position, or a principle
• Ruefully (adverb) – expressing sorrow or regret, esp. when in a
slightly humorous way
• Apprehension (noun) – anxiety or fear that something bad or
unpleasant will happen
• Prodigal (adjective) – spending money or resources freely and
recklessly; wastefully extravagant
• Reproachfully (adverb) – expressing disapproval or
disappointment
• Congenial (adjective) – (of a person) pleasant because of a
personality, qualities, or interests that are similar to one’s own
• Innumerable (adjective) – too many to be counted (often used
hyperbolically)
• Quaintness (noun) – attractively unusual or old-fashioned
• Repression (noun) – subdue (someone or something) by force
• Reverie (noun) – a state of being pleasantly lost in one’s
thoughts; a daydream
• Expedient (adjective) – (of an action) convenient and practical,
although possibly improper or immoral
• Prestige (noun) – widespread respect and admiration felt for
someone or something on the basis of perception of their
achievements or quality
• Scrupulous (adjective) – (of a person or process) diligent,
thorough, nd extremely attentive to details
• Renounce (verb [transitive]) – formally declare one’s
abandonment of (a claim, right, or possession
• Profoundly (adverb) – (of a state, quality, or emotion) very great
or intense
• Humility (noun) – a modest or low view of one’s own importance;
humbleness
• Transmute (verb) – change in nature, form, or substance