Classics Without All the Class discussion

Do you wish you had a more extensive vocabulary? Are you tired of people using words you don't understand? Do you struggle to find words on the "tip of your tongue?" Well, Leo Tolstoy has the solution for you. With this extensive work, you are just 900 pages away to a better vocabulary!

Simply use this thread to share any new words you learned along with the definition and sentence. You may also include the chapter as well.

So, unlock the secret that has helped millions build a more extensive vocabulary and the confidence that goes along with it.

Oh, and Anna Karenina happens to also be a great literary classic.

So let's do some learning!

Pecuniary - pe·cu·ni·ar·y
/piˈkyo͞onēˌerē/
Adjective
Of, relating to, or consisting of money

"Darya Alexandrovna's pecuniary affairs, which were in a very unsatisfactory state, were taken to heart by the Levins as if they were their own."

Tolstoy, Leo (2012-05-16). Anna Karenina (p. 470). . Kindle Edition.

What a great idea! Thank you LaLaLa Laura!

Maricarmen wrote: "What a great idea! Thank you LaLaLa Laura!"

Thank you, Maricarmen!! =0)

Great idea, Laura! I usually just end up Tweeting words I don't know along with their definitions while I'm reading. I'll try to post the ones that I don't know here.

I didn't know what pecuniary meant either -- glad it's not just me!

thanks Heather! enjoy! :)

Ah! This is briliant! I suffer particularly from the "tip of the tongue" syndrome. Thank goodness I'm just "900" pages from a solution!

I agree with Susan and others. This is a brilliant idea!

thanks Susan and Kathy! :)

Asservation: A Solemn declaration.

"And the asseverations of his love, which seemed to him so vulgar that he was ashamed to utter them, she drank in eagerly, and gradually became calmer. The next day, completely reconciled, they left for the country."

Tolstoy, Leo (2012-05-16). Anna Karenina (p. 428). . Kindle Edition.

I love this thread!
Popinjay: a vain or conceited person, esp one who dresses or behaves extravagantly.

"and I can see through a weathercock like that popinjay who only wishes to amuse himself."
....referring to Vronsky
Tolstoy, Leo. Anna Karenina (loc. 1602).

LaLaLa Laura wrote: "Asservation: A Solemn declaration.

"And the asseverations of his love, which seemed to him so vulgar that he was ashamed to utter them, she drank in eagerly, and gradually became calmer. The next ..."

Asservation is definitely a new one for me. What I want to know is, do I get to go around using it now? I suppose not if I want to be understood.

Susan wrote: "Asservation is definitely a new one for me. What I want to know is, do I get to go around using it now? I suppose not if I want to be understood."

I've made vocab lists like this in the past, and have the same problem. I love learning the new words, but I've been waiting 15 years to work "febrile" into casual conversation. :D

inimical: tending to obstruct or harm: actions inimical to our interests. unfriendly; hostile

"he suddenly remembered what he was always forgetting, the most painful part of his relations with her, namely her son, with his questioning and, as it seemed to Vronsky, inimical look" (loc 3918)

Thank you Laura ! It is a great idea especially for non native speakers of English like me ! By the way, this is my first comment in your group as I only joined this morning ! Excited to activate new words together.

Engouement: an irrational liking for something.

" 'It's so funny to see your engouements,' said the princess." (Loc 5860)

I have an e copy, a physical copy and an audio copy and the words each translator has chosen is really interesting. I've checked the e copy and the physical copy while listening just to see the differences and there has been a few times they've all chosen different words/phrases. Yet it conveys the same meaning (generally). Then again the choices a translator makes can skew the meaning incredibly. One of those times I wish I had the whole matrix thing where I could plug in and learn languages in an instant so I could read it in its original text.

Danaë wrote: "Susan wrote: "Asservation is definitely a new one for me. What I want to know is, do I get to go around using it now? I suppose not if I want to be understood."

I've made vocab lists like this in ..."

Are you serious?! Me too! I know someone in the medical profession and they were like, oh yeah susan, everyone knows what febrile means. FALSE! I tried to use it in some writing. I got called out on it.

Karena wrote: "I have an e copy, a physical copy and an audio copy and the words each translator has chosen is really interesting. I've checked the e copy and the physical copy while listening just to see the dif..."

I had translations issues with my copies too. Though I didn't do the work of comparing them at length. Was there one you ended up liking?

Mohamed wrote: "Thank you Laura ! It is a great idea especially for non native speakers of English like me ! By the way, this is my first comment in your group as I only joined this morning ! Excited to activate n..."

Non just for non-native speakers: there are plenty of words in this book that I don't know and I have a VERY extensive vocabulary. It's always fun to learn new words, though!

Susan wrote: "Karena wrote: "I have an e copy, a physical copy and an audio copy and the words each translator has chosen is really interesting. I've checked the e copy and the physical copy while listening just..."

I mostly stuck with my audio just for the ease of listening while I did some non thinking things (like housework), but my paperback waas decent when I picked it up to actually read Part 8.

Two words in one sentence. Bang for my buck!


Hitherto each individual desire, aroused by suffering or privation, such as hunger, fatigue, thirst, had been satisfied by some bodily function giving pleasure.

Tolstoy, Leo (2012-05-16). Anna Karenina (p. 392). . Kindle Edition.
hith·er·to
/ˈhiT͟Hərˌto͞o/
Adverb
Until now or until the point in time under discussion.
Synonyms
so far - yet - heretofore - up to now

Privation: pri·va·tion
/prīˈvāSHən/
Noun
A state in which things essential for human well-being such as food and warmth are scarce or lacking.
The loss or absence of a quality normally present.
Synonyms
want - lack - destitution - need - scarcity - penury