Into the Wild – Vocabulary
amalgam - mixture
anachronistic - not appropriate to the times
canted - sloping
carapace - an animal's shell
contumacious - resistant to authority; flagrantly disobedient or rebellious
coppice - a grove of small trees
denuded - stripped by erosion
dunning - darkly bleak and depressing
eremitic - like a hermit
escarpments - steep ridges or cliffs forming the boundary of a plateau area
garrulous - very talkative
hyperkinetic - unusually active, mobile
itinerant - traveling from place to place
leather tramps - vagabonds without a vehicle, who thus have to hitchhike or walk
lenity - the quality of being or acting lenient
mawkish - sentimental in a contrived way
morass - an area of soggy ground; a situation that impedes or prevents progress, that is hard to get
through
muskeg - an area of swamp or boggy land covered in moss, leaves and dead plant matter
opprobrium - scorn or criticism
pellucid - transparent
plebeian - common or coarse
ramparts - fortified embankments
rictus - a strange grin or grimace
rubber tramps - vagabonds who have a vehicle
saguaro - a large cactus found in the American Southwest that can grow to be sixty feet tall
scudding - sailing with a strong wind blowing from behind
sere - dry and withered
sonorous - with loud, deep, and clear tones
stasis - a state without motion or development
taiga - subarctic coniferous forests
turgid -- pompous and overcomplicated