 Oblique:
indirect or slanting
 Pensive: thoughtful
 Magnanimous: generous
 Importune: to pester
 Peremptory: imperious
The English adjective oblique, from the
Latin obliquus, means indirect or
slanting, and in mathematics it refers
to angles that are not acute, but are
greater than ninety degrees.
In his novel 1984, George Orwell wrote
that “She walked obliquely away across
the grass as though trying to get rid of
him.”
Spanish….oblicuo
The adjective pensive comes from the
Latin pensare and means thoughtful,
often quietly and perhaps sadly so.
In her1816 classic Frankenstein, Mary
Shelley wrote that “The old man had, in
the mean time, been pensive, but on
the appearance of his companions, he
assumed a more cheerful air.”
Spanish….pensativo
The adjective magnanimous , from the Latin magnanimus,
means generous, literally great (magna) minded (anim).
It is the opposite of pusillanimous, which means smallminded.
Mark Twain wrote humorously in Tom Sawyer that it was “a
noble, a generous, a magnanimous lie.”
Spanish….magnanimo
The English verb importune, from
the Latin importunus, means to
pester, to beg someone urgently
and persistently.
The noun form is importunity, and
the adjective is importunate.
In Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s
Travels, Gulliver wants “no
importunate, overbearing,
quarrelsome, noisy, roaring, empty,
conceited, swearing companions.”
Spanish….importunar
The adjective
peremptory comes
from the Latin
peremptus and means
imperious, arrogant,
refusing to be
contradicted.
In The Bell Jar, Sylvia
Plath described how
the “doorbell rang
again with a
peremptory jab.”
Spanish….perentorio
 Oblique:
indirect or slanting
 Pensive: thoughtful
 Magnanimous: generous
 Importune: to pester
 Peremptory: imperious
From Richard Wright’s Native son
There was in his eyes a ________, brooding
amusement.
a.
oblique
b.
magnanimous
c.
pensive
d.
peremptory
1.
From Richard Wright’s Native son
There was in his eyes a ________, brooding
amusement.
a.
oblique
b.
magnanimous
c.
pensive
d.
peremptory
1.
From Joseph Heller’s Catch-22
“It’s all right,” said Dunbar _______.
a.
b.
c.
d.
pensively
peremptorily
amiably
magnanimously
From Joseph Heller’s Catch-22
“It’s all right,” said Dunbar _______.
a.
b.
c.
d.
pensively
peremptorily
amiably
magnanimously
From Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man
“Stand by to receive your dog,” was Scott’s
_________ order.
a.
b.
c.
d.
peremptory
magnanimous
pensive
oblique
From Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man
“Stand by to receive your dog,” was Scott’s
_________ order.
a.
b.
c.
d.
peremptory
magnanimous
pensive
oblique
The general importuned Caesar for more troops.
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