turpitude - something disgustingly wrong; a severe violation of morality that comes from something ugly about one's nature (the word is often used with the word 'moral' - Conservative archeologists of the past were upset and embarrassed by what they felt to be the moral turpitude in ancient Roman art, where sexuality was depicted openly.)
propitiation - to try to make someone feel more favorable toward you; to please someone so that they do not look unfavorably on you
to be plaintive - being sad, sorrowful, mournful, expressing grief
a strumpet - a slut, a woman who sleeps around, a loose woman, a woman who has sex a lot or even a prostitute (this is an old fashioned word - Huxley wrote this novel in the 1930s).
gingerly - carefully, cautiously
to be coquettish - to be flirtatious (only a woman can be coquettish and only when she is being playful with a guy in order to indicate to him that she likes him and might want to go out with him)
to be ingratiating - deliberately nice or kind in order to get something from someone else
compunction - a feeling that one has done something wrong, the feeling one gets when one's conscience kicks in and makes one feel bad for something (to feel compunction over something - it's mostly used in a non-countable way)
1. Bob and I had hiked for several miles and Bob wasn't used to doing this much walking. The next day I could see he was in some pain because of the ________________ manner in which he sat down to breakfast. I could see his legs were killing him.
2. Joe didn't feel that he had done anything wrong, but out of a need for _________________ he told Becky that he was sorry and that he hoped she would forgive him.
3. Bob, my anthropologist friend, pointed something interesting out to me. He said that human beings are the only animals that sometimes kill and eat their food with a sense of _________________. Some people feel so guilty about eating other creatures that they become vegetarians.
4. So Dave faced a dilemma, did Jackie really like him or was she just being _________________ because he had so much money and she was hoping to be treated to an expensive dinner.
5. After the baby dropped her lollipop on the floor, she looked at me in such a ________________ manner that I had to immediately get another lollipop for her to make her feel better.
6. An ethical relativist would assert that behavior which was considered a form of ______________ in the past, might now be considered morally acceptable or at the very least benign (harmless).
7. There's often a lot of sexual experimentation in US colleges, so a female student who travels abroad to study has to be aware that if she acts the same way in other countries, she may get the reputation of being a ________________.
8. Francis was very confused. His female friend Bridgette kept smiling at him today during lunch and touching his arm as they talked. Was she being ____________________ and signaling a change in their relationship or was this just wishful thinking on his part?
Answers are below.
Answers:
1. gingerly
2. propitiation
3. compunction
4. ingratiating
5. plaintive
6. turpitude
7. strumpet
8. coquettish
Please enjoy one of my favorite 70s bands - Mott the Hoople
