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Full Glossary for Steppenwolf
abhorrence loathing; detestation.
abortion anything immature and incomplete or unsuccessful, as a deformed creature, a badly developed plan, and so on.
abyss a deep fissure in the earth; bottomless gulf; chasm.
accosted to approach and speak to; greet first, before being greeted, especially in an intrusive way.
acquiescence agreement or consent without protest.
acquiescent agreeing or consenting without protest.
adherent a supporter or follower (of a person, cause, and so on).
adroit skillful in a physical or mental way; clever; expert.
affinity close relationship; connection.
allurement that which serves to tempt with something desirable; or to attract, entice, or fascinate.
animation an animate condition; life.
antics playful, silly, or ludicrous acts, tricks; pranks; capers.
aping a person who imitates; mimic.
Araucarias any of a genus (Araucaria) of the araucaria family of cone-bearing trees with flat, scalelike needles, native to the Southern Hemisphere and grown as ornamentals in other areas; especially, the monkey puzzle tree and the Norfolk Island pine.
arbitrary based on one's preference, notion, or whim; capricious.
ardor emotional warmth; passion.
asceticism the religious doctrine that one can reach a higher spiritual state by rigorous self-discipline and self-denial.
aspiration strong desire or ambition, as for advancement, honor.
assiduous diligent; persevering.
barbarity cruel or brutal behavior; inhumanity.
belie to give a false idea of; disguise or misrepresent.
blanched to make white; take color out of.
Bolshevik a Communist, especially of the Soviet Union; also refers loosely to any radical.
bourgeois a person whose beliefs, attitudes, and practices are conventionally middle-class.
bugbear anything causing seemingly needless or excessive fear or anxiety.
bulwark an earthwork or defensive wall; fortified rampart.
buoyantly demonstrating the ability or tendency to float or rise in liquid or air.
caballero a Spanish gentleman, cavalier, or knight.
caustic something that can burn, eat away, or destroy tissue by chemical action; corrosive.
cavalier a gallant or courteous gentleman, especially one serving as a lady's escort.
chiropodist someone specializing in the treatment of hand and foot diseases.
clairvoyant having great insight; keenly perceptive.
concordat a compact; formal agreement; covenant.
conscientiously showing care and precision; painstaking.
consummation completion; fulfillment.
conventionalities formal or accepted standards or rules.
courtesan a prostitute.
crescendo any gradual increase in force, intensity, and so on.
cursory hastily, often superficially, done; performed rapidly with little attention to detail.
dearth any scarcity or lack.
decocting to extract the essence, flavor, and so on of by boiling.
decrepit broken down or worn out by old age, illness, or long use.
degradation a condition lower in rank or status, as in punishment or demotion.
demigod a godlike person.
depravity a depraved condition; corruption; wickedness.
deride to laugh at in contempt or scorn; make fun of; ridicule.
desecration take away the sacredness of; treat as not sacred; profane.
despondence to lose courage or hope; become disheartened; be depressed.
diabolically wickedly, cruelly, fiendishly.
dilettantish behavior characteristic of a person who follows an art or science only for amusement and in a superficial way; dabbler.
diminutive much smaller than ordinary or average; very small; tiny.
dissimulation a state in which one hides by pretense.
doggerel any trivial or bad poetry.
drudge a person who does hard, menial, or tedious work.
efficacious producing or capable of producing the desired effect; having the intended result; effective.
effigy portrait, statue, or the like, especially of a person; likeness; often, a crude representation of a despised person.
emblematic symbolic.
encumbrance?hindrance; obstruction; burden.
ennoble to give a noble quality to; dignify.
enthuse to express enthusiasm.
equanimity the quality of remaining calm and undisturbed; evenness of mind or temper; composure.
espionage the act of spying.
esthetic sensitive to art and beauty; showing good taste; artistic.
ether an imaginary substance regarded by the ancients as filling all space beyond the sphere of the moon, and making up the stars and planets.
exigencies pressing needs; demands; requirements.
farce something absurd or ridiculous, as an obvious pretense.
felicity happiness; bliss.
fleshpots bodily comfort and pleasure; luxury.
foetid having a bad smell, as of decay; putrid.
fount a source.
gallantry nobility of behavior or spirit; heroic courage.
gesticulated to make or use gestures, especially with the hands and arms, as in adding nuances or force to one's speech, or as a substitute for speech.
gist the essence or main point, as of an article or argument.
gout a hereditary form of arthritis resulting from a disturbance of uric acid metabolism, characterized by an excess of uric acid in the blood and deposits of uric acid salts, usually in the joints of the feet and hands, especially in the big toe.
grotesquely characterized by distortions or striking incongruities in appearance, shape, or manner; fantastic; bizarre.
guillotine an instrument for beheading by means of a heavy blade dropped between two grooved uprights.
hegemony leadership or dominance, especially that of one state or nation over others.
hermaphrodite a person or animal with the sexual organs of both the male and the female.
holocaust great or total destruction of life.
hostel an inn.
housewifery housekeeping.
humdrum lacking variety; dull; monotonous; boring.
idiosyncrasy the temperament or mental constitution peculiar to a person or group.
ignoble not noble in character or quality; dishonorable; base; mean.
ignominious characterized by or bringing on ignominy; shameful; dishonorable; disgraceful.
ignominy loss of one's reputation; shame and dishonor; infamy.
impetus anything that stimulates activity; driving force or motive; incentive; impulse.
inane lacking sense or meaning; foolish; silly.
inchoate just begun; in the early stages; incipient; rudimentary.
incited to urge to action; stir up; rouse.
inconsolable disconsolate; brokenhearted.
indisposition a slight illness
ineffectuality something that does not produce or is not able to produce the desired effect.
inexorable someone who cannot be moved or influenced by persuasion or entreaty; unrelenting.
inexorable someone who cannot be moved or influenced by persuasion or entreaty; unrelenting.
integuments natural outer covering of the body or of a plant, including skin, shell, hide, husk, or rind
iridescent having or showing shifting changes in color or an interplay of rainbow like colors, as when seen from different angles.
jingoist a person who boasts of his patriotism and favors an aggressive, threatening, warlike foreign policy; chauvinist.
kleptomania an abnormal, persistent impulse or tendency to steal, not prompted by need
Krishna an important Hindu god, an incarnation of Vishnu, second god of the Hindu trinity.
lascivious characterized by or expressing lust or lewdness; wanton.
laudanum a solution of opium in alcohol.
limpid perfectly clear; transparent; not cloudy or turbid.
litany a repetitive recitation, listing, or specification.
lucidity that which is clear to the mind or readily understood.
lucrative producing wealth or profit; profitable; remunerative.
marionette a puppet or little jointed figure made to look like a person or animal and moved by strings or wires from above, often on a miniature stage.
martyrdom severe, long-continued suffering; torment; torture.
mediocrity mediocre ability or attainment.
metaphysically beyond the physical or material; incorporeal, supernatural, or transcendental
militarist a person who supports or advocates armed forces in aggressive preparedness for war.
modicum a small amount; bit.
monotonous going on in the same tone without variation.
mortify to punish (one's body) or control (one's physical desires and passions) by self-denial, fasting, and so on, as a means of religious or ascetic discipline.
motif a main theme or subject to be elaborated on or developed, as in a piece of music, a book, and so on.
multitudinous very numerous; many.
neurosis any of various mental functional disorders characterized by anxiety, compulsions, phobias, depression, dissociations, and so on.
niggardly stingy; miserly.
nominally in name only, not in fact.
nonentity a person or thing of little or no importance.
nuptial of or having to do with mating.
obdurate not giving in readily; stubborn; obstinate; inflexible.
opiate anything tending to quiet, soothe, or deaden.
opportune happening or done at the right time; seasonable; well-timed; timely.
oscillates to swing or move regularly back and forth.
paltriness the state of being practically worthless; trifling; insignificant; contemptible; petty.
panegyric high or hyperbolic praise; laudation.
pathos the quality in something experienced or observed that arouses feelings of pity, sorrow, sympathy, or compassion.
peccadilloes minor or petty sins; slight faults.
perplexed hard to understand; confusing.
phenomena events, circumstances, or experiences that are apparent to the senses and that can be scientifically described or appraised, as an eclipse
Philistines people regarded as smugly narrow and conventional in views and tastes, lacking in and indifferent to cultural and aesthetic values.
piety devotion to religious duties and practices.
pious having or showing religious devotion; zealous in the performance of religious obligations.
plagiarisings to take (ideas, writings) from (another) and pass them off as one's own.
plighted to pledge or promise, or bind by a pledge.
plumb to discover the facts or contents of; fathom; solve; understand.
pomposity ostentation; self-importance.
posterity all of a person's descendants.
precipitous steep.
prerogative a prior or exclusive right or privilege, especially one peculiar to a rank, class, and so on
prodigal exceedingly or recklessly wasteful.
prodigious of great size, power, extent, and so on; enormous; huge.
profligacy engaging in immoral and shameless, dissolute, or recklessly extravagant behavior.
profundity intellectual depth.
proscription prohibition or interdiction.
protracted drawn out; lengthened in duration; prolonged
quay a wharf, usually of concrete or stone, for use in loading and unloading ships.
quixotic extravagantly chivalrous or foolishly idealistic; visionary; impractical or impracticable.
recourse a turning or seeking for aid, safety, and so on.
rents a hole or gap made by rending or tearing, as a torn place in cloth, a fissure in the earth, and so on.
renunciation the act or an instance of renouncing; a giving up formally or voluntarily, often at a sacrifice, of a right, claim, title, and so on.
repressions ideas, impulses, and so on that are kept down or held back; restrained.
repugnant distasteful; offensive; disagreeable.
rhapsodical an instrumental composition of free, irregular form, suggesting improvisation.
ritardando a musical direction to become gradually slower.
roguish dishonest; unscrupulous; playfully mischievous.
roisterous to be lively and noisy; revel boisterously.
rudimentary incompletely or imperfectly developed.
satiates to satisfy to the full; gratify completely.
scorpion any of an order of arachnids found in warm regions, with a front pair of nipping claws and a long, slender, jointed tail ending in a curved, poisonous sting.
scourge any means of inflicting severe punishment, suffering, or vengeance.
self-extenuation to defend one's own actions and to attempt to lessen or seem to lessen the seriousness of (an offense, guilt, and so on) by giving excuses or serving as an excuse.
sensibility the capacity for being affected emotionally or intellectually, whether pleasantly or unpleasantly; receptiveness to impression.
sentimentality the quality or condition of having or showing tender, gentle, or delicate feelings, as in aesthetic expression.
slovenliness demonstrating carelessness in appearance, habits, work, and so on; untidy; slipshod.
stove to break or crush inward.
stratum a section, level, or division, as of the atmosphere or ocean.
sublimated purified or refined.
superficial of or being on the surface.
superfluous not needed; unnecessary; irrelevant.
tragedian an actor of tragedy.
transfiguration a situation in which one changes the figure, form, or outward appearance of; a transformation.
transmutations things that have been changed into other things.
tributary a river flowing into a larger one.
trills a rapid alternation of a given musical tone with the tone a diatonic second above it.
troth faithfulness; loyalty.
tumult noisy commotion, as of a crowd; uproar.
unfeigned genuine; real; sincere.
untoward inappropriate, improper, unseemly, and so on
usurer a person who lends money at interest, especially at a rate of interest that is excessive or unlawfully high.
veneration a feeling of deep respect and reverence.
weltering to tumble and toss about, as the sea.
wiseacre a person who makes annoyingly conceited claims to knowledge.
writ something written; writing; document.