- life-interestnounChapter 1 →
A legal right to use or receive income from property only for the duration of one's lifetime; the property cannot be passed on or sold, and returns to others after death.
“seven thousand pounds in his own disposal; for the remaining moiety of his first wife’s fortune was also secured to her child, and he had only a life-interest in it.”
- aggrandizementnounChapter 4 →
The act of increasing someone's wealth, power, or social status; here, a mother's schemes to advance her son's position in society.
“to make his home comfortable at present, nor to give him any assurance that he might form a home for himself, without strictly attending to her views for his aggrandizement.”
- insensibilitynounChapter 7 →
A complete lack of feeling or emotional response; callous indifference to what others are suffering or experiencing.
“delight which alone could sympathize with her own, was estimable when contrasted against the horrible insensibility of the others; and she was reasonable enough to allow that a man of”
- shooting-jacketnounChapter 9 →
A short, close-fitting jacket designed for men to wear when hunting with a gun; considered fashionable sporting attire in Austen's era.
“His name was good, his residence was in their favourite village, and she soon found out that of all manly dresses a shooting-jacket was the most becoming.”
- bowling-greennounChapter 13 →
A smooth, flat area of closely cut grass used for playing bowls, typically found as a formal feature in the grounds of a large country house.
“On one side you look across the bowling-green, behind the house, to a beautiful hanging wood, and on the other you have a view of the church and village, and”
- representationsnounChapter 15 →
Arguments or statements made to persuade someone; here, the points a mother has put forward to influence her daughter's thinking about a situation.
“by the entrance of Margaret; and Elinor was then at liberty to think over the representations of her mother, to acknowledge the probability of many, and hope for the justice”
- self-mortificationnounChapter 19 →
The deliberate act of causing oneself discomfort or distress, often as a form of penance or self-punishment for perceived wrongdoing.
“Dashwood to stay longer; but, as if he were bent only on self-mortification, he seemed resolved to be gone when his enjoyment among his friends was at the height.”
- disinterestednessnounChapter 24 →
Freedom from personal gain or selfish motive; acting purely for another's benefit without seeking advantage for oneself.
““And for your own sake too, or you are carrying your disinterestedness beyond reason.””
- companionablenessnounChapter 26 →
The quality of being pleasant and agreeable company; a willingness to socialise and get along comfortably with others.
“They were three days on their journey, and Marianne’s behaviour as they travelled was a happy specimen of what future complaisance and companionableness to Mrs.”
- unpremeditatedadjectiveChapter 27 →
Not planned or arranged in advance; spontaneous. Here it describes an impromptu dance that was acceptable in the country but considered unsuitable in London.
“In the country, an unpremeditated dance was very allowable; but in London, where the reputation of elegance was more important and less easily attained, it was risking too much for”
- spunging-housenounChapter 31 →
A privately run house where debtors were held temporarily before being transferred to debtors' prison; a place of confinement for people who could not pay what they owed.
“my own, who had since fallen into misfortune, carried me to visit him in a spunging-house, where he was confined for debt; and there, in the same house, under a”
- chimney-boardnounChapter 38 →
A decorative panel placed in front of a fireplace opening during the months when the fire is not lit, used to block draughts and hide the empty grate.
“Martha Sharpe and I had so many secrets together, she never made any bones of hiding in a closet, or behind a chimney-board, on purpose to hear what we said.”
- circumstancedadjectiveChapter 39 →
Placed in a particular set of circumstances or financial conditions; here, being in an unfortunate or difficult situation with respect to money or prospects.
“post, is his, if he think it worth his acceptance; but that, perhaps, so unfortunately circumstanced as he is now, it may be nonsense to appear to doubt; I only”
- self-complacencynounChapter 41 →
A smug, self-satisfied pleasure in oneself and one's own behaviour, without awareness of or concern for how one appears to others.
“was left to improve her acquaintance with Robert, who, by the gay unconcern, the happy self-complacency of his manner while enjoying so unfair a division of his mother’s love and”
- dressing-closetnounChapter 43 →
A small private room adjoining a bedroom, used for dressing and personal grooming; a kind of early wardrobe room attached to a main bedchamber.
“did, in spite of the almost impossibility of their being already come, that she moved into the adjoining dressing-closet and opened a window shutter, to be satisfied of the truth.”
- circumspectionnounChapter 44 →
Careful, cautious thinking that considers all possible consequences before acting; wariness about one's behaviour to avoid making a mistake.
“The event has proved, that I was a cunning fool, providing with great circumspection for a possible opportunity of making myself contemptible and wretched for ever.”
- superannuatedadjectiveChapter 2 →
Retired from service on account of old age; here referring to elderly servants kept on and paid a pension under the terms of a will.
“trouble of annuities; for my mother was clogged with the payment of three to old superannuated servants by my father’s will, and it is amazing how disagreeable she found it.”
- disapprobationnounChapter 5 →
Strong moral disapproval or the expression of a negative judgment about someone's conduct or choices.
“John Dashwood, by this pointed invitation to her brother, how totally she disregarded her disapprobation of the match.”
- incautiousnessnounChapter 15 →
A lack of proper care or prudence; the quality of acting rashly or without thinking about the consequences, especially regarding one's reputation.
“This is strange indeed, when your eyes have been reproaching them every day for incautiousness.”
- particularitynounChapter 16 →
Noticeable special attention or marked distinction paid to one person; here, singling Marianne out in a way that would draw others' notice to her situation.
“She walked eagerly on as she spoke; and Elinor, to screen Marianne from particularity, as she felt almost certain of its not being Willoughby, quickened her pace and kept up”
- ill-breedingnounChapter 20 →
Bad manners resulting from a poor upbringing; rude or ungentlemanly behaviour that reveals a lack of proper social education.
“common to be wondered at; but the means, however they might succeed by establishing his superiority in ill-breeding, were not likely to attach any one to him except his wife.”
- connoisseurshipnounChapter 34 →
Expert knowledge and refined judgment in matters of art, music, or taste; the ability to assess quality in the fine arts with authority.
“The Colonel, though disclaiming all pretensions to connoisseurship, warmly admired the screens, as he would have done any thing painted by Miss Dashwood; and on the curiosity of the others”
- misconstructionnounChapter 36 →
A mistaken interpretation of someone's words, actions, or whereabouts; drawing the wrong conclusion from incomplete information.
“Dashwood’s sisters, she immediately concluded them to be staying in Harley Street; and this misconstruction produced within a day or two afterwards, cards of invitation for them as well as”
- perturbationnounChapter 25 →
A state of mental anxiety, agitation, or emotional disturbance that makes it hard to remain calm or composed.
“Marianne’s joy was almost a degree beyond happiness, so great was the perturbation of her spirits and her impatience to be gone.”
- turnpike-roadnounChapter 30 →
A main road maintained by a trust that charged travellers a toll at a gate; the principal improved highway of Austen's era, as opposed to country lanes.
“it is close to the church, and only a quarter of a mile from the turnpike-road, so ’tis never dull, for if you only go and sit up in an”
- constitutionaladjectiveChapter 50 →
Relating to or beneficial to a person's physical constitution or health; here used ironically about a flannel waistcoat worn to guard against illness.
“herself under the event of a former attachment, whom, two years before, she had considered too old to be married,—and who still sought the constitutional safeguard of a flannel waistcoat!”
- disproportionnounChapter 49 →
A large and awkward difference or imbalance between two things; here the gap in age between a thirty-six-year-old man and a seventeen-year-old girl.
“in his evening hours at least, he had little to do but to calculate the disproportion between thirty-six and seventeen, brought him to Barton in a temper of mind which”
Sense and SensibilityNovel by Jane Austen