Jane Eyre - Vocab Chapters 17-18

Anathema:

• -noun

1. a person or thing detested or loathed
2. a person or thing accursed or consigned to damnation or destruction
3. a formal ecclesiastical curse involving excommunication
4. any imprecation of divine punishment
5. a curse; execration

Traverse:

• -verb

1. to pass or move over, along, or through
2. to go to and fro over or along
3. to extend across or over
4. to go up, down, or across

Sagacity:

• -noun

1. acuteness of mental discernment and soundness of judgment

Meretricious:

• -adj.

1. alluring by a show of flashy or vulgar attractions; tawdry
2. based on pretense, deception, or insincerity
3. pertaining to or characteristic of a prostitute

Supercilious:

• -adj.

1. haughtily disdainful or contemptuous, as a person or a facial expression

Physiognomy:

• -noun

1. the face or countenance, especially when considered as an index to the character
2. the outward appearance of anything, taken as offering some insight into its character