Vocabulary for “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe
FOCAL VOCABULARY: synonyms (pg. 81)
 Acute (adj) - intense, sharp, strong, extreme
Ex: The pain from my headache was so acute that I had to go home.
Ex: I have an acute sense of hearing; my hearing is so sensitive that I can hear a pin drop.
 Audacity
(n) - shameless daring, boldness, nerve, overconfidence
Ex: The child had the audacity to complain about his expensive Christmas presents.
Ex: Jane had the audacity to talk back to her teacher.
 Conceive
(v) - think of, imagine, create, consider
Ex: The toy maker conceived an idea for a new doll.
Ex: I cannot conceive of how you are going to build a time machine.
 Crevice(n) - crack, gap, split
Ex: There was a crevice in the sidewalk that caused me to trip.
Ex: Plants grew out of the crevice in the side of the mountain.
 Derision (n) - scorn, mockery, ridicule, contempt, disrespect
Ex: Tana treated the new girl with derision when she made fun of her hairstyle.
Ex: The criminal had derision for the police, so he spat in their faces when he was arrested.
 Hypocritical (adj) deceptive, two-faced, deceitful, phony, insincere
Ex: To get elected, the hypocritical politician made many promises he never kept.
Ex: My ex-friend was a hypocrite because she always talked about me behind my back.
 Stealthily
(adv) - cautiously, secretly, quietly
Ex: The burglar stealthily crept through the dark house.
Ex: The lion stealthily stalked its prey through the tall grass.
 Stifled (v) - smothered, muffled, muted, hushed
Ex: My friend made me laugh in the church service, so I stifled my giggles with my hand.
Ex: To stifle my loud alarm, I stuffed my phone underneath a pillow.
 Vehemently (adj) - intensely, strongly, violently, passionately, fervently
Ex: A true MSU fan vehemently despises when Ole Miss wins the Egg Bowl.
Ex: I am vehemently against doing drugs because I know of their harmful effects.
 Vex
(v) - annoy, irritate, bother, madden
Ex: When my little brother broke my video game, I was vexed.
Ex: It is vexing to hear someone repeatedly tapping their pencil on their desk.
ADDITIONAL VOCABULARY WORDS
 Dissimulation (n) - hiding your true feelings
Synonyms: hypocrisy, deception, dishonesty, lying, bluff, fraud, con
 Sagacity
(n) – sound judgment (sound=good
judgment=decision) so someone who has
SAGACITY is capable of making good decisions/choices
Synonyms: reasonableness, wisdom, shrewdness
 Waned (v) – approached its end
Synonyms: diminish, decrease, decline, fade, disappear, vanish
 Suavity (n) -graceful politeness
adj form = suave
Synonyms: charming, courteous, debonair, smooth, polished, sophisticated
 Deputed (v) -appointed as a representative
Synonyms: assigned, appointed, dispatched, ordered
 Reposed (v) –rested
Synonyms: relaxed, lounged, reclined
 Dissemble (v) –pretend
Synonyms: stall, evade, dither, quibble, “beat around the bush”
These are particular “things” with no synonyms:
 Death watches (n) – insects that make a tapping sound with their heads

Hellish tattoo (adj + n) -awful drumming (he says this about the beating of the heart that he “hears”)
 Scantlings (n) -small wooden beams supporting the floor
 Gesticulations (n) - energetic gestures of the hands or arms