The Picture of Dorian Gray

This section presents terms and phrases that are central to understanding the text and may present a challenge to the reader. Use this list to create a vocabulary quiz or worksheet, to prepare flashcards for a standardized test, or to inspire classroom word games and other group activities.

1. tremulous (adjective):

shaking slightly; nervously timid

“From the corner of the divan of Persian saddle-bags on which he was lying, smoking, as was his custom, innumerable cigarettes, Lord Henry Wotton could just catch the gleam of the honey-sweet and honey-coloured blossoms of a laburnum, whose tremulous branches seemed hardly able to bear the burden of a beauty so flamelike as theirs.” (Chapter 1, Page 5)

2. disquiet (noun):

a feeling of worry or anxiety

“They live as we all should live—undisturbed, indifferent, and without disquiet.” (Chapter 1, Page 6)

3. languid (adjective):

slow and lazy; relaxed

“The wind shook some blossoms from the trees, and the heavy lilac-blooms, with their clustering stars, moved to and fro in the languid air.” (Chapter 1, Page 8)

4. truculent (adjective):

quick to argue or fight

“I remember her bringing me up to a truculent and red-faced old gentleman covered all over with orders and ribbons, and hissing into my ear, in a tragic whisper which must have been perfectly audible to everybody in the room, the most astounding details.