Macbeth Vocabulary
Overview: The following words are found in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth. You will begin
by looking through the word list and circling words that you already know. Next, skim through
the play, noting the words in context.
Assignment: You will be responsible for all of the words when we test on this Dec. 19;
however, the short-term goal is to “own” a handful of them. There is no need to review ones you
already know; however, you will create 3x5 flashcards or Cornell Notes for a minimum of 20
from this list. You should include a context sentence with the definition. These will be collected
and then returned in class Dec. 1.
The assignment is worth 20 points.
If you will be absent, it is your responsibility to meet the deadline earlier.
Act 1
1. plight (n)
difficult or dangerous condition
2. broil (n)
quarrel or battle
3. thane (n)
Scottish nobleman equal to an English earl
4. flout (v)
openly ignore law; show contempt
5. Posters (n)
travelers
6. intelligence (n) information
7. corporal (adj.)
bodily; physical
8. harbinger (n)
sign of something to come; messenger
9. weird (adj.)
fateful; wyrd
10. enterprise (n)
promise
Act 2
1. husbandry (n)
2. summons (n)
3. franchise (v)
4. palpable (adj)
5. marshal (v)
6. surfeit (v)
7. contend (v)
8. clamor (v)
9. badge (v)
10. benison (n)
Act 3
1. verity (n)
2. indissoluble (adj)
3. invention (n)
4. unlineal (adj)
5. probation (n)
6. fancy (n)
7. scotch (v)
8. sleek (v)
9. seel (v)
10. vouch (v)
thrifty management of domestic resources; “husbandry in heaven”
a request or demand
to make or set free
tangible
to usher or lead
to eat or drink excessively
to struggle or oppose
to make loud noises
to mark with a badge
benediction
the truth, real circumstances
firm; stable; binding
fabrication; fiction; plan
usurped; not of direct descent
trial; proof
idea with little foundation
to wound for a short time
to make smooth or sleek
to make blind; to close someone’s eyes
to allege, affirm, or guarantee
Act 4
1. harp (v)
2. potent (adj)
3. impress (v)
4. pernicious (adj)
5. firstling (n)
6. school (v)
7. desolate (adj)
8. intemperance (n)
9. avarice (n)
10. scruples (n)
to give voice to; dwell on
powerful; influential
force into military action
harmful; destructive; lethal
the first of a kind; first-born child
to inform or teach
isolated or lonely
excessive indulgence of an appetite
insatiable greed for riches
tiny parts; doubts; difficulty
Act 5
1. perturbation (n)
2. charge (v
3. mortify (adj)
4. gentry (n)
5. distempered (adj)
6. upbraid (v)
7. skirr (v)
8. raze (v)
9. pristine (adj)
10. treatise (n)
mental agitation
to suffuse with emotion
dead to the world; destroyed
rank given at birth; nobility
disturbed; deranged
to bring forth as basis for discipline
to fly or whir
to completely destroy
uncontaminated or pure
tale; talk
I smell something wyrd…