Of Mice and Men Vocabulary

1. Lumbered (v) To walk in a clumsy way The giant lumbered through the crowd, trying not to bump into anyone.

2. Shapeless (adj) Lacking distinctive form Lennie appeared shapeless in his overalls.

3. Morose (adj) Depressed, gloomy The cloudy skies and rainy weather put me in a morose mood.

4. Dejected (adj) Being in low spirits, depressed Tom was dejected when Sophia told him she didn’t want to go to the dance with him.

5. Bindle (n) A small bundle of items rolled up inside a blanket, and carried over the shoulder

6. Bucking (v) To throw large bags of grain onto a truck. The farmers were exhausted after bucking grain all day.

7. Ominously (adv) threateningly; in an intimidating manner The dark, pugnacious man walked ominously into the room.

8. Elaborate (adj) Expressed in great detail Michelle made up an elaborate lie about where she had been that night, and her parents believed her.

9. Mimic (v) To copy or imitate, usually to make fun of someone Sara mimicked her teacher’s voice and actions and got detention.

10. Tramp (n) A homeless person who travels around on foot The tramp started in California and ended up with a job in Montana.

Scoff (n) An expression of disrespect When Nico’s mom yelled at her, she scoffed at her and ended up getting grounded for three weeks.

Derision (n) Laughed at; ridicule The derision the ranch hands had for Curly made him mad.

Yellow-belly (n) A coward Some might consider Candy a yellow-belly for not shooting his own dog.

Profound (adj) Coming from a great depth Everything I say is profound and deep; people are amazed at how smart I am.

Skeptical (adj) An attitude of doubt towards a subject My teacher was skeptical about the excuse I gave; turtles don’t eat homework.

Confident (adj) Showing or having assurance; sure of oneself I am confident that I will pass the biology test with flying colors.

Reprehensible (adj) Deserving blame Ron’s father saw him break the lamp; therefore, Ron was reprehensible for the act.

Derision (n) Disapproval; condescension There was a hint of derision in the teacher’s voice and the student blushed.

Aloof (adj) Emotionally distant Meaghan’s boyfriend was too aloof, so she dumped him.