How Many of these 30 Words do you Know?

Hello hello. I’m back, with quite an unsual post today- it’s all about the makings of books: words. I’ve been jotting down all the words I don’t understand from novels in the hope of someday understanding them and have decided that, for at least a few of these words, that day has come! So here is a small subset of my list of words that I’ve picked up:

1. Sumptuous- Expensive looking
2. Illusory- Based on an illusion
3. Colonnade- Row of evenly spaced columns
4. Epiphytes- A plant that grows on other plants but is not a parasite
5. Kinesis- Motion
6. Brocades– A rich woven fabric
7. Carapace- The shell of a tortoise
8. Iridescent- Luminous colours
9. Indomitable- Impossible to defeat
10. Balustrade- Railing supported by balusters
11. Insipid– Lacking flavour
12. Gaudy- Something someone gets to look expensive, but isn’t
13. Auger- A tool for boring holes in wood
14. Oculus- Round, eye like opening (e.g. circular window)
15. Fresco- Wall painting found in Rome done while the plaster was still wet (derives from ‘fresh’)
16. Drove- Animal herd being driven by something
17. Ululated- Howl or wail expressed as a sign of grief
18. Credulity- Believing something is real or true too quickly
19. Sloughing- Shed or remove a layer of dead skin
20. Affront- An action or remark that causes offense
21. Palpable– Feeling so intense it feels almost real
22. Chafe– Rash from rubbing
23. Animus– Hostility
24. Cloistered- Kept away from the outside world
25. Entablature– The upper part of a classic building, supported by columns
26. Paramours– A lover, often a married person
27. Anathema– Something or someone that is vigorously disliked
28. Rictus– A fixed grin
29. Siphoned– a tool that changes the path of a liquid
30. Fervent– Displaying an intense passion

Let’s Compare Notes

So there you have it! 30 new words, for me anyway (although my historian boyfriend knew quite a few!). How many, out of 30, did you know? Did you learn anything? Let me know in the comments!