Midnight's Children

Midnight's Children Glossary

alacrity

brisk and cheerful readiness

assiduity

constant or close attention to what one is doing

basilisk

a mythical reptile with a lethal gaze or breath, hatched by a serpent from a cock's egg

consternation

feelings of anxiety or dismay, typically at something unexpected

contritely

in a rueful manner

ebullient

cheerful and full of energy

expectorate

cough or spit out phlegm from the throat or lungs

fecundity

producing or able to produce many babies, young animals, or plants

glutinous

like glue in texture; sticky

inculcate

instill an attitude, idea, or habit by persistent instruction

indissolubly

incapable of being dissolved, decomposed, undone, or destroyed

irascible

having or showing a tendency to be easily angered

leitmotif

a recurrent theme throughout a musical or literary composition, associated with a particular person, idea, or situation

mercurial

subject to sudden or unpredictable changes of mood or mind

nictating

blinking

perfidy

deceitfulness; untrustworthiness

pique

a feeling of irritation or resentment resulting from a slight, especially to one's pride

rapacious

aggressively greedy or grasping

rectitude

morally correct behavior or thinking; righteousness

sepulchral

of or relating to a tomb or interment

stoic

a person who can endure pain or hardship without showing their feelings or complaining

timorous

showing or suffering from nervousness, fear, or a lack of confidence

vivisect

the activity or practice of doing scientific or medical experiments on live animals