1. Peril—Noun—exposure
to injury, loss, or destruction; grave risk; jeopardy; danger.
Page 104—“You’re in considerable peril.”
2. Desolate—Adjective—barren or laid waste; devastated:
Page 64— The night-crawlers had retired, but ripe chinaberries drummed on the roof when the wind stirred, and the darkness was desolate
with the barking of distant dogs.
3. Perpetual—Adjective—continuing or enduring forever; everlasting.
Page 67— I said if they did I didn’t see how they got anything done, but Jem said they accomplished more than the Americans ever did, they invented toilet paper and perpetual embalming, and asked where would we be today if they hadn’t.
4. Charred—Adjective—burned or reduced to charcoal.
Page 82—We found her in her back yard, gazing at her frozen charred azaleas.
5. Provocation—Noun—something that incites, instigates, angers, or irritates.
Page 97—“When Jem an’ I fuss Atticus doesn’t ever just listen to Jem’s side of it, he hears mine too, an’ in the second place you told me never to use words like that except in extreme provocation, and Francis provocated me enough to knock his block off—”
6.
Obstreperous—Adjective—resisting control or restraint in a difficult manner; unruly.
Page 97—“It was obstreperous, disorderly, and abusive—”
7. Melancholy—Noun—agloomy state of mind, especially when habitual or prolonged; depression.
Page 114—If she was on the porch when we passed, we would be raked by her wrathful gaze, subjected to ruthless interrogation regarding our behavior, and given a melancholy prediction on what we would amount to when we grew up, which was always nothing.
8. Apoplectic—Adjective—intenseenough to threaten or cause apoplexy.
Page 115—Once she heard Jem refer to our father as “Atticus” and her reaction was apoplectic.
9. Degeneration—Verb—tofall below a normal or desirable level in physical, mental, or moral qualities; deteriorate.
Page 117—I pulled at his sleeve, and we were followed up the sidewalk by a philippic on our family’s moral degeneration, the major premise of which was that half the Finches were in the asylum anyway, but if our mother were living we would not have come to such a state.
10. Rectitude—Noun—rightness of principle or conduct; moral virtue.
Page 117—In later years, I sometimes wondered exactly what made Jem do it, what made him break the bonds of “You just be a gentleman, son,” and the phase of self-conscious rectitude he had recently entered.
11. Camisole—Noun—ashort garment worn underneath a sheer bodice to conceal the underwear.
Page 116—“You should be in a dress and camisole, young lady!”
12. Castile—Noun—a variety of mild soap, made from olive oil and sodium hydroxide.
Page 133—She stuck my head in the basin and washed it with Octagon soap and castile.
13. Embroidery—Noun—work or ornamentation.
Page 156—Atticus had retreated behind his newspaper and Aunt Alexandra was worrying her embroidery.
14. Ramshackle—Adjective—loosely made or held together; rickety; shaky.
Page 176—As they had come, in ones and twos the men, shuffled back to their ramshackle cars.
15. Encumbered—Verb—to impede or hinder; hamper; retard.
Page 177—Dill was encumberedby the chair, and his pace was slower.
16. Reminiscent—Adjective—awakeningmemories of something similar; suggestive.
Page 185—The Maycomb County courthouse was faintly reminiscent of Arlington in one respect: the concrete pillars supporting its south roof were too heavy for their light burden.
17. Lanky—Adjective—ungracefullythin and rawboned; bony; gaunt.
Page 187-188—Sunburned, lanky, they seemed to be all farmers, but this was natural: townsfolk rarely sat on the juries, they were either struck or excused.
18. Solicitor—Noun—aperson whose business it is to solicit business, trade, etc.
Page 190—The solicitor, a Mr. Gilmer, was not well known to us.
19. Fluctuations—Noun—continualchange from one point or condition to another.
Page 194—No economic fluctuationschanged their status.
20. Strenuous—Adjective—characterizedby vigorous exertion, as action, efforts, life, etc.
Page 204—As she raised her hand and swore that the evidence she gave would be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help her God, she seemed somehow fragile-looking, but when she sat facing us in the witness chair she became what she was, a thick-bodied girl accustomed to strenuous labor.
21. Lavations—Noun—the process of washing.
Page 204—In Maycomb County, it was easy to tell when someone bathed regularly, as opposed to yearly lavations.
22. Tedious—Adjective—long and tiresome.
Page 211-212—“Miss Mayella, not to be tedious, you’ve testified that the defendant hit you, grabbed you around the neck, chocked you, and took advantage of you.”
23. Preliminary—Adjective—precedingand leading up to the main part, matter, or business; introductory; preparatory.
Page 239-240—The old courthouse clock suffered its preliminary strain and struck the hour, eight deafening bongs that shook our bones.
24. Squalid—Adjective—fouland repulsive, as from lack of care or cleanliness; neglected and filthy.
Page 261—From the kitchen, I heard Mrs. Grace Merriweather giving a report in the living room on the squalidlives of the Mrunas, it sounded like to me.
25. Incantations—Noun—thechanting or uttering of words purporting to have magical power.
Page 293—Haints, Hot Steams, incantations, secret signs, had vanished with our years as mist with sunrise.
to injury, loss, or destruction; grave risk; jeopardy; danger.
Page 104—“You’re in considerable peril.”
2. Desolate—Adjective—barren or laid waste; devastated:
Page 64— The night-crawlers had retired, but ripe chinaberries drummed on the roof when the wind stirred, and the darkness was desolate
with the barking of distant dogs.
3. Perpetual—Adjective—continuing or enduring forever; everlasting.
Page 67— I said if they did I didn’t see how they got anything done, but Jem said they accomplished more than the Americans ever did, they invented toilet paper and perpetual embalming, and asked where would we be today if they hadn’t.
4. Charred—Adjective—burned or reduced to charcoal.
Page 82—We found her in her back yard, gazing at her frozen charred azaleas.
5. Provocation—Noun—something that incites, instigates, angers, or irritates.
Page 97—“When Jem an’ I fuss Atticus doesn’t ever just listen to Jem’s side of it, he hears mine too, an’ in the second place you told me never to use words like that except in extreme provocation, and Francis provocated me enough to knock his block off—”
6.
Obstreperous—Adjective—resisting control or restraint in a difficult manner; unruly.
Page 97—“It was obstreperous, disorderly, and abusive—”
7. Melancholy—Noun—agloomy state of mind, especially when habitual or prolonged; depression.
Page 114—If she was on the porch when we passed, we would be raked by her wrathful gaze, subjected to ruthless interrogation regarding our behavior, and given a melancholy prediction on what we would amount to when we grew up, which was always nothing.
8. Apoplectic—Adjective—intenseenough to threaten or cause apoplexy.
Page 115—Once she heard Jem refer to our father as “Atticus” and her reaction was apoplectic.
9. Degeneration—Verb—tofall below a normal or desirable level in physical, mental, or moral qualities; deteriorate.
Page 117—I pulled at his sleeve, and we were followed up the sidewalk by a philippic on our family’s moral degeneration, the major premise of which was that half the Finches were in the asylum anyway, but if our mother were living we would not have come to such a state.
10. Rectitude—Noun—rightness of principle or conduct; moral virtue.
Page 117—In later years, I sometimes wondered exactly what made Jem do it, what made him break the bonds of “You just be a gentleman, son,” and the phase of self-conscious rectitude he had recently entered.
11. Camisole—Noun—ashort garment worn underneath a sheer bodice to conceal the underwear.
Page 116—“You should be in a dress and camisole, young lady!”
12. Castile—Noun—a variety of mild soap, made from olive oil and sodium hydroxide.
Page 133—She stuck my head in the basin and washed it with Octagon soap and castile.
13. Embroidery—Noun—work or ornamentation.
Page 156—Atticus had retreated behind his newspaper and Aunt Alexandra was worrying her embroidery.
14. Ramshackle—Adjective—loosely made or held together; rickety; shaky.
Page 176—As they had come, in ones and twos the men, shuffled back to their ramshackle cars.
15. Encumbered—Verb—to impede or hinder; hamper; retard.
Page 177—Dill was encumberedby the chair, and his pace was slower.
16. Reminiscent—Adjective—awakeningmemories of something similar; suggestive.
Page 185—The Maycomb County courthouse was faintly reminiscent of Arlington in one respect: the concrete pillars supporting its south roof were too heavy for their light burden.
17. Lanky—Adjective—ungracefullythin and rawboned; bony; gaunt.
Page 187-188—Sunburned, lanky, they seemed to be all farmers, but this was natural: townsfolk rarely sat on the juries, they were either struck or excused.
18. Solicitor—Noun—aperson whose business it is to solicit business, trade, etc.
Page 190—The solicitor, a Mr. Gilmer, was not well known to us.
19. Fluctuations—Noun—continualchange from one point or condition to another.
Page 194—No economic fluctuationschanged their status.
20. Strenuous—Adjective—characterizedby vigorous exertion, as action, efforts, life, etc.
Page 204—As she raised her hand and swore that the evidence she gave would be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help her God, she seemed somehow fragile-looking, but when she sat facing us in the witness chair she became what she was, a thick-bodied girl accustomed to strenuous labor.
21. Lavations—Noun—the process of washing.
Page 204—In Maycomb County, it was easy to tell when someone bathed regularly, as opposed to yearly lavations.
22. Tedious—Adjective—long and tiresome.
Page 211-212—“Miss Mayella, not to be tedious, you’ve testified that the defendant hit you, grabbed you around the neck, chocked you, and took advantage of you.”
23. Preliminary—Adjective—precedingand leading up to the main part, matter, or business; introductory; preparatory.
Page 239-240—The old courthouse clock suffered its preliminary strain and struck the hour, eight deafening bongs that shook our bones.
24. Squalid—Adjective—fouland repulsive, as from lack of care or cleanliness; neglected and filthy.
Page 261—From the kitchen, I heard Mrs. Grace Merriweather giving a report in the living room on the squalidlives of the Mrunas, it sounded like to me.
25. Incantations—Noun—thechanting or uttering of words purporting to have magical power.
Page 293—Haints, Hot Steams, incantations, secret signs, had vanished with our years as mist with sunrise.