1. Great Gatsby
Vocabulary

2. 1. Feign
“Frequently I have feigned sleep, preoccupation, or a hostile levity when I realized by some unmistakable sign that an intimate revelation was quivering on the horizon” (1).
I feigned an injury so I would not have to go to war.
verb: to pretend or fake

3. 2. Supercilious
“Now he was a straw-haired man of thirty with a rather hard mouth and a supercilious manner. Two shining arrogant eyes had established dominance over his face” (7).
“The supercilious assumption was that on Sunday afternoon I had nothing better to do” (24)
Adjective: haughty, disdainful, or snobby

4. 3. Fractious
“His speaking voice, a gruff husky tenor, added to the impression of fractiousness he conveyed” (7).
The fractious boy was never happy.
Adjective: easily irritated

5. 4. Pungent
“He moved a broad flat hand along the front vista, including in its sweep a sunken Italian garden, a half acre of deep, pungent roses, and a snub-nosed motor-boat that bumped the tide offshore” (7).
The pungent perfume was too strong.
Adjective: sharp or strong in taste

6. 5. Divan
“She was extended full length at her end of the divan, completely motionless, and with her chin raised a little, as if she were balancing something on it which was quite likely to fall” (8).
I reclined on the divan.
Noun: a long, low sofa with no back or arms

7. 6. Intimation
“But I didn’t call to him, for he gave a sudden intimation that he was content to be alone” (20).
He intimated that I wasn’t paying attention in class, but I was.
Noun: a hint (intimation)
Verb: to suggest (intimate)

8. 7. Proprietor
“The proprietor himself appeared in the door of an office, wiping his hands on a piece of waste” (25).
The proprietor showed up and demanded my rent.
Noun: business owner

9. 8. Disdain
“Mrs. Wilson rejected the compliment by raising her eyebrow in disdain” (31)
He rejected her idea with disdain.
Noun: disapproval, scorn, or contempt

10. 9. Deft
“Making a short deft movement, Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand” (37)
The deft gymnast won the competition.
Adjective: quick and skillful

11. 10. Gaudy
“The halls and salons and verandas are gaudy with primary colors” (40).
Nicki Minaj’s outfit at the Grammy’s was more than gaudy.
Adjective: tasteless and marked by showy ornamentation

12. 11. Shorn
“Hair shorn in various ways, and shawls beyond the dreams of Castile” (40).
Her shorn haircut was stylish.
Adjective: past participle of shear, which means “to cut.”

13. 12. Permeate
“The bar is in full swing, and floating rounds of cocktails permeate the garden outside” (40).
A horrible odor permeated the room.
Verb: to spread throughout

14. 13. Eddy
“I wandered around rather ill at ease among swirls and eddies of people I didn’t know” (42).
The fallen leaf found itself stuck in the eddy of the stream.
Noun: a current of water running in a counter direction

15. 14. Contemptuous
“’You live in West Egg,” she remarked contemptuously. “I know somebody there’” (11).
He was punished for his contemptuous behavior.
Adjective: scornful, hateful

16. 15. Cordial
“I found it necessary to attach myself to someone before I should begin to address cordial remarks to the passers-by” (42).
The host was extremely cordial to all of his guests.
Adjective: happy, cheerful, and friendly

17. 16. Skepticism
“Taking our skepticism for granted, he rushed to the bookcases and returned with Volune One of “The Stoddard Lectures” (45).
He listened to our fabricated story with skepticism.
Noun: a doubting or questioning of something

18. 17. Ascertain
“As a matter of fact, you needn’t bother to ascertain. I ascertained. They’re real” (45)
I will ascertain the truth if it’s the last thing I do.
Verb: to find out; to make certain of

19. 18. Vacuous
“A celebrated tenor had sung in Italian, and a notorious contralto had sung in jazz, and between the numbers people were doing “stunts” all over the garden, while happy, vacuous bursts of laughter rose toward the summer sky” (46)
The vacuous blond didn’t have an original idea in her whole head.
Adjective: empty or stupid

20. 19. Florid
“I had expected that Mr. Gatsby would be a florid and corpulent person in his middle years” (48).
Her florid complexion gave away her embarrassment.
Adjective: reddish and rosy

21. 20. Dissension
“Even Jordan’s party, the quartet from East Egg, were rent asunder by dissension” (51).
The dissension between the two brothers was quite apparent. They couldn’t agree on a single thing.
Noun: strong disagreement