And Then There Were None VOCABULARY
1. Strenuous- requiring a lot of effort or strength
• “Vera Claythorne, tired by a recent strenuous term at school…” (p.3)
2. Acquit – to relieve from a charge of fault or crime, declare not guilty
• “People don’t like a Coroner’s Inquest, even if the Coroner did acquit me of all blame.” (p. 4)
3. Scrutinize- to examine carefully in detail
• “He stood up and scrutinized himself anxiously in the glass. The face reflected there…” (p.13)
4. Recumbent- lying down or reclining
• “He collapsed through the doorway onto the platform. From a recumbent position he looked up.” (p.14)
5. Assent- to agree
• “’You’m for Soldier Island, maybe?’ Four voices gave assent.” (p.15)
6. Imperceptible- almost impossible to see or notice; very slight
• “Just imperceptibly his manner changed. It was more assured—easier in tone.” (p.17)
7. Shrewd- good at judging what people or situations are really like
• “The faded blue eyes, shrewd in spite of their age, sized up Lombard.” (p.19)
8. Disparaging- criticizing or belittling someone or something (such as a disparaging remark)
• “”Lombard shrugged his shoulders disparagingly.” (p.19)
9. Monotonous- lacking in variety; boring because of always being the same
• “Mrs. Rogers had a flat monotonous voice.” (p.26)
10. Iniquitous- very unfair and wicked or morally wrong
• “’It’s iniquitous!’ Her breath came fast. ‘Wicked!” (p.55)
11. Concur- to agree in opinion
• “In passing sentence of death I concurred with the verdict.” (p.55)
12. Capricious – likely to change your mind suddenly or behave in an unexpected way
• “Leslie was so capricious. Lots of good fellows that Leslie would turn her nose at.” (p. 70)
13. Pious- having strong religious beliefs and showing this in the way you behave (sometimes hypocritical concern)
• “Any one could see with half an eye that the woman (Emily) was as pious as could be—the kind that was
hand and glove with parsons.” (p. 74)
14. Stamina - physical strength that gives you the power to endure disease or fatigue
• “Cyril wasn’t really strong. A puny child—no stamina. The kind of child…who wouldn’t live to grow
up.” (p.76)
15. Ruminate – to think carefully and deeply about something
• “AS they went down the steep slope Blore said to Lombard in a ruminating voice: “You know it beats
me—why that young fellow (Marston) wanted to do himself in!” (p.82)
16. Chastisement- to severely criticize or punish
• “Providence leaves the work of conviction and chastisement to us mortals.” (p.85)
17. Condone- to give unspoken approval to (typically behavior that is viewed by most people as morally wrong)
• Miss Brent: “No one shall ever say I condoned immorality.” (p.96)
18. Acute – sharp and intense (intellectual acuteness= quick to notice and understand things)
• “He was conscious of the judge’s acute logical brain.” (p.98)
19. Aversion- a strong dislike of something or someone
• “(Vera) had avoided Emily Brent with a kind of shuddering aversion.” (p.111)
20. Futile – ineffective; useless; pointless
• “His search was thorough and they could see at once that is was futile.” (p.117)
21. Furtive – secretive; sly
• “And it was then…that they heard the sound from above. A soft furtive footfall overhead.” (p.118)