Mr. Vogelsinger
Name_________________________
Academic and Advanced English 9
Romeo and Juliet Vocabulary List 2 – Acts III - V
1. vile (adj)
Synonyms: repellant, evil, vile
Definition: highly offensive; wretchedly bad; repulsive or disgusting
RJ: Prince Escalus finds bloodshed on the streets of Verona a vile pastime.
I shall not tolerate such vile language in my classroom!
Your Sentence:
2. dexterity (noun)
Synonyms: flexibility
Definition: skill in using the hands or body; agility; can also refer to mental agility or cleverness
RJ: Romeo’s dexterity in climbing the orchard wall impressed Juliet.
It requires great mental dexterity to complete Sodukus and crosswords.
Your Sentence:
3. banish (v)
Synonyms: exile
Definition: To expel by decree; to push or send away
RJ:. Romeo is banished and Juliet thinks she will be forced to marry Paris.
I tried to banish my fears and focus on my immediate goal: saving his life.
Your Sentence:
4. calamity (noun)
Synonyms: disaster
Definition: a great misfortune or disaster; grievous affliction or adveristy
RJ: Calamity strikes when Romeo must confront Tybalt.
In preparation for calamity, it is wise to keep a “go bag” full of emergency supplies like food and batteries.
Your Sentence:
5. prevail (v)
Synonyms: win, overcome
Definition: to prove superior in strength or influence (usu. “prevail over” something or someone); to succeed
or become dominant
RJ: One of the great questions of Romeo and Juliet is can love prevail over hate?
When you are quibbling with a friend, let kindness prevail. You won’t regret it 
Your Sentence:
6. reconcile (v)
Synonyms: pacify, placate
Definition: to become friendly with someone after a quarrel; to settle a dispute; sometimes to settle
something within one’s own mind
RJ: Friar Lawrence hopes that a marriage will reconcile the feuding families and end the ancient grudge.
Kindness helped the friends to reconcile after their argument.
Your Sentence:
7. abhor (v)
Synonyms: loathe
Definition: to hate in the strongest possible way; to utterly detest or deplore
RJ: Tybalt abhors Romeo.
I abhor when people act selfishly, disregarding the needs of anyone else.
Your Sentence:
8. pensive (adjective)
Synonyms: thinking, daydreamy
Definition: wistfully thoughtful; lost in thought, often with a tinge of sadness
RJ: At the outset of the play, Romeo is in a pensive mood, escaping into the woods for hours at a time.
Often, when grieving the loss of a loved one, a person goes through a pensive period.
Your Sentence:
9. vial (noun)
Definition: a small bottle
Synonyms: (sometimes spelled phial)
RJ: Friar Lawrence kept his herbs in vials.
We were almost done with the cookies when we found the vial of vanilla extract was empty!
Your Sentence:
10. prostrate (adj)
Synonyms: prone, supine
Definition: lying flat on the ground; to cast oneself face down on the ground out of humility, submission, or
adoration
RJ: Juliet fell prostrate while begging her father not to make her marry Paris.
He lay prostrate after the skiing accident.
Your Sentence:
11. shroud (noun)
Synonyms: cloth
Definition: a burial cloth laid over the body of a dead person.
RJ: Juliet’s face was covered in a shroud.
A shroud of snow covered the fields for as far as the eye could see.
12. beguile (verb)
Synonyms: to cheat, to allure
Definition: to influence by trickery, flattery, or deception; to amuse or entertain
RJ: Friar Lawrence is surprisingly beguiling.
We were beguiled by the salesman’s humor, charm, and exaggerations.
13. amorous (adj)
Synonyms: loving, passionate
Definition: inclined or predisposed to love
RJ: Romeo and Juliet share an amorous meeting at Juliet’s balcony.
Candlelight created an amorous mood in the restaurant where the couple enjoyed their anniversary dinner.
14. pestilence (noun)
Synonyms: plague
Definition: a deadly or epidemic disease; something considered deathly or harmful
RJ: The “ancient grudge” has been a pestilence in Verona for centuries.
Internet addiction is a rather recent pestilence to strike unsuspecting victims.
15. sepulcher (noun)
Synonyms: tomb, mausoleum
Definition: a burial vault, often used to bury people above ground
RJ: The Capulets and Montagues stood in the sepulcher mourning the loss of their children.
The Egyptians used pyramids to surround their sepulchers.