Chapter IX — Vocabulary

Vocabulary Words from Chapter IX

ameliorated (verb)

Made better or more tolerable; improved in quality or condition.

verdure (noun)

Lush green vegetation; the fresh green color of flourishing plants.

pestilence (noun)

A fatal epidemic disease; widespread destruction or affliction.

seminary (noun)

An institution of education, especially a school or academy (historically broader than its modern religious sense).

effluvia (noun)

Unpleasant or noxious smells or emanations, especially gaseous waste or discharge.

pastille (noun)

A small aromatic tablet burned to fumigate or deodorize a room.

converse (noun)

Conversation or spoken exchange (used as a noun in this context).

consumption (noun)

The 19th-century medical term for tuberculosis, a chronic infectious disease of the lungs.

alleviate (verb)

To make suffering, a problem, or a condition less severe; to partially relieve.

corporeal (adjective)

Relating to the physical body rather than the spirit or mind.

evinced (verb)

Revealed or made evident; demonstrated clearly.

smitten (adjective)

Struck or afflicted (here, by disease); severely affected.

mast (noun)

The nuts of forest trees (such as beechnuts and acorns) accumulated on the ground, used as food for swine.

camphor (noun)

A waxy, white crystalline substance with a strong aromatic smell, used medicinally and as a fumigant.

implicitly (adverb)

Without question or doubt; completely and absolutely.

recoiled (verb)

Drew back instinctively in fear, horror, or disgust; shrank away.