1. belabor - attack verbally with harsh criticism
Example sentence: “We sit as though in a boiler that is being belaboured from without all sides” (Remarque 111).
Original sentence: Outside in the yard, my grandfather was belabouring my cousins.
Used in my writing: Lucas’s belaboring of Fulton could have been avoided if Lucas had refrained from relying on preconceived ideas about Fulton, which were all based not on facts but on first impressions.
2. convalescent - returning to health after illness or debility
Example sentence: “Perhaps you will go to the convalescent home at Klosterberg, among the villas Franz” (Remarque 30).
Original sentence: I tried not to bother my convalescing brother.
Used in my writing: Cullen realizes that he had only been in love with the idea of the girl he was so determined to be with, not her, when she leaves him for her convalescent ex-boyfriend.
3. embitter - cause to be bitter or resentful
Example sentence: “At first astonished, then embittered, and finally indifferent, we recognized that what matters is not but the boot brush,not intelligence but the system, not freedom but drill” (Remarque 21).
Original sentence: The embittered woman shut herself in her room.
Used in my writing: Moreover, Culled felt embittered that even though a majority of the townsfolk was aware of the incident with his brother, the town newspaper insisted on putting on its front cover information about the Lazarus woodpecker.
4. furtive - secret and sly or sordid
Example sentence: “They have dysentery; furtively many of them display the blood-stained tails of their shirts” (Remarque 190).
Original sentence: The kids crept furtively into the cabin.
Used in my writing: With rapid globalization and increased ease and speed of access to many modes of media, even furtive attempts to distort the truth are often detected.
5. gauge - an instrument for measuring and indicating a quantity
Example sentence: “Otherwise it is hard to understand why we cannot find him; for it is only when a man has his mouth close to the ground that it is impossible to gauge the direction of his cry” (Remarque 124).
Original sentence: It was a struggle gauging the brightness of the stars.
Used in my writing: If the authoritative figures were better able to gauge the amount of suffering civilians or soldiers would experience in the war, they would think twice before rushing the decision to start wars.
6. obliquely - to, toward or at one side
Example sentence: “The next throw whizzes obliquely over to the corner” (Remarque 177).
Original sentence: The snowball was thrown at an oblique angle and missed its target.
Used in my writing: Typically, books present ideas obliquely, refraining from stating them explicitly for the readers to understand.
7. patronizing - characteristc of those who treat others with arrogance
Example sentence: “Patronizingly he gives the youngster a portion and he says…” (Remarque 36).
Original sentence: His patronizing attitude bothered his coworkers.
Used in my writing: When John announced that he would be majoring in photography in college, John’s father started to lecture him in a patronizing manner, advising him to pick a major that would lead to “a more lucrative career”.
8. peevish - easily irritated or annoyed
Example sentence: “Everyone is peevish and touchy, we do not take kindly to all this polishing, much less to the full-dress parades” (Remarque 202).
Original sentence: She learned to be careful near her brother, considering his peevish nature.
Used in my writing: However, it is strongly implied through the slightly peevish and vexed tone that such excruciating memories cannot be forgotten so easily.
9. quixotic - not sensible about practical matters
Example sentence: "If it were possible for us to save them, then it would be seen how much we cared - we would have a shot at it through we went under ourselves; for we can be dammed quixotic when we like; fear we do not know much about - terror of death, yes; but that is a different matter, that is physical” (Remarque 139).
Original sentence: He always told his friends about his quixotic visions.
Used in my writing: This book seems to be saying that it is important not to dismiss the idea of relinquishing stereotypes as quixotic, and encourages readers to form opinions of others only after getting to know them on a deeper level.
10. revile - spread negative information about
Example sentence: “I won’t revile anymore, it is senseless, I could drop down and never rise again” (Remarque 32).
Original sentence: The reviled law was finally abolished.
Used in my writing: Cullen’s revilement of his best friend who relies on a stereotype also shows the errors in stereotyping.
11. surreptitious - marked by quiet and caution and secrecy
Example sentence: “Now I see that he is tormenting me, he is merely raking about in the wound and looking up surreptitiously at me over his glasses“ (Remarque 243).
Original sentence: His surreptitious glance gave the dog’s hiding place away.
Used in my writing: They would ideally also refrain from surreptitiously twisting the image of war into a glorious one in order to recruit misled individuals into the army.
12. upbraid - express criticism towards
Example sentence: "Mittelstaedt continues to upbraid him” (Remarque 175).
Original sentence: My mother began upbraiding me for forgetting to lock the door.
Used in my writing: This is also what leads Cullen to upbraid Lucas, his best friend, when the latter suggests that Cullen and him run in the Woodpecker Relay hosted by his town.
13. windfall - a sudden happening that brings food fortune
Example sentence: “It is true we have no right to this windfall” (Remarque 2).
Original sentence: We never understood the cause for this windfall but we were thankful for it anyway.
Used in my writing: Some people in town view this sudden reappearance of the Lazarus as a windfall, as the town’s tourism industry is suddenly booming.
14. disquietude - feelings of anxiety that make you tense and irritable
Example sentence: "My disquietude grows” (Remarque 172)
Original sentence: His disquietude was evident through his constant fidgeting.
Used in my writing: The disquietude of Paul himself is evident in his thoughts, as he believes he once “was a soldier, and now [he] is nothing but an agony for [himself], for [his] mother, for everything that is so comfortless and without end” (Remarque 185).
15. essentially - at bottom or by something's very nature
Example sentence: “In himself man is essentially a beast, only he butters it over like a slice of bread with a little decorum” (Remarque 44).
Original sentence: Essentially, growth is dependent upon water supply.
Used in my writing: Our understanding of how writers can use books to convey ideas is essential in becoming effective communicators who can use different modes to express our own ideas ourselves.