A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings Vocabulary

Haughty

Definition: arrogantly superior and disdainful. Example: "A spectacle like that, full of so much human truth and with such a fearful lesson, was bound to defeat without even trying that of a haughty angel who scarcely deigned to look at mortals."

Impede

Definition: delay or prevent (someone or something) by obstructing them; hinder. Example: "He had to go very close to see that it was an old man, a very old man, lying face down in the mud, who, despite his tremendous efforts, couldn't get up, impeded by his enormous wings."

Delirious

Definition: in an acutely disturbed state of mind resulting from illness or intoxication and characterized by restlessness, illusions, and incoherence of thought and speech. Example: "Pelayo threw a blanket over him and extended him the charity of letting him sleep in the shed, and only then did they notice that he had a temperature at night, and was delirious with the tongue twisters of old Norwegian."

Proliferate

Definition: increase rapidly in numbers; multiply. Example: "Especially during the first days, when the hens pecked at him, searching for the stellar parasites that proliferated in his wings."

Exasperate

Definition: irritate intensely; infuriate Example: "The exasperated and unhinged Elisenda shouted that it was awful living in that hell full of angels."

Impertinence

Definition: lack of respect; rudeness. Example: "Alien to the impertinences of the world, he only lifted his antiquarian eyes and murmured something in his dialect when Father Gonzaga went into the chicken coop and said good morning to him in Latin."

Frivolity

Definition: lack of seriousness; lightheartedness. Example: "Father Gonzaga held back the crowd's frivolity with formulas of maidservant inspiration while awaiting the arrival of the final judgement on the nature of the captive."

Unhinge

Definition: make (someone) mentally unbalanced Example: "The exasperated and unhinged Elisenda shouted that it was awful living in that hell full of angels."

Frivolous

Definition: not having any serious purpose or value.; (of a person) carefree and not serious Example: "By that time onlookers less frivolous than those at dawn had already arrived and they were making all kinds of conjectures concerning the captive's future."

Providential

Definition: occurring at a favorable time; opportune. Example: "Those meager letters might have come and gone until the end of time if a providential event had not put an end to the priest's tribulations."

Grandeur

Definition: splendor and impressiveness, especially of appearance or style. Example: "There were only a few faded hairs left on his bald skull and very few teeth in his mouth, and his pitiful condition of a drenched great-grandfather took away the sense of grandeur he might have had."

Decrepitude

Definition: the state of being decrepit. Example: "He remained motionless for several days in the farthest corner of the courtyard, where no one would see him, and at the beginning of December some large, stiff feathers began to grow on his wings, the feathers of a scarecrow, which looked more like another misfortune of decrepitude."

Magnanimous

Definition: very generous or forgiving, especially toward a rival or someone less powerful than oneself. Example: "Then they felt magnanimous and decided to put the angel on a raft with fresh water and provisions for three days and leave him to his fate on the high seas."

Repose

Definition: a state of rest, sleep, or tranquility. Example: "Although many thought that his reaction had not been one of rage but of pain, from then on they were careful no to annoy him, because the majority understood that his passivity was not that of a her taking his ease but that of a cataclysm in repose."

Conjecture

Definition: an opinion or conclusion formed on the basis of incomplete information. Example: "By that time onlookers less frivolous than those at dawn had already arrived and they were making all kinds of conjectures concerning the captive's future."

Antiquarian

Definition: relating to or dealing in antiques or rare books Example: "Alien to the impertinences of the world, he only lifted his antiquarian eyes and murmured something in his dialect when Father Gonzaga went into the chicken coop and said good morning to him in Latin."

Ingenuous

Definition: (of a person or action) innocent and unsuspecting. Example: "Then he came out of the chicken coop and in a brief sermon warned the curious against the risks of being ingenuous."

Ungainly

Definition: (of a person or movement) awkward; clumsy. Example: "They were so clumsy that his fingernails opened a furrow in the vegetable path and he was on the path of knocking the shed down with the ungainly flapping that slipped on the light and couldn't get a grip on the air."

Decrepit

Definition: (of a person) elderly and infirm.; worn out or ruined because of age or neglect. Example: "Standing by the wire, he reviewed his catechism in an instant and asked them to open the door so that he could take a close look at that pitiful man who looked more like a huge decrepit hen among the fascinated chickens."

Tribulation

Definition: a cause of great trouble or suffering. Example: "Those meager letters might have come and gone until the end of time if a providential event had not put an end to the priest's tribulations."

Cataclysm

Definition: a large-scale and violent event in the natural world. a sudden violent upheaval, especially in a political or social context. Example: "Although many thought that his reaction had not been one of rage but of pain, from then on they were careful no to annoy him, because the majority understood that his passivity was not that of a her taking his ease but that of a cataclysm in repose."

Captive

Definition: a person who has been taken prisoner or an animal that has been confined; imprisoned or confined Example: "On the following day everyone knew that a flesh-and-blood angel was held captive in Pelayo's house."

Fugitive

Definition: a person who has escaped from a place or is in hiding, especially to avoid arrest or persecution. Example: "Against the judgement of the wise neighbor woman, for whom angels in those times were the fugitive survivors of a spiritual conspiracy, they did not have the heart to club him to death."

Stupor

Definition: a state of near-unconsciousness or insensibility. Example: "They both looked at the fallen body with a mute stupor."