Vocabulary Semester One
malicious - having the nature of threatening evil
“...announcing to no one in particular but with a sort of malicious glee: ‘Well, sailors, grit your teeth. It’s twenty below, for sure’” (Solzhenitsyn 7).
Original Sentence: He had such a malicious grin, I knew he was not going to be a trustworthy man.
Freewriting Revision: ...sometimes people are not as malicious as they seem.
Hamlet Freewriting: A majority of the book, when he was alive, there was not a malicious bone in his body.
Hamlet Freewriting: it makes you question whether he is really, truly, malicious.
Freewriting 2016: Under my breath, I couldn’t help sounding a little malicious when I said, “I can’t believe this.”
neglect - leave undone or leave out
“Without neglecting a single fish scale or particle of flesh on the brittle skeleton, Shukov went on chomping his teeth and sucking the bones, spitting the remains on the table” (Solzhenitsyn 17).
Original Sentence: She neglects the things she doesn't enjoy doing, and that includes doing her homework.
Freewriting Revision: He didn’t neglect the girl, and even cares for other people and helps them even if it means that he could get in trouble.
Hamlet Freewrite: Either way, Hamlet ends up killing his loved ones father, and completely neglects her afterward causing Ophelia to go insane.
Freewriting 2016: I was neglecting the fact that my room was not clean.
keen - intense or sharp
“The cold was growing keener” (Solzhenitsyn 85).
Original Sentence: I wasn't always such a keen reader but after finding my favorite book, I read everyday.
Freewriting Revision: It is an interesting and common thing to use in storytelling to keep the readers keen on learning more.
PSP: ...it allowed me to always be ahead of the classes I was keen in learning, such as maths and languages.
Hamlet Freewrite: He doesn’t want her to trudge through a life that she will regret and very keen on her experiencing love that is true, and not a love where she is getting used by Hamlet.
Freewriting 2016: I was keen on spending some time with my mom and brother, but if it meant noise 24/7, I was not looking forward to it.
peremptory - putting an end to all debate or action
“And everyone heard the peremptory shouts of the captain at the door” (Solzhenitsyn 75).
Original Sentence: His mother was known for her peremptory shouts towards her children.
Freewriting Revision: Even in the barrack where they had to fix the scaffolding, he stood up for his squad, with peremptory words.
Hamlet Freewrite: I still thought you were a strong character with a lot of charisma and a peremptory figure
Freewriting 2016: and she told me she “cleaned it up” in a very peremptory manner.
scaffold - a temporary arrangement erected around a building
“From knee to the chest, without the help of a scaffold” (Solzhenitsyn 89).
Original Sentence: The scaffolding was there to support the structure, but in the end it toppled down.
Freewriting Revision: Even in the barrack where they had to fix the scaffolding, he stood up for his squad, with peremptory words.
hitched - to hook or entangle
“He hitched up his trousers” (Solzhenitsyn 8).
Original Sentence: I hitched a ride from a friend to get to where they were holding the graduation ceremony.
Freewriting Revision: ...the unique way that this novel has done it, has kept me hitched on the story since the beginning.
Hamlet Freewriting: Hamlet hitched him up, and ended up killing him, but until the very end, Polonius was there to help someone else, not himself.
severe -unsparing and uncompromising in discipline or judgment
"The frost was severe, but not as severe as the squad leader” (Solzhenitsyn 59).
Original Sentence: The severe weather was preventing the planes from departure and was gradually delaying my flight.
Freewriting Revision: It is a severe mistake to not have them in any sort of story, and a story would be barren without it.
Hamlet Freewriting: Polonius was a Noble man, and that meant he cared deeply, or rather, he was very severe for his reputation as a wealthy man.
Freewriting 2016: Throughout the ride home, she kept complaining to my brother and I about the severe snow storm raging in our path.
barren - completely wanting or lacking
“The steppe was barren and windswept, with a dry wind in the summer and a freezing one in winter“ (Solzhenitsyn 71).
Original Sentence: The room was barren, showing no signs that anyone had been here in a while.
Freewriting Revision: It is a severe mistake to not have them in any sort of story, and a story would be barren without it.
Freewriting 2016: Once I was done, I went up to my room, and then I saw how barren it had become.
ration - a fixed portion that is allotted
“A cleverly fixed work report meant good rations for five days” (Solzhenitsyn 82).
Original Sentence: The rations were starting to run out so each person was getting less to eat each passing day.
Freewriting Revision: He was a kind man who helped children, gave people extra rations, and much more.
barrack - lodge in buildings used to house military personnel
“They could get lost between the barrack room and the mess hall if you didn’t put up a guide rope” (Solzhenitsyn 50).
Original Sentence: The soldiers came out of their barracks every morning, just to return to it at the end of the day.
Freewriting Revision: Even in the barrack where they had to fix the scaffold, he stood up for his squad, with peremptory words.
bawl - cry loudly
"Tiurin was bawling out someone else down below” (Solzhenitsyn 96).
Original Sentence: The baby started to bawl in order to get her mother's attention.
Hamlet Freewriting: She didn’t protest, she didn’t even cry, much less bawl.
Freewriting 2016: I bawled when my dad and I watched Pan,
oust - remove from a position or office
“Shukhov’s job now was to wedge himself in behind a table, oust two loafers, politely ask another prisoner to move...” (Solzhenitsyn 72).
Original Sentence: The woman decided it was time to oust her husband, and make him do some actual work.
Hamlet Freewriting: I for one did not like you very much for ousting a past king and taking his throne.
Hamlet Freewriting: I can honestly say that I do not consider him to be a sane man and I agree that he should be ousted from the throne.Hamlet Freewriting: In Hamlet’s case, I still agree that he should be ousted from the family
deliberate - carefully thought out in advance
“Waiting for work to start, or turned in for the night, they went on talking to each other in their quiet, deliberate manner” (Solzhenitsyn 48).
Original Sentence: "The death of the girl was deliberate," said the cop, "We found the murder weapon beside her body."
PSP: I deliberately dislodged myself from others, so I could focus on my own studies.
Hamlet Freewriting: He may have some aspects that make him seem like a king, such as how he has people such as Polonius, and Horatio who follow him, but this is his deliberate way of manipulating people.
Hamlet Freewriting: that means he has a reason to be dislodged from the throne.
Freewriting 2016: My mom tried to pry it out of my by deliberately mocking me and asking with sad eyes what was inside.
dislodge - remove or force from a position previously occupied
“... the picks slipped, scattering showers of sparks, but not a bit of earth was dislodged” (Solzhenitsyn 54).
Original Sentence: We had to dislodge the sleigh, but to no avail. It was frozen solid in the snow.
PSP: I deliberately dislodged myself from others, so I could focus on my own studies.
Hamlet Freewriting: and is not afraid to admit to Polonius that something is wrong with his own son, even going as far as dislodging him from the family.
futile -producing no result or effect
“But it was futile to protest - the trusties were a gang all their own, and were also in solid with the guards” (Solzhenitsyn 130).
Original Sentence: Her efforts were futile, and in the end she couldn't escape.
PSP: I am someone who takes risks and I don't believe that anything you do is futile.
Hamlet Freewriting: It is futile in thinking that he is a good person at all.
Freewriting 2016: I already knew the contents and it was a futile effort to try not to spill the truth.
murder - unlawful premeditated killing of a human being
"In denouncing Stalin as a murderer in 1956 at the Twentieth Party Congress, Khrushchev did not find the courage to repent for his own role in the repressions" (Yevtushenko ix).
Original Sentence: "The death of the girl was deliberate," said the cop, "We found the murder weapon beside her body."
Hamlet Freewriting: I for one did not like you very much for ousting a past king, mudering him, and taking his throne.
Hamlet Freewriting: In the end, his actions were justified, but to the expense of one man remaining to tell the story of Hamlet, prince, and an insane murderer.
Freewriting 2016: I swore to murdering her someday.
mutiny - open rebellion against constituted authority
“...with the underground and smuggled in arms for the mutiny;” (Solzhenitsyn 66).
Original Sentence: Such mutiny! The entire population is going against the governments beliefs.
Hamlet Freewriting: Stating that everything Hamlet does is mutiny and using others to agree with him on his ideas.
Hamlet Freewriting: he should be ousted from the family for committing such mutiny.
Freewriting 2016: I suppose in a way, not listening to her wishes to hear the contents was something simliar to mutiny, but I didn’t care.
shrill - having or emitting a high-pitched and sharp tone or tones
“From the direction of the main thoroughfare an excavator squealed shrilly” (Solzhenitsyn 143).
Original Sentence: The shrill we hear from the girl was he last sound she would ever make.
PSP: I don't care if it's a shrill, because to me it is whether I get my message across during that performance.
dexterous - skillful in physical movements; especially of the hands
“He dexterously pulled his feet out of the valenki, put the valenki in the corner…” (Solzhenitsyn 13).
Original Sentence: He was a dexterous person when it came to playing the piano.
PSP: I am very dexterous, and have numerous talents that I would like to expand on in the future.
trudge - walk heavily and firmly, as when weary, or through mud
“Somewhere out on the tundra, an Ivan Denisovich was trudging and dying” (Solzhenitsyn 176).
Original Sentence: I trudge to and fro, but never know where to go.
Hamlet Freewrite: He doesn’t want her to trudge through a life that she will regret and very keen on her experiencing love that is true, and not a love where she is getting used by Hamlet.
Freewriting 2016: The day I came back here, my mom, brother and I trudged a long way back through the airport, and through sludge and snow.
nip - sever or remove by pinching
”The frost was trying to nip his ears…” (Solzhenitsyn 11).
Original Sentence: The dog nipped me in the ear, and it bled for two hours straight.
Hamlet Freewriting: A small price to pay when he has lost his entire family. A nip to Hamlet’s throat was what he wanted, but sadly, he got nipped in return.
Freewriting 2016: She nipped my hand, and ran away to go pee on the carpet.
parcel - a wrapped container
“...and then he’d have to wait a month for another parcel” (Solzhenitsyn 19).
Original Sentence: The parcel was wrapped in glitter, and was addressed to me.
Freewriting 2016: I gave my mom a parcel from my father, and one from myself as well.
vantage - place or situation affording some benefit
"'I have some rights of memory in this kingdom, which now to claim my vantage doth invite me'” (Hamlet: 5.2).
Original Sentence: I had a high vantage point, so I took the shot and hit my mark.
PSP: I believe my understanding of these have made me a very internationally minded student but also gives me a very good vantage.
Hamlet Freewriting: finding vantage by manipulating people and killing them.
Freewriting 2016: There is no vantage point, from the way I see it, to do so many things in one day.
confiscate - take temporary possession of a security by legal authority
”They confiscate slippers too if they find them in daytime” (Solzhenitsyn 165).
Original Sentence: I confiscated his iPhone because he wasn't listening to a word I was saying.
Freewriting 2016: I spent too much time in my room that day, and in the end, my mom confiscated my materials, and lead me to the living room.
amble - walk leisurely
"ROMEO: 'I am not for this ambling; Being but heavy, I will bear the light'" (Shakespeare IV.1.13-14).
Original Sentence: His ambling took place for hours yet he was not comfortable with our presence.
PSP: I would like to amble between the paths that I have opened for myself throughout my 15 years.
Hamlet Freewriting: A life is a life, and ending the amble of another’s life is not something that can be justified.
Freewriting 2016: I was not looking forward to such ambling.
“...announcing to no one in particular but with a sort of malicious glee: ‘Well, sailors, grit your teeth. It’s twenty below, for sure’” (Solzhenitsyn 7).
Original Sentence: He had such a malicious grin, I knew he was not going to be a trustworthy man.
Freewriting Revision: ...sometimes people are not as malicious as they seem.
Hamlet Freewriting: A majority of the book, when he was alive, there was not a malicious bone in his body.
Hamlet Freewriting: it makes you question whether he is really, truly, malicious.
Freewriting 2016: Under my breath, I couldn’t help sounding a little malicious when I said, “I can’t believe this.”
neglect - leave undone or leave out
“Without neglecting a single fish scale or particle of flesh on the brittle skeleton, Shukov went on chomping his teeth and sucking the bones, spitting the remains on the table” (Solzhenitsyn 17).
Original Sentence: She neglects the things she doesn't enjoy doing, and that includes doing her homework.
Freewriting Revision: He didn’t neglect the girl, and even cares for other people and helps them even if it means that he could get in trouble.
Hamlet Freewrite: Either way, Hamlet ends up killing his loved ones father, and completely neglects her afterward causing Ophelia to go insane.
Freewriting 2016: I was neglecting the fact that my room was not clean.
keen - intense or sharp
“The cold was growing keener” (Solzhenitsyn 85).
Original Sentence: I wasn't always such a keen reader but after finding my favorite book, I read everyday.
Freewriting Revision: It is an interesting and common thing to use in storytelling to keep the readers keen on learning more.
PSP: ...it allowed me to always be ahead of the classes I was keen in learning, such as maths and languages.
Hamlet Freewrite: He doesn’t want her to trudge through a life that she will regret and very keen on her experiencing love that is true, and not a love where she is getting used by Hamlet.
Freewriting 2016: I was keen on spending some time with my mom and brother, but if it meant noise 24/7, I was not looking forward to it.
peremptory - putting an end to all debate or action
“And everyone heard the peremptory shouts of the captain at the door” (Solzhenitsyn 75).
Original Sentence: His mother was known for her peremptory shouts towards her children.
Freewriting Revision: Even in the barrack where they had to fix the scaffolding, he stood up for his squad, with peremptory words.
Hamlet Freewrite: I still thought you were a strong character with a lot of charisma and a peremptory figure
Freewriting 2016: and she told me she “cleaned it up” in a very peremptory manner.
scaffold - a temporary arrangement erected around a building
“From knee to the chest, without the help of a scaffold” (Solzhenitsyn 89).
Original Sentence: The scaffolding was there to support the structure, but in the end it toppled down.
Freewriting Revision: Even in the barrack where they had to fix the scaffolding, he stood up for his squad, with peremptory words.
hitched - to hook or entangle
“He hitched up his trousers” (Solzhenitsyn 8).
Original Sentence: I hitched a ride from a friend to get to where they were holding the graduation ceremony.
Freewriting Revision: ...the unique way that this novel has done it, has kept me hitched on the story since the beginning.
Hamlet Freewriting: Hamlet hitched him up, and ended up killing him, but until the very end, Polonius was there to help someone else, not himself.
severe -unsparing and uncompromising in discipline or judgment
"The frost was severe, but not as severe as the squad leader” (Solzhenitsyn 59).
Original Sentence: The severe weather was preventing the planes from departure and was gradually delaying my flight.
Freewriting Revision: It is a severe mistake to not have them in any sort of story, and a story would be barren without it.
Hamlet Freewriting: Polonius was a Noble man, and that meant he cared deeply, or rather, he was very severe for his reputation as a wealthy man.
Freewriting 2016: Throughout the ride home, she kept complaining to my brother and I about the severe snow storm raging in our path.
barren - completely wanting or lacking
“The steppe was barren and windswept, with a dry wind in the summer and a freezing one in winter“ (Solzhenitsyn 71).
Original Sentence: The room was barren, showing no signs that anyone had been here in a while.
Freewriting Revision: It is a severe mistake to not have them in any sort of story, and a story would be barren without it.
Freewriting 2016: Once I was done, I went up to my room, and then I saw how barren it had become.
ration - a fixed portion that is allotted
“A cleverly fixed work report meant good rations for five days” (Solzhenitsyn 82).
Original Sentence: The rations were starting to run out so each person was getting less to eat each passing day.
Freewriting Revision: He was a kind man who helped children, gave people extra rations, and much more.
barrack - lodge in buildings used to house military personnel
“They could get lost between the barrack room and the mess hall if you didn’t put up a guide rope” (Solzhenitsyn 50).
Original Sentence: The soldiers came out of their barracks every morning, just to return to it at the end of the day.
Freewriting Revision: Even in the barrack where they had to fix the scaffold, he stood up for his squad, with peremptory words.
bawl - cry loudly
"Tiurin was bawling out someone else down below” (Solzhenitsyn 96).
Original Sentence: The baby started to bawl in order to get her mother's attention.
Hamlet Freewriting: She didn’t protest, she didn’t even cry, much less bawl.
Freewriting 2016: I bawled when my dad and I watched Pan,
oust - remove from a position or office
“Shukhov’s job now was to wedge himself in behind a table, oust two loafers, politely ask another prisoner to move...” (Solzhenitsyn 72).
Original Sentence: The woman decided it was time to oust her husband, and make him do some actual work.
Hamlet Freewriting: I for one did not like you very much for ousting a past king and taking his throne.
Hamlet Freewriting: I can honestly say that I do not consider him to be a sane man and I agree that he should be ousted from the throne.Hamlet Freewriting: In Hamlet’s case, I still agree that he should be ousted from the family
deliberate - carefully thought out in advance
“Waiting for work to start, or turned in for the night, they went on talking to each other in their quiet, deliberate manner” (Solzhenitsyn 48).
Original Sentence: "The death of the girl was deliberate," said the cop, "We found the murder weapon beside her body."
PSP: I deliberately dislodged myself from others, so I could focus on my own studies.
Hamlet Freewriting: He may have some aspects that make him seem like a king, such as how he has people such as Polonius, and Horatio who follow him, but this is his deliberate way of manipulating people.
Hamlet Freewriting: that means he has a reason to be dislodged from the throne.
Freewriting 2016: My mom tried to pry it out of my by deliberately mocking me and asking with sad eyes what was inside.
dislodge - remove or force from a position previously occupied
“... the picks slipped, scattering showers of sparks, but not a bit of earth was dislodged” (Solzhenitsyn 54).
Original Sentence: We had to dislodge the sleigh, but to no avail. It was frozen solid in the snow.
PSP: I deliberately dislodged myself from others, so I could focus on my own studies.
Hamlet Freewriting: and is not afraid to admit to Polonius that something is wrong with his own son, even going as far as dislodging him from the family.
futile -producing no result or effect
“But it was futile to protest - the trusties were a gang all their own, and were also in solid with the guards” (Solzhenitsyn 130).
Original Sentence: Her efforts were futile, and in the end she couldn't escape.
PSP: I am someone who takes risks and I don't believe that anything you do is futile.
Hamlet Freewriting: It is futile in thinking that he is a good person at all.
Freewriting 2016: I already knew the contents and it was a futile effort to try not to spill the truth.
murder - unlawful premeditated killing of a human being
"In denouncing Stalin as a murderer in 1956 at the Twentieth Party Congress, Khrushchev did not find the courage to repent for his own role in the repressions" (Yevtushenko ix).
Original Sentence: "The death of the girl was deliberate," said the cop, "We found the murder weapon beside her body."
Hamlet Freewriting: I for one did not like you very much for ousting a past king, mudering him, and taking his throne.
Hamlet Freewriting: In the end, his actions were justified, but to the expense of one man remaining to tell the story of Hamlet, prince, and an insane murderer.
Freewriting 2016: I swore to murdering her someday.
mutiny - open rebellion against constituted authority
“...with the underground and smuggled in arms for the mutiny;” (Solzhenitsyn 66).
Original Sentence: Such mutiny! The entire population is going against the governments beliefs.
Hamlet Freewriting: Stating that everything Hamlet does is mutiny and using others to agree with him on his ideas.
Hamlet Freewriting: he should be ousted from the family for committing such mutiny.
Freewriting 2016: I suppose in a way, not listening to her wishes to hear the contents was something simliar to mutiny, but I didn’t care.
shrill - having or emitting a high-pitched and sharp tone or tones
“From the direction of the main thoroughfare an excavator squealed shrilly” (Solzhenitsyn 143).
Original Sentence: The shrill we hear from the girl was he last sound she would ever make.
PSP: I don't care if it's a shrill, because to me it is whether I get my message across during that performance.
dexterous - skillful in physical movements; especially of the hands
“He dexterously pulled his feet out of the valenki, put the valenki in the corner…” (Solzhenitsyn 13).
Original Sentence: He was a dexterous person when it came to playing the piano.
PSP: I am very dexterous, and have numerous talents that I would like to expand on in the future.
trudge - walk heavily and firmly, as when weary, or through mud
“Somewhere out on the tundra, an Ivan Denisovich was trudging and dying” (Solzhenitsyn 176).
Original Sentence: I trudge to and fro, but never know where to go.
Hamlet Freewrite: He doesn’t want her to trudge through a life that she will regret and very keen on her experiencing love that is true, and not a love where she is getting used by Hamlet.
Freewriting 2016: The day I came back here, my mom, brother and I trudged a long way back through the airport, and through sludge and snow.
nip - sever or remove by pinching
”The frost was trying to nip his ears…” (Solzhenitsyn 11).
Original Sentence: The dog nipped me in the ear, and it bled for two hours straight.
Hamlet Freewriting: A small price to pay when he has lost his entire family. A nip to Hamlet’s throat was what he wanted, but sadly, he got nipped in return.
Freewriting 2016: She nipped my hand, and ran away to go pee on the carpet.
parcel - a wrapped container
“...and then he’d have to wait a month for another parcel” (Solzhenitsyn 19).
Original Sentence: The parcel was wrapped in glitter, and was addressed to me.
Freewriting 2016: I gave my mom a parcel from my father, and one from myself as well.
vantage - place or situation affording some benefit
"'I have some rights of memory in this kingdom, which now to claim my vantage doth invite me'” (Hamlet: 5.2).
Original Sentence: I had a high vantage point, so I took the shot and hit my mark.
PSP: I believe my understanding of these have made me a very internationally minded student but also gives me a very good vantage.
Hamlet Freewriting: finding vantage by manipulating people and killing them.
Freewriting 2016: There is no vantage point, from the way I see it, to do so many things in one day.
confiscate - take temporary possession of a security by legal authority
”They confiscate slippers too if they find them in daytime” (Solzhenitsyn 165).
Original Sentence: I confiscated his iPhone because he wasn't listening to a word I was saying.
Freewriting 2016: I spent too much time in my room that day, and in the end, my mom confiscated my materials, and lead me to the living room.
amble - walk leisurely
"ROMEO: 'I am not for this ambling; Being but heavy, I will bear the light'" (Shakespeare IV.1.13-14).
Original Sentence: His ambling took place for hours yet he was not comfortable with our presence.
PSP: I would like to amble between the paths that I have opened for myself throughout my 15 years.
Hamlet Freewriting: A life is a life, and ending the amble of another’s life is not something that can be justified.
Freewriting 2016: I was not looking forward to such ambling.