Vocabulary List 8

Abeyance-(N.) A state of temporary disuse or suspension.
Between each scene there is always a moment of abeyance.
Ambivalent- (Adj.) Having mixed feelings or contradictory ideas about something or someone.
Lord Polonius is ambivalent towards Hamlet.
Beleaguer- (V.) Beset with difficulties
Hamlet beleaguer.
Carte blanche- (N.) Complete freedom to act as one wishes or thinks best.
Laertes can enjoy carte blanche while Hamlet must stay at home and obey his parents.
Cataclysm- (N.) A sudden violent upheaval, esp. in a political or social context
There hasn't been any signs of an upcoming catclysm in the play.
Debauch- (V.) Destroy or debase the moral purity of; corrupt.
(N.) A bout of excessive indulgence in sensual pleasures, esp. eating and drinking
Claudius only goal in all this must be to debaunch the kingdom.
éclat- (N.) brilliant or conspicuous success
Claudius has had an eclat outcoming.
Fastidious- (Adj.) Very attentive to and concerned about accuracy and detail
Hamlet fastidiously listened to the ghost of his father speak.
Gambol- (V.) Run or jump about playfully
I imagine Claudius gamboling at the sight of Hamlet's dead dad.
Imbue- (V.) Inspire or permeate with a feeling or quality: "imbued with deep piety".
Hamlet was imbued with deep sorrow for his father's murder.
Inchoate- (Adj.) Just begun and so not fully formed or developed
The play has inchoately relationships with the characters.
Lampoon- (V.) Publicly criticize (someone or something) by using ridicule or sarcasm.
(N.) A speech or text criticizing someone or something in this way
Hamlet often lampoons his mother's actions.
Malleable- (Adj.) Easily influenced; pliable
Hamlet is extremely malleable in his feelings.
Nemesis- (N.) The inescapable or implacable agent of someone's or something's downfall
Hamlet's nemesis is his uncle Claudius.
Opt- (V.) Make a choice from a range of possibilities
Hopefully Hamlet will opt to not take revenge on his uncle.
Philistine- (N.) A person who is hostile or indifferent to culture and the arts, or who has no understanding of them
I'm not sure who would be an example of a philistine in the play.
Picaresque- (Adj.) Of or relating to an episodic style of fiction dealing with the adventures of a rough and dishonest but appealing hero
Hamlet is a picaresque play.
Queasy- (Adj.) Nauseated; feeling sick
The idea that Hamlet's uncle is now step dad makes me queasy.
Refractory- (Adj.) Stubborn or unmanageable
Ophelia is refractory in her feelings for Hamlet.
Savoir-faire- (N.) The ability to act or speak appropriately in social situations.
Claudius obtains savior-faire.