My Antonia: Book II

by Willa Cather
Vividly bringing the American frontier to life, this novel traces the life of Ántonia Shimerda, an immigrant who settles among the pioneers in Nebraska.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Book I, Book II, Book III, Book IV, Book V

Here are links to Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. lassitude
    a feeling of lack of interest or energy
    Her rapid footsteps shook her own floors, and she routed lassitude and indifference wherever she came.
  2. reticent
    not inclined to talk or provide information
    She was quick at understanding the grandmothers who spoke no English, and the most reticent and distrustful of them would tell her their story without realizing they were doing so.
  3. repose
    freedom from activity
    Julia was in the hammock—she was fond of repose — and Frances was at the piano, playing without a light and talking to her mother through the open window.
  4. mollify
    cause to be more favorably inclined
    Mrs. Shimerda, leaning out of the window, enjoyed the situation keenly, and was sorry when Ántonia sent Mary away, mollified by an apronful of bottle-tomatoes.
  5. prodigy
    an unusually gifted or intelligent person
    The talk was all about good and bad hotels, actors and actresses and musical prodigies.
  6. unscrupulous
    without principles
    She looked bold and resourceful and unscrupulous, and she was all of these.
  7. inveterate
    habitual
    He was an inveterate gambler, though a poor loser.
  8. maxim
    a saying that is widely accepted on its own merits
    He was full of moral maxims for boys.
  9. fastidious
    giving careful attention to detail
    He was so fastidious and prim about his place that a boy would go to a good deal of trouble to throw a dead cat into his back yard, or to dump a sackful of tin cans in his alley.
  10. caustic
    harsh or corrosive in tone
    Her new clothes were the subject of caustic comment.
  11. malcontent
    a person who is unsatisfied or disgusted
    For a change, one could talk to the station agent; but he was another malcontent; spent all his spare time writing letters to officials requesting a transfer.
  12. propitiate
    make peace with
    The life that went on in them seemed to me made up of evasions and negations; shifts to save cooking, to save washing and cleaning, devices to propitiate the tongue of gossip.
  13. usury
    an exorbitant or unlawful rate of interest
    "I guess Jim could take care of their silver and old usury notes as well as you could."
  14. poultice
    dress by covering with a therapeutic substance
    She spent the whole morning bathing and poulticing me, and rubbing me with arnica.
  15. debauchery
    a wild gathering
    His zest in debauchery might wane, but never Mrs. Cutter's belief in it.
Created on Mon Mar 11 11:27:16 EDT 2013 (updated Thu Jul 31 16:29:47 EDT 2025)

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