ELA 10E (Demers)

Name:

Glossary for A Man Who Had No Eyes by MacKinlay Kantor

Word + Definition

Making the Words My Own

(Drawings, Examples, Sample
Sentence, Synonyms, and/or Antonyms)

battered (adj) (e.g., a battered cane) a

thing damaged by age and repeated use;
something that is shabby

beggar (n) a person, usually a

homeless one, who lives by asking for
money or food.

bitter (adj) when we are talking about

people or their feelings or their
behaviour, bitter means angry, hurt, or
resentful because of a persons bad
experiences or sense of unjust treatment
blind (adj) unable to see; sightless

cautious (adj) describes a person who

is careful to avoid possible problems or
danger

creature (n) an animal or person

croak (v) to speak with a deep lowpitched, hoarse (throaty), harsh cry (like a
frog or a raven)

damp (adj) slightly wet

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Word + Definition
dough (n) slang for money (literally
means the mixture of flour and liquids
used for baking bread or pastry)

dumbly (adv) to stand dumbly

expectant (p.330) means to stand
waiting silently expecting the other
persons response; dumb means silent or
cannot speak (mute)
fiendishly (adv) when something is
done in an extremely unpleasant or cruel
way. A fiend (n) 1) a very evil or cruel
person, or 2) a person who is very
enthusiastic about something (e.g., an
outdoor fiend = someone who loves being
in the outdoors)
furtive (adj) an action (e.g., a glance or
movement) done in a quiet, secretive way
to avoid being noticed. Half-furtive
would be like acting a little bit in a furtive
manner but not as fully secretive.
greasy (adj) smeared or covered by
grease; oily from being very dirty

grope (v) to feel about or search blindly

or uncertainly with ones hands (e.g., to
grope for a light switch in the dark)

guvnor (n) from informal British

English; a term used to address a man in
a position of authority such as ones
employer or father. The person using the
word is of lesser social status than the
person being addressed.

Making the Words My Own

(Drawings, Examples, Sample
Sentence, Synonyms, and/or Antonyms)

ELA 10E (Demers)

Name:

Glossary for A Man Who Had No Eyes by MacKinlay Kantor

Word + Definition

Making the Words My Own

(Drawings, Examples, Sample
Sentence, Synonyms, and/or Antonyms)

handicaps (n) obstacles or barriers that

make progress or success difficult, but not
impossible

hoarsely (adv) spoken with a dry, harsh

voice. We often speak hoarsely when we
have a sore throat. Hoarse (adj)
describes a persons voice and means
that the voice sounds rough and harsh,
usually as a result of a sore throat or of
shouting.
labourer (n) a person who does
unskilled manual work for wages (pay); a
skilled labourer has some special
training, knowledge, or ability in their
work and may have learned these on the
job or through post-secondary training.
pity (n) the feeling of sorrow (sadness)
and compassion for people who are
suffering or experiencing misfortune
(hardship). Pity (v) = to feel sorrow and
compassion for the misfortunes of others.
pouch (n) a small bag, sack, or purse
used to carry things

quivering (adj) trembling or shaking

with slight rapid motion; quiver (v) to
tremble, to shiver, to shake

reminiscence (n) a story told about a

past event remembered by the
storyteller. Reminisce (v) to remember
and think about past events with pleasure
(e.g., people often reminisce about the
good old days)
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Word + Definition
row (n) (pronounced like wow , cow
or now) a noisy argument

shabby (adj) dressed in old or worn

clothes

shrill (v) to shrill is to make a sharp

high-pitched noise (The spring wind
shrilled past them, damp and
quivering p.330)); shrill (adj) = a highpitched and piercing (hard on the ears)
sound
splay (v) to spread out and apart (e.g.,
the beggars fingers are spread out across
the head of his cane)

spout (v) to speak a lot about

something

studied (adj) bitter and studied

drama of a story often told (p.329)
Here, studied means something is done
in a deliberate, careful, conscious,
intentional, purposeful manner
trample (v) walking or stepping heavily
on someone or something; to tread on
and crush; to stomp

unamiably (adv) when someones

speech is done in an unfriendly,
unpleasant manner. Amiable (adj) means
friendly, pleasant, good-natured:
unamiable (adj) means unfriendly and

Making the Words My Own

(Drawings, Examples, Sample
Sentence, Synonyms, and/or Antonyms)

ELA 10E (Demers)

Name:

Glossary for A Man Who Had No Eyes by MacKinlay Kantor

Word + Definition

Making the Words My Own

(Drawings, Examples, Sample
Sentence, Synonyms, and/or Antonyms)

unpleasant.

vats (n) large tanks or tubs used to hold

liquid

wheedle (v) a way to try to persuade

someone to do something usually by
using soft words or flattery (sweet talk)

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