ACT II - Scene IV — Vocabulary

Vocabulary Words from ACT II - Scene IV

Trifled (verb)

Made to seem trivial or insignificant by comparison; reduced former experiences to mere trifles.

Predominance (noun)

Superior power or influence; the state of being dominant. Ross uses it to ask whether darkness has overpowered the day.

Entomb (verb)

To place in a tomb; to bury. Ross uses it metaphorically to describe darkness burying the face of the earth.

Towering (verb)

In falconry, soaring to a great height before swooping down on prey; circling at the peak of flight.

Minions (noun)

The finest or most favored examples of their kind; the choicest specimens. In modern usage the word means servile followers, but here it retains its older sense of darlings or favorites.

Suborned (verb)

Secretly bribed or induced to commit an unlawful or treacherous act, especially perjury or murder.

Ravin up (verb)

To devour greedily or voraciously; to consume ravenously. Ross uses it to describe ambition devouring its own means of survival.

Thriftless (adjective)

Wasteful; recklessly extravagant; lacking thrift or prudence. Ross applies it to the supposed ambition of Malcolm and Donalbain in killing their own father.

Invested (verb)

Formally installed in a position of authority; clothed with the insignia of office, especially a crown.

Benison (noun)

A blessing; a formal expression of good wishes or divine favor. From Old French "beneison" (benediction).