Vocabulary
Unit 12
Aesthetic (adj.)
• Pertaining to beauty; sensitive or
responsive to beauty (artistic)
• There are many beautiful works of art that
depict scenes from Beowulf.
• These artistic works can be described as
AESTHETIC.
• Synonyms: artistic, creative, gorgeous
• Antonyms: displeasing, ugly
aesthetic
• Aesthetic qualities of
this painting
– The queen’s dress and
lavish jewelry
– The colors of the
costumes and the
background
– Details including
columns in
background, food on
table, etc…
Defunct (adj.)
• No longer in existence or functioning, dead
• You would think that after all of these years,
the original manuscripts of Beowulf would
have been destroyed. It was in a fire in 1731,
but most of it was saved. It is now preserved
electronically.
• The Beowulf manuscript cannot be described
as being DEFUNCT.
• Synonyms: departed, expired
• Antonyms: existing, functioning, operative
defunct
Discomfit (v.)
• To frustrate, thwart, or defeat; to confuse,
perplex, or embarrass
• “…the terrible screams of the Almighty’s
enemy sang in the darkness, the horrible
shrieks of pain and defeat, the tears torn out
of Grendel’s taut throat, hell’s captive caught
in the arms of him who of all the men on
earth was the strongest.”
• Grendel was DISCOMFITTED by Beowulf.
• Synonyms: abash, annoy, baffle
• Antonyms: surrender, yield
discomfit
Espouse (v.)
• To take up and support; to become attached
to, adopt, to marry
• The historical background tells us that at the
time Beowulf was composed, the people
were beginning to convert from their pagan
religions to Christianity.
• By “doing” this, they were ESPOUSING
Christianity.
• Synonyms: approve, advocate, accept
• Antonyms: forsake, reject
espouse
Fetish (n.)
• An object believed to have magical powers;
an object of unreasoning devotion or
reverence
• Some people carry around a “lucky” rabbit’s
foot. Some athletes have “good luck”
objects that they wear to every game such as
a certain pair of socks. In Beowulf, the
sword forged by giants was “magical.”
• These items are FETISHES.
• Synonyms: cult object, talisman, idol
• Antonyms: religious objects
Gregarious (adj.)
• living together in a herd or group; sociable,
seeking the company of others
• From “the Wrath of Grendel:” “So
Hrothgar’s men lived happily in his hall/Till
the monster stirred…”
• Hrothgar’s men enjoy living together in a
group so they can socialize; an adjective to
describe them is GREGARIOUS.
• Synonyms: outgoing, companionable,
sociable
• Antonyms: introverted, unfriendly
Gregarious
Hapless (adj.)
• Marked by the absence of good luck
• The dragon managed to deliver a death
wound to Beowulf when no other monster
could; this did not make him lucky, though.
The dragon died anyway.
• In this case, both the dragon and Beowulf are
HAPLESS victims of violence.
• Synonyms: luckless, loser,
• Antonyms: fortunate, well-off
Impeccable (adj.)
• Faultless, beyond criticism or blame
• In the most recent Beowulf movie, Angelina
Jolie played the roll of Grendel’s mother in a
plot twist that is NOT in the book. Many
people consider Jolie’s face and body to be
absolutely perfect.
• Angelina Jolie’s looks are IMPECCABLE in
some people’s opinions.
• Synonyms: perfect, unblemished
• Antonyms: flawed, imperfect
Importune (v.)
• To trouble with demands; to beg for
insistently.
• In the Beowulf movie, the Queen begs the
men in her life (first King Hrothgar and then
Beowulf) not to cheat on her with other
women or female monsters.
• The Queen IMPORTUNES these men to be
faithful to her.
• Synonyms: to plead, to beg
• Antonyms: to command, to order
Interpolate (v.)
• To insert between other parts of things; to
present as an addition or correction
• Beowulf kills Grendel and gets ready to
return to Geatland, but then he finds out that
he needs to kill Grendel’s mother in addition
to Grendel himself.
• The killing of Grendel’s mother is
INTERPOLATED between killing Grendel and
returning to Geatland.
• Synonyms: insert, interject
• Antonyms: erase, remove
Irreparable (adj.)
• Incapable of being repaired or rectified
• The wounds inflicted on Beowulf by the
dragon do not heal; instead, they result in
his death.
• Beowulf’s wounds are IRREPARABLE.
• Synonyms: broken, ruined
• Antonyms: repairable, fixable
Laconic (adj.)
• Concise, using few words
• Most of the characters in Beowulf take turns
delivering long speeches, so they are all
really more talkative than LACONIC. This
must have been written before the strong,
silent heroes become more popular.
• In fact, one of the problems in the MOVIE
version of the epic is that the male characters
spend too much time listening to Grendel’s
mother speak, and they fall under her spell.
• Synonyms: brief, concise
• Antonyms: verbose, wordy
Languish (v.)
• To become weak, feeble, or dull; to droop; to
be depressed or dispirited; to suffer neglect
• We are used to seeing Beowulf in all of his
youth and battle-ready glory, so it is difficult
to imagine him as a 75 year old king who is
LANGUISHING from his death wounds.
• Synonyms: brood, yearn
• Antonyms: improve, strengthen
Mendacious (adj.)
• Given to lying or deception; untrue
• King Hrothgar is a bit MENDACIOUS.
He neglects to inform Beowulf that
there is a second monster—Grendel’s
mother.
• Synonyms: deceitful, fraudulent
• Antonyms: truthful, honest
Nadir (n.)
• The lowest point
• Grendel killing so many men in the hall
of Herot is definitely the NADIR of King
Hrothgar’s career.
• Synonyms: bottom
• Antonyms: pinnacle, zenith
Omnipresent (adj.)
• Present in all places at all times
• The Anglo-Saxon religion was
“fatalistic.” The character of Beowulf
believes in an OMNIPRESENT God who
controls his fate; it is either Beowulf’s
time to die or it isn’t.
• Synonyms: infinite, universal
• Antonyms: limited, finite
Perfunctory (adj.)
• Done in a superficial or halfhearted
manner; without interest or enthusiasm
• There is nothing PERFUNCTORY or
halfhearted about Beowulf in the next
picture. He is fully ready and willing to
do battle.
• Synonyms: apathetic, careless
• Antonyms: careful, precise
Plaintive (adj.)
• Expressive of sorrow or woe,
melancholy
• In the movie, Grendel’s mother’s
mourning over the death of her son is
very PLAINTIVE. The audience almost
feels sorry for her until they realize that
she is already working on her next evil
plot.
• Synonyms: crabby, grumpy
• Antonyms: cheerful, happy
Requite (v.)
• To make suitable repayment, as for a
kindness, service, or favor; to make
retaliation, as for an injury or wrong; to
reciprocate
• Grendel’s mother (in the movie) decided
to requite her son’s death by giving birth
to another son, which is really pretty
twisted.
• Synonyms: reciprocate, retaliate
• Antonyms: dissatisfy, refuse
Tantamount (adj.)
• Equivalent, having the same meaning,
value, or effect
• Destroying old copies of the Beowulf
manuscript would be TANTAMOUNT to
a felony.
• Synonyms: identical, duplicate
• Antonyms: different, opposite