Vocabulary From Les Miserables
Directions:
1. Choose ten vocabulary words (from anywhere on these pages) that you do not already
know, but would like to learn. The number next to each word indicates the page number
in the book where that word occurs.
2. For each word, include the part of speech, the definition, and an original sentence that
you write using the word. The sentence should be about the book.
3. Your list should be typed.
For example: (do not use this on your list)
Lugubrious (adj): Mournful.
The lugubrious ending of Les Miserables didn’t make me cry, although I did feel
depressed.
11
lugubrious
mournful
19
ignominy
great dishonor or humiliation; disgraceful character
24
effaced
erased (rubbed or wiped out)
28
timorous
timid; full of apprehension
38
expiation
atonement; the act of making reparation for
42
lackadaisical
languid; lacking spirit, liveliness, interest
35
lurid
gruesome
45
equivocal
ambiguous
51, 137, 139 enigmatic
mysterious, inexplicable
53, 74 prodigious
impressively great in size, force or extent
51 enigma
53 prodigious
53 furtive
riddle
53 affable
marked by stealth;
surreptitious
friendly, approachable
53 anchorite
hermit
55 calumny
slander
56, 77, 108, 155, 163 veneration
respect
56 veritable
true, genuine
56 antipathy
dislike
56, 62 infallible
incapable of error
56 imperious (61 – adverb)
overbearing, domineering
57 disconcerted
thrown into confusion;
discomfited
73 disquieting
troubling
73 insinuation
implication; veiled accusation
or suggestion
to direct with authority; to
prohibit or forbid
74 enjoin
75, 178
abominable
loathsome
81
malefactor
evildoer
81
evince
to show or demonstrate clearly; manifest
84
adjure
to enjoin solemnle
85
adroit
skillful, adept; especially under stressful conditions
86
probity
complete and confirmed integrity; uprightness
90, 175
91
sepulchral
pernicious
pertaining to a grave
harmful to health or morals
108 ecclesiastical
of or pertaining to the church
123, 138, 194, 198 ineffable
inexpressible
127
sanctimonious
pretending to be pious or righteous
132
imminent
about to happen, impending
138
celestial
heavenly
138
penitent
feeling or expressing remorse for one’s misdeeds or
sins
154
ethereal
delicate, heavenly
154
chimera
foolish fantasy
154
obtuse
lacking quickness of perception or intellect
162
pestiferous
162
imbibe
breeding infectious disease; morally pernicious,
bothersome, annoying
to drink; to absorb into the mind or take in
154 ethereal
delicate, heavenly (related to ether)
154 chimera
foolish fantasy
154 obtuse
lacking quickness of perception or intellect
162 pestiferous
breeding infectious disease; morally
pernicious
a feeling of embarrassment, humiliation, or
annoyance
impudent, insolent
noun form of dissipate – to vanish or
disappear; to squander or spend
wastefully; to indulge in the pursuit
of pleasure without moderation
164 chagrin
168 impertinent
172 dissipation
181 prostration
183 privation
the act of lying facedown in submission or
adoration
lack of baic necessities of life
193 prodigality
rash or wasterful extravagance
197 vehement
marked by forceful energy
Other previous vocabulary words that appear in this section: consummate, disconcerted,
venerate, imperious, ineffable
201 noxious
injurious to health or morals
(203) subjugate (!)
to conquer, make subservient
(203) propitious (!)
favorable, auspicious; kindly, gracious
208 philanthropy
effort to increase wellbeing of humankind,
for example through charitable donations;
love of humankind in general
219 plaintive
mournful or melancholy; expressing sorrow
! = This word is used by a character whose command of the (French) language is
dubious. The context, therefore, is not useful in learning what they mean.
224 impropriety
an improper act or expression
228 vociferate
238 affliction
to cry out loudly and vehemently, esp. in
protest
a condition or cause of distress
238 apparition (258, 263, 297)
ghost
253 languish (257)
to lost strength or vigor; to exist in miserable
conditions
thoughtfully (deeply and dreamily or
wistfully so)
malicious; having ill will (opposite:
benevolent)
to vanish or disappear; to squander or spend
wastefully; to indulge in the pursuit of
pleasure without moderation
253 pensively
256 malevolent
259 dissipate (295; we’ve had dissipation)
292 imminent, (312; 284, imminence)
about to happen
298 implacable
impossible to appease
315 expire
to end or die
316 appalling (363, 364)
filling with horror or dismay
329 inert
inactive
330 factious
marked by dissension
333 cadaverous
corpse-like
337 insipid
tasteless, dull
338 cerebral
intellectual
338 loquacity
talkativeness
344 conciliate
appease or reconcile
349 recompense
350 cloaca
payment in return for something;
amends for damage
digestive tract
356 stoical
seemingly indifferent to pleasure or pain
359 constraint
coercion or restraint
364 inexorable
relentless
367 espouse
support (as in a cause)
382 laconic
using few words
385 magnanimity
generosity of spirit
386 abnegation
self-denial
386 interlocutor
participant in a dialogue, esp. an official
396 calumniate
397 intermittent
to slander or malign
stopping and starting in intervals