TKAM Ch. 16-17 Vocabulary Flashcards
Formidable
Inspiring fear or respect through being impressively powerful or intense
ex. Miss Maudie’s command of Scripture was formidable.
Conceded
Admitted that something is true or valid
ex. Jem spoke. “Don’t call that a blind spot. He’da killed you last night when he first went there.”
“He might have hurt me a little,” Atticus conceded, “but son, you’ll understand folks a little better when you’re older. A mob’s always made up of people, no matter what.
Prominent
Important
ex. Jem gave Dill the histories and general attitudes of the more prominent figures: Mr. Tensaw Jones voted the straight Prohibition ticket; Miss Emily Davis dipped snuff in private; Mr. Byron Waller could play the violin; Mr. Jake Slade was cutting his third set of teeth.
Morbid
Unhealthy interest in unpleasant things
ex. “I am not. ‘t’s morbid, watching a poor devil on trial for his life. Look at all those folks, it’s like a Roman carnival.”
Elucidate
Makes something clear
ex. We asked Miss Maudie to elucidate: she said Miss Stephanie seemed to know so much about the case she might as well be called on to testify.
Unobtrusive
Not conspicuous or attracting attention
ex. I found myself in the middle of the Idlers’ Club and made myself as unobtrusive as possible
Amiable
Having a friendly or pleasant manner
ex. Judge Taylor looked like most judges I had ever seen: amiable, white-haired, slightly ruddy-faced, he was a man who ran his court with an alarming informality.
Dictum
A noteworthy statement
ex. “You gotta make me first,” I said, remembering Atticus’s blessed dictum.
Turbulent
Causing unrest, violence, or disturbance
ex. Atticus was proceeding amiably, as if he were involved in a title dispute. With his infinite capacity for calming turbulent seas, he could make a rape case as dry as a sermon.
Acrimonious
Angry and bitter tone of speaking
ex. We could tell, however, when debate became more acrimonious than professional, but this was from watching lawyers other than our father.
Pantomime
The art or genre of conveying a story by bodily movements only.
ex. I imagined a person facing me, went through a swift mental pantomime, and concluded that he might have held her with his right hand and pounded her with his left.
