- BunburyingverbChapter 1 →
The practice of inventing a fictional sick friend or relative as a convenient excuse to escape social obligations and go wherever one pleases.
“I have invented an invaluable permanent invalid called Bunbury, in order that I may be able to go down into the country whenever I choose.”
- invaluableadjectiveChapter 2 →
Extremely useful; so helpful that its value cannot be measured. Here used with comic irony to praise a completely made-up person.
“I have invented an invaluable permanent invalid called Bunbury, in order that I may be able to go down into the country whenever I choose.”
- permanent invalidphraseChapter 2 →
A person who is supposedly ill all the time and never recovers, used here as a fictional character invented to justify repeated absences from London.
“I have invented an invaluable permanent invalid called Bunbury, in order that I may be able to go down into the country whenever I choose.”
- wardnounChapter 1 →
A young person placed by law under the care and authority of a guardian who is not their parent, responsible for their upbringing and finances.
- guardiannounChapter 1 →
A person legally appointed to care for and make decisions on behalf of a child who has no parents able to do so.
- suitornounChapter 1 →
A man who is formally courting a woman with the intention of asking her to marry him.
- carelessnessnounChapter 1 →
A lack of attention or proper concern; here used satirically to suggest that losing both parents is not just bad luck but a kind of negligence.
“To lose one parent, Mr. Worthing, may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness.”
- misfortunenounChapter 1 →
An unfortunate event or piece of bad luck that happens to someone, not through their own fault.
“To lose one parent, Mr. Worthing, may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness.”
- inspiresverbChapter 1 →
Produces or arouses a particular feeling in someone; here, the name Ernest is said to produce a feeling of complete trust.
“I don't think I could marry anyone whose name was not Ernest. There is something in that name that inspires absolute confidence.”
- absolute confidencephraseChapter 1 →
Complete, unqualified trust with no doubts whatsoever; used here to show how Gwendolen judges a man's character entirely by his name.
“There is something in that name that inspires absolute confidence.”
- girlish dreamphraseChapter 2 →
A romantic fantasy held since childhood, presented here as a deeply felt but slightly absurd personal wish.
“it had always been a girlish dream of mine to love some one whose name was Ernest.”
- mourning attirephraseChapter 2 →
Black clothing worn as a public sign of grief after someone has died, following strict Victorian social convention.
- governessnounChapter 2 →
A woman employed to live in a wealthy household and privately educate the children there, covering academic subjects and social manners.
- pramnounChapter 3 →
A four-wheeled baby carriage pushed by hand, used to transport an infant; short for perambulator.
- handbagnounChapter 1 →
A woman's small bag carried by hand; in this play, the object in which a baby was accidentally left at a railway station, making it central to the plot.
- vitaladjectiveChapter 3 →
Absolutely essential and of the greatest importance; here used in the play's climactic line to signal that sincerity truly matters.
“I've now realised for the first time in my life the vital Importance of Being Earnest.”
- earnestadjectiveChapter 3 →
Sincere, serious, and genuinely meaning what one says; the opposite of the playful deception practised by the characters throughout the play.
“On the contrary, Aunt Augusta, I've now realised for the first time in my life the vital Importance of Being Earnest.”
- realisedverbChapter 3 →
Came to understand or grasp something fully for the first time; the British spelling used in the original text.
“I've now realised for the first time in my life the vital Importance of Being Earnest.”
- on the contraryphraseChapter 3 →
Used to introduce a statement that directly contradicts or reverses what has just been said by another speaker.
“On the contrary, Aunt Augusta, I've now realised for the first time in my life the vital Importance of Being Earnest.”
- waywardadjectiveChapter 1 →
Difficult to control; tending to behave in an unpredictable or irresponsible way that causes trouble for others.
- manor housenounChapter 2 →
The main house on a large country estate, traditionally belonging to the landowner of that district; signals high social standing.
- drawing-roomnounChapter 3 →
A formal reception room in a large house where guests were entertained after dinner; a distinctly upper-class Victorian domestic space.
- bachelor flatnounChapter 1 →
A fashionable apartment occupied by an unmarried man living alone, associated in the play with a stylish, leisured London lifestyle.
- manservantnounChapter 1 →
A male domestic servant employed in a private household to attend personally to his employer's needs.
- registeredverbChapter 3 →
Officially recorded in an official document or register; here refers to a name entered in the birth records at the time of baptism.
The Importance of Being EarnestPlay by Oscar Wilde