Vocabulary: The Canterbury Tales

Question 1

Sundry

Answer 1

(adj) various or diverse

Question 2

Boorish

Answer 2

(adj) of or like a boor; unmannered; crude; insensitive

Question 3

Coy

Answer 3

(adj) (esp. with reference to a woman) making a pretense of shyness or modesty that is intended to be alluring

Question 4

Cloister

Answer 4

(n) a covered walk in a convent, monastery, college, or cathedral, typically with a wall on one side and columns on the other, people who live separately from the world

Question 5

Garnish

Answer 5

(v) decorate or embellish (something, esp. food)

Question 6

Wanton

Answer 6

(adj) (esp. of a woman) sexually immodest or promiscuous

Question 7

Verity

Answer 7

(n) a true principle or belief, esp. one of fundamental importance; something that is true

Question 8

Accrue

Answer 8

(v) (of sums of money or benefits) be received by someone in regular or increasing amounts over time

Question 9

Prevarication

Answer 9

(n) speak or act in an evasive way, an act of lying

Question 10

Avarice

Answer 10

(n) extreme greed for wealth or material gain

Question 11

Castigate

Answer 11

(v) reprimand (someone) severely

Question 12

Agape

Answer 12

(adj) (of the mouth) wide open, esp. with surprise or wonder

Question 13

Lascivious

Answer 13

(adj) (of a person, manner, or gesture) feeling or revealing an overt and often offensive sexual desire

Question 14

Lecherous

Answer 14

(adj) having or showing excessive or offensive sexual desire

Question 15

Miscreant

Answer 15

(n) a person who behaves badly or in a way that breaks the law, a heretic