- eccentricitiesnounChapter 1 →
Behaviors or ideas that seem strange or irregular compared to what most people expect, but which may have a logical explanation once enough is understood about them.
“may there discover the wondrous power which attracts the needle and may regulate a thousand celestial observations that require only this voyage to render their seeming eccentricities consistent for ever.”
- whale-fishersnounChapter 1 →
Men who hunt whales for a living, sailing on ships into dangerous northern seas to harpoon and process whales for oil and other products.
“I accompanied the whale-fishers on several expeditions to the North Sea; I voluntarily endured cold, famine, thirst, and want of sleep; I often worked harder than the common sailors during”
- merchantmannounChapter 3 →
A large commercial sailing ship used to carry cargo and goods between ports, as opposed to a naval or military vessel.
“This letter will reach England by a merchantman now on its homeward voyage from Archangel; more fortunate than I, who may not see my native land, perhaps, for many years.”
- consideratenessnounChapter 2 →
The quality of carefully thinking about the safety and feelings of others before acting, showing thoughtful concern for those around you.
“I shall do nothing rashly: you know me sufficiently to confide in my prudence and considerateness whenever the safety of others is committed to my care.”
- perseveringadjectiveChapter 3 →
Continuing steadily with a course of action despite difficulties or setbacks, refusing to give up even when conditions are hard.
“I will be cool, persevering, and prudent.”
- perfectionateverbChapter 4 →
To make something more perfect or complete; to improve and refine something that is weak or flawed, bringing it closer to an ideal state.
“are unfashioned creatures, but half made up, if one wiser, better, dearer than ourselves—such a friend ought to be—do not lend his aid to perfectionate our weak and faulty natures.”
- renovatingadjectiveChapter 3 →
Restoring energy, health, or vitality; giving new life or warmth to something that had grown cold or worn down.
“in England, the southern gales, which blow us speedily towards those shores which I so ardently desire to attain, breathe a degree of renovating warmth which I had not expected.”
- relinquishedverbChapter 5 →
Voluntarily gave up or stepped away from a position, duty, or right that one previously held, without being forced to do so.
“During the two years that had elapsed previous to their marriage my father had gradually relinquished all his public functions; and immediately after their union they sought the pleasant climate”
- shrine-dedicatedadjectiveChapter 6 →
Devoted and set apart for a sacred purpose, like a lamp kept burning at a holy shrine, suggesting pure and unwavering devotion.
“The saintly soul of Elizabeth shone like a shrine-dedicated lamp in our peaceful home.”
- experimentalistnounChapter 7 →
A scientist who works only on small, hands-on experiments without broader theoretical ambition, seen here as a lesser kind of scientific thinker.
“your wish is to become really a man of science and not merely a petty experimentalist, I should advise you to apply to every branch of natural philosophy, including mathematics.”
- slaughter-housenounChapter 8 →
A place where animals are killed for their meat or body parts; here used to indicate where the narrator obtained biological materials for his experiments.
“The dissecting room and the slaughter-house furnished many of my materials; and often did my human nature turn with loathing from my occupation, whilst, still urged on by an eagerness”
- recapitulationnounChapter 7 →
A summary or review that goes back over the main points of something already covered, used here to describe the opening of a lecture.
“He began his lecture by a recapitulation of the history of chemistry and the various improvements made by different men of learning, pronouncing with fervour the names of the most”
- procrastinateverbChapter 8 →
To deliberately delay or put off dealing with something, especially feelings or tasks one finds uncomfortable or difficult to face.
“I wished, as it were, to procrastinate all that related to my feelings of affection until the great object, which swallowed up every habit of my nature, should be completed.”
- prognosticatedverbChapter 7 →
Predicted or foretold a future outcome, especially a bad one, based on signs or symptoms observed in the present.
“On the third day my mother sickened; her fever was accompanied by the most alarming symptoms, and the looks of her medical attendants prognosticated the worst event.”
- excommunicationnounChapter 12 →
Formal expulsion from a religious community, cutting a person off from its sacraments and membership, used here as a threat by a religious figure.
“He threatened excommunication and hell fire in my last moments if I continued obdurate.”
- perpendicularitynounChapter 14 →
The quality of being nearly straight up and down, like a vertical cliff face; here describing how steep a mountain's slope is.
“The ascent is precipitous, but the path is cut into continual and short windings, which enable you to surmount the perpendicularity of the mountain.”
- presence-chambernounChapter 14 →
A grand room where an important person formally receives visitors; here used metaphorically to describe a majestic natural setting as if it were a royal hall.
“me; a few shattered pines were scattered around; and the solemn silence of this glorious presence-chamber of imperial Nature was broken only by the brawling waves or the fall of”
- disquisitionsnounChapter 19 →
Long, detailed written or spoken explorations of a subject, going into it thoroughly and systematically, like essays or treatises.
“The disquisitions upon death and suicide were calculated to fill me with wonder.”
- conformationnounChapter 19 →
The physical structure or bodily build of a creature; the particular shape and arrangement of its body parts.
“Yet I did not heed the bleakness of the weather; I was better fitted by my conformation for the endurance of cold than heat.”
- unsympathisedverbChapter 20 →
Received no sympathy or understanding from others; left entirely without comfort or fellow-feeling from those around oneself.
“or in enjoyment; I, like the arch-fiend, bore a hell within me, and finding myself unsympathised with, wished to tear up the trees, spread havoc and destruction around me, and”
- contortionsnounChapter 21 →
Extreme, unnatural twistings or distortions of the face or body, usually expressing intense emotion or pain.
“A fiendish rage animated him as he said this; his face was wrinkled into contortions too horrible for human eyes to behold; but presently he calmed himself and proceeded”
- superscriptionnounChapter 23 →
The name and address written on the outside of a letter or package, identifying who it is from or to whom it is sent.
“miserable and overcome by a thousand fears; and when they arrived and I saw the superscription of Elizabeth or my father, I hardly dared to read and ascertain my fate.”
- precipitationnounChapter 24 →
Sudden, reckless haste; acting so quickly and abruptly that there is no time for caution or deliberation.
“I would have seized him, but he eluded me and quitted the house with precipitation.”
- self-violencenounChapter 26 →
Extreme internal force or suppression applied to one's own emotions and impulses, forcing oneself to stay silent or controlled against powerful inner urges.
“By the utmost self-violence I curbed the imperious voice of wretchedness, which sometimes desired to declare itself to the whole world, and my manners were calmer and more composed than”
- asseverationsnounChapter 28 →
Solemn, earnest declarations that something is true, made with great emphasis and sincerity as a substitute for other proof.
“me, and the apparition of the monster seen from our ship, brought to me a greater conviction of the truth of his narrative than his asseverations, however earnest and connected.”
FrankensteinNovel by Mary Shelley