Brave New World Vocabulary

Brave New World

Vocabulary A to Z

1. abject (adjective) wretched, contemptible (from Latin meaning outcast)

2. aseptic (adjective) free from pathogenic microorganism (from Latin/Greek meaning not rotten)

3. blithe (adjective) carefree, lighthearted (from Old English)

4. callow (adjective) immature, inexperienced (from Old English meaning “bald” as in young birds with no feathers)

5. conditioning (noun) the process of using a stimulus to produce a desired behavior (from Latin meaning to agree)

6. decant (verb) to pour (from one container to another) or to pour (off the top without disturbing a lower layer or sediment) (from Latin/Celtic meaning from the rim of a vessel)

7. eccentric (adjective) strange, unconventional; (noun) a person who is strange, unconventional (from Greek meaning out of the center)

8. estrange (verb) to make hostile, unsympathetic, or indifferent; to alienate (from French/Latin meaning make foreign)

9. façade (noun) the face of a building or any artificial or deceptive front (from Latin meaning face)

10. heretical (adjective) departing from (or opposing) accepted beliefs or standards (from Greek meaning taking or choosing)

11. ignominy (noun) dishonor, humiliation, disgrace (from Greek meaning no name or loss of name) Ignominious (verb)

12. incandescent (adjective) literally emitting light, bright, glowing; figuratively emotional, intense (as in a performance) (from Latin meaning glow from within – see also: candle)

13. indefatigable (adjective) tireless, incapable (or seeming incapable) of being fatigued (from Latin meaning cannot become weary)

14. lecherous (adjective) given to sexual indulgence (from Old French word literally meaning “lick”)

15. orthodox (adjective) adhering to the accepted or traditional and established faith, especially in religion (from Greek meaning right or true opinion)

16. pallid (adjective) literally pale figuratively dull (from Latin meaning pale)

17. patronize (verb) 1. To support (1589), to go to as a customer (1801) 2. To condescend to, to talk down to (1797) (from French meaning patron, which is from the Latin meaning protector, which is from the Latin meaning father)

18. persecute (verb) to oppress or harass with ill-treatment, especially because of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or beliefs (from French meaning pursue, torment, start legal action against, which is from Latin meaning follow through) Persecute is not the same as prosecute though they are related.

19. pneumatic (adjective) related to air (operated by compressed air, or containing air) (from Greek meaning wind)

20. predestination (noun) destiny, fate (especially the belief that the salvation or damnation of one’s soul is decided before one has even lived) (from Latin meaning determined beforehand) Predestine (verb)

21. prodigious (adjective) extraordinary in size or amount (from Latin meaning portentous, monstrous)

22. propaganda (noun) the promotion of a view, belief, or cause through various media (from modern Latin, 1622, used to refer to a committee of Catholic Cardinals in charge of disseminating the Catholic faith. During World War I, the word gained its current meaning. Originally the word was not pejorative (negative) but has become pejorative over the years.)

23. putrid (adjective) literally decomposed, foul-smelling, rotten figuratively rotten, corrupt, vile, objectionable (from Latin meaning to rot, to stink)

24. solitude (noun) state of being alone (from Latin meaning alone) solitary (adjective)

25. subvert (verb) to undermine, to ruin, to destroy, to overthrow (from Latin meaning turn under)

26. stoic (adjective) unaffected (or seemingly unaffected) by pleasure or pain, joy or grief, and therefore calm and expressionless; Stoic (noun) member of a Greek (and later a Roman) school of philosophy, the Roman branch of which advocated the calm acceptance of one’s fate (from Greek referring to the porch where Zeno taught the Stoic philosophy)

27. supine (adjective) literally lying on the back or having the face upward figuratively passive, inactive, lethargic (from Latin meaning lying back)

28. surrogate (noun) a substitute; (adjective) substitute (from Latin meaning ask or propose in the place of)

29. Viviparous (adjective) Giving birth to living offspring that develop within the mother's body (from Latin meaning alive)

30. Zenith (noun) specifically the point in the sky directly above an observer or the highest point in the sky above an observer reached by a star, moon, planet, etc. generally any peak or highest point, a pinnacle (from Latin via Arabic meaning road or path)