Vocabulary from An American Childhood

Vocabulary from An American Childhood

By Annie Dillard By Annie Dillard

Improvise

Create and perform without preparation

Example: When the actor forgot his lines he had to improvise.

“We kept running, block after block: we kept improvising, backyard after backyard, running a frantic course” (Dillard 56).

Translucent

Allowing light, but not images, through

Example: Frosted window glass is translucent but not transparent.

“I started making an iceball—a perfect iceball, from perfectly white snow, perfectly spherical, and squeezed perfectly translucent so no snow remained all the way through” (Dillard 54).

Simultaneous

Existing or occurring at the same time

Examples: 1. The two gunshots were

simultaneous. 2. There was a simultaneous

release of the movie and its soundtrack on CD.

“We kept improvising, backyard after backyard, running a frantic course and choosing it simultaneously, failing always to find small places or hard places to slow him down” (Dillard 56).

Labyrinth

A maze (in a garden) formed by paths separated by high hedges.

Example: He got lost in a complex labyrinth of tunnels and chambers.

“He chased us through the backyard labyrinths of ten blocks” (Dillard 56)

Embark

To start or begin something important.

Examples:Millions of Europeans

embarked for America in the late 19th century.

He embarked on a new career.

“I had just embarked on the iceball project when we heard tire chains come clanking from afar” (Dillard 54).

Redundant

No longer needed or useful

Example: He edited the paper and removed any redundant information or statements.

“If we listened at all, for the chewing out was redundant, a mere formality, and beside the point” (Dillard 56).

Righteous

Right or moral

Example: A righteous man can be trusted to act honorably regardless of the circumstances.

“He could only begin, ‘You stupid kids,’ and continue in his ordinary Pittsburg accent with his normal righteous anger and the usual common sense” (Dillard 57).

Perfunctory

Done routinely with little interest or care

Example: The violinist delivered a perfunctory performance that displayed none of the passion and warmth he was once known for.

“‘You stupid kids,’ he began perfunctorily” (Dillard 56).

Crenellated

Having rows of squares like notches along a castle wall

Example: The archers used the crenellated walls to shoot at the enemy.

“The cars’ tires laid behind them on the snowy street a complex trail of beige chunks like crenellated castle walls” (Dillard 54).