Kate Chopin’s “The Story of An Hour”

Term / Alternate Word Endings / Definition / Textual Example / Helpful Way to Remember Word
Bespoke (v.) / Ex: Bespoken / To show; indicate / “She was young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression and even a certain strength.”
Elixir (n.) / Example: Elixirs / A cure-all; sovereign remedy / “. . . she was drinking in a very elixir of life through that open window.”
Elusive (adj.) / Example: Elusiveness / Hard to express or define / “She did not know; it was too subtle and elusive to name.”
Importunities (n.) / Ex: Importune / Persistence in solicitations or demands / “She arose at length and opened the door to her sister's importunities.”

Faulkner’s “A Rose For Emily”

Term / Alternate Word Endings / Definition / Textual Example / Helpful Way to Remember Word
Acrid (adj.) / Ex: Acridly / Bitter; irritating / “A thin, acrid pall as of the tomb seemed to lie everywhere upon this room decked and furnished as for a bridal . . . . “
Archaic (adj.) / Old-fashioned / “. . . a note on paper of an archaic shape in a thin, flowing calligraphy in faded ink. . . .”
Cabal (n.) / A group united in a secret plot / “(By that time it was a cabal, and we were all Miss Emily’s allies to help circumvent the cousins.)”
Circumvent (v.) / Ex: Circumvented / To get the better of by craft or ingenuity / “(By that time it was a cabal, and we were all Miss Emily’s allies to help circumvent the cousins.)”
Diffident (adj.) / Ex: Diffidently / Timid / “The next day he received two more complaints, one from a man who came in diffident deprecation.”
Doddering (adj.) / Ex: Dodder / Shaky; trembling from old age / “. . . with only a doddering Negro man to wait on her.”
Imperviousness (n.) / Ex: Impervious / An inability to be affected or disturbed / “. . . as if it had wanted that touch of earthiness to reaffirm her imperviousness.”
Pauper (n.) / X / Extremely poor person / “Being left alone, and a pauper, she had become humanized.”
Perpetuity (n.) / Ex: perpetual / Eternity / “. . . remitted her taxes, the dispensation dating from the death of her father on into perpetuity.”
Tableau (n.) / A dramatic scene or picture / “We had long thought of them as a tableau . . . the two of them framed by the backflung front door.”
Temerity (n.) / Foolish boldness / “A few of the ladies had the temerity to call, but were not received . . . .”
Tranquil (adj.) / Ex: Tranquility / Calm; quiet / “Thus she passed from generation to generation—dear, inescapable, impervious, tranquil, and perverse.”
Valance (n. used as adj.) / Short decorative upholstery / “. . . upon the valance curtains of faded rose color . . . . “
Vindicated (v. used as adj.) / Ex: Vindicate / Proved correct / “. . . we were not pleased exactly, but vindicated . . . .”
Virulent (adj.) / Full of hate; venomous / “. . . that quality of her father . . .had been too virulent and too furious to die.”

Flannery O’Connor’s “The Life You Save May Be Your Own”

Term / Alternate Word Endings / Definition / Textual Example / Helpful Way to Remember Word
Amble (n.) / Ex: Ambled / Leisurely pace / “He came on, at an amble, up her road, his face turned toward the sun . . . .”
Gaunt (adj.) / Ex: Gauntly / Very thin / “. . . his gaunt figure listed slightly to the side as if the breeze were pushing him.”
Guffawing (v. used as an adj.) / Ex: Guffaw / Like a loud burst of laughter / “After a few minutes there was a guffawing peal of thunder from behind and fantastic raindrops . . . .”
Irked (v. used as an adj.) / Ex: Irk / Annoyed; irritated / “’I don’t know nothing about you,’ the old woman muttered, irked.”
Listed (v.) / Tilted / “. . . his gaunt figure listed slightly to the side as if the breeze were pushing him.”
Morose (adj.) / Ex: Morosely / Gloomy / “He looked morose and bitter as if he had been insulted while someone held him.”
Ravenous (adj.) / Ex: Ravenously / Very eager; hungry / “She was ravenous for a son-in-law.”
Sultry (adj.) / Ex: Sultriness / Humid and still / “The late afternoon had grown hot and sultry and the country had flattened out.”
Volley (n.) / Ex: Volleyed / Firing of many shots at once / “With a volley of blasts it emerged from the shed, moving in a fierce and stately way.”

James Thurber’s “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”

Term / Alternate Word Endings / Definition / Textual Example / Helpful Way to Remember Word
Craven (adj.) / Ex: Cravenly / Very fearful, cowardly / “Mitty looked at him and at the craven figure of Benbow, who drank . . . .”
Derisive (adj.) / Mocking / “They went out through the revolving doors that made a faintly derisive whistling sound when you pushed them.”
Distraught (adj.) / Troubled; anxious / “He looked distraught and haggard.”
Haggard (adj.) / Ex: Haggardly / Having a very exhausted appearance / “He looked distraught and haggard.”
Inscrutable (adj.) / Ex: Inscrutably / Mysterious / “. . . Walter Mitty the Undefeated, inscrutable to the last.”
Insinuatingly (adv.) / Ex: Insinuate / Arousing doubts and suspicions / “’You are a crack shot with any sort of firearms, I believe?’ said the district attorney, insinuatingly.”
Insolent (adj.) / Ex: Insolently / Bold in a reckless way / “The attendant vaulted into the car, backed it up with insolent skill, and put it where it belonged.”
Pandemonium (n.) / Wild noise and disorder / “Pandemonium broke loose in the courtroom.”