Easy-ish
Erratic
To move in a chaotic manner.
Ex: "She was furious, and when she was furious Calpurnia’s grammar became erratic."
Ecclesiastical
Having to do with the church.
Ex: "Starkly out of place in a town of square-faced stores and steep-roofed houses, the Maycomb jail was a miniature Gothic joke one cell wide and two cells high, complete with tiny battlements and flying buttresses. Its fantasy was heightened by its red brick facade and the thick steel bars at its ecclesiastical windows."
Prerogative
An exclusive right or privilege acquired through status or rank.
Ex: "When Aunt Alexandra went to school, self-doubt could not be found in any textbook, so she knew not its meaning. She was never bored, and given the slightest chance she would exercise her royal prerogative: she would arrange, advise, caution, and warn."
Temerity
Reckless courage, excessive confidence inappropriate to the situation.
Ex: "And so a quiet, respectable, humble Negro who had the unmitigated temerity to ‘feel sorry’ for a white woman has had to put his word against two white people’s."
Cleaved
To cling closely to something.
Ex: "One time I asked her to have a chew and she said no thanks, that—chewing gum cleaved to her palate and rendered her speechless."
Auspicious
Seeming to be imbued with success.
Ex: "The remainder of my schooldays were no more auspicious than the first. Indeed, they were an endless Project that slowly evolved into a Unit, in which miles of construction paper and wax crayon were expended by the State of Alabama in its well-meaning but fruitless efforts to teach me Group Dynamics."
Prowess
Exceptional ability and strength in a specific area.
Ex: "Jem said Mr. Avery misfigured, Dill said he must drink a gallon a day, and the ensuing contest to determine relative distances and respective prowess only made me feel left out again, as I was untalented in this area."
Tyrannical
Extreme abuse of power and authority.
Ex: "Calpurnia always won, mainly because Atticus always took her side. She had been with us ever since Jem was born, and I had felt her tyrannical presence as long as I could remember."
Countenance
Facial expression, overall visual presentation of the mood.
Ex: "Miss Maudie answered: 'A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance!'"
Ingenuous
Innocent and free from ulterior motive.
Ex: "He was a year older than I, and I avoided him on principle: he enjoyed everything I disapproved of, and disliked my ingenuous diversions."
Quell
To extinguish or suppress.
Ex: "Miss Maudie’s tin roof quelled the flames."
Abominable
Extremely unlikable, loathsome.
Ex: "He had discarded the abominable blue shorts that were buttoned to his shirts and wore real short pants with a belt; he was somewhat heavier, no taller, and said he had seen his father."
Dispensation
The act of giving something.
Ex: "Jem’s free dispensation of my pledge irked me, but precious noontime minutes were ticking away."
Malevolent
Desiring to do harm, an active desire to be malicious towards someone or something.
Ex: "Inside the house lived a malevolent phantom. People said he existed, but Jem and I had never seen him.
Ramshackle
Poorly made, falling apart. Held together in a fragile way.
Ex: "As they had come, in ones and twos the men shuffled back to their ramshackle cars."
Disapprobation
Intense disapproval.
Ex: "I’m afraid our activities would be received with considerable disapprobation by the more learned authorities."
Edification
The act of being educated or informed.
Ex: "Still, everything he read he passed along to me, but with this difference: formerly, because he thought I’d like it; now, for my edification and instruction."
Piety
Reverence, devotion.
Ex: "All we had was Simon Finch, a fur-trapping apothecary from Cornwall whose piety was exceeded only by his stinginess."
Taciturn
Naturally quiet, not given to speech.
"Their sister Alexandra was the Finch who remained at the Landing: she married a taciturn man who spent most of his time lying in a hammock by the river wondering if his trot-lines were full."
Unfathomable
Unable to be understood, incomprehensible.
Ex: "For reasons unfathomable to the most experienced prophets in Maycomb County, autumn turned to winter that year."