Emerson Glossary
8. ply: to practice or perform diligently
14. nebulous: (of a concept or idea) unclear, vague, or ill-defined
18. relinquish: voluntarily cease to keep or claim; give up
20. betray: unintentionally reveal; be evidence of
21. shiftless: (of a person or action) characterized by laziness, indolence, and a lack of ambition
21. incur: become subject to (something unwelcome or unpleasant) as a result of one's own behavior or actions.
22. disdain: the feeling that someone or something is unworthy of one's consideration or respect; contempt
22. shoulder: to assume as a responsibility
23. stammer: speak with sudden involuntary pauses and a tendency to repeat the initial letters of words
24. forego: to do without
26. tread: walk in a specified way
28. take the cross: to take the suffering and inconveniences that are in front of one
29. faint: weak
31. nettles … tangling vines: sharp, stinging, entangling weeds
36. scorn: the feeling or belief that someone or something is worthless or despicable; contempt
36. offset: compensation
37. consolation: comfort received by a person after a loss or disappointment
40. illustrious: well known, respected, and admired for past achievements
43. vulgar: lacking sophistication or good taste; unrefined
44. retrograde: a degenerate person
44.barbarism: absence of culture and civilization
47. oracle: a priest or priestess acting as a medium through whom advice or prophecy was sought from the gods in classical antiquity
50. impart: make (information) known; communicate 51. inviolable: never to be broken, infringed, or dishonored
53. promulgate: promote or make widely known (an idea or cause)
63. reproach: the expression of disapproval or disappointment
63. bide: to wait for —used chiefly in the phrase bide one's time
70. hindrance: a thing that provides resistance, delay, or obstruction to something or someone
71. constitution: one’s physical health and condition
75. tranquility: calmness; peacefulness
76. presumption: an act or instance of taking something to be true or adopting a particular attitude toward something, especially at the start of a chain of argument or action
78. diversion: something that takes attention away from what is happening
79. vexed: (of a problem or issue) difficult and much debated; problematic
25. abet: encourage or assist (someone) to do something wrong, in particular, to commit a crime or other offense
25A. allusion: an expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference
25D. loose sentence: A loose sentence, also called a cumulative sentence, begins with a main clause that is followed by phrases and/or clauses that modify the main clause. These phrases or clauses add information to the main or independent clause
25E. didactic: in the manner of a teacher, particularly so as to treat someone in a patronizing way
26. deprivation: the lack or denial of something considered to be a necessity
26E. obscurity: the state of being unknown, inconspicuous, or unimportant
27A. conjecture: an opinion or conclusion formed on the basis of incomplete information
27E. paradox: a seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement or proposition that when investigated or explained may prove to be well founded or true
28A. recompense: compensation or reward given for loss or harm suffered or effort made
28A. yield: produce or provide
28B. laborious: (especially of a task, process, or journey) requiring considerable effort and time
28B. meticulous: showing great attention to detail; very careful and precise 28C. anticipatory: describes the feeling you get when you know what's coming. It can also describe something that happens because something else is going to happen later — like that anticipatory excitement you feel the night before a big party
28E. concrete: existing in a material or physical form; real or solid; not abstract
28E. pragmatic: dealing with things sensibly and realistically in a way that is based on practical rather than theoretical considerations
28E. industry: hard work
29A. appositive: a noun, noun phrase, or series of nouns placed next to another word or phrase to identify or rename it
29B. participle: A participle is a verb form that acts as an adjective, modifying a noun or a pronoun
29C. infinitive: The simple or dictionary form of a verb: walk, think, fly, exist. Often the word to marks a verb as an infinitive: “to walk,” “to think,” “to fly,” “to exist.”
29D. gerund: form of a verb when functioning as a noun, as writing in Writing is easy
29E. preposition: a word that connects a noun, a noun phrase, or a pronoun to another word, esp. to a verb, another noun, or an adjective: In the sentence, "We jumped in the lake," "in" is a preposition, and in the sentence, "I heard the sound of loud music," "of" is a preposition.
31B. surmount: overcome (a difficulty or obstacle)
32A. chiasmus: a rhetorical device in which two or more clauses are balanced against each other by the reversal of their structures in order to produce an artistic effect. “Never let a Fool Kiss You or a Kiss Fool You.”
33. declamation: speech marked by strong feeling
33C. stipulate: to demand or require (something) as part of an agreement
34. consolation: comfort received by a person after a loss or disappointment
34C. custodian: one that guards and protects or maintains; especially : one entrusted with guarding and keeping property or records or with custody or guardianship of prisoners or inmates.
34C. aesthetics: a set of principles concerned with the nature and appreciation of beauty, especially in art
35I. bolster: strengthen
35I. stalwart: uncompromising