The Winepress Vocabulary

The meaning given for each word is contextual meaning, that is to say it is the specific meaning of the word within the context of the story. Some of these words have other meanings not shown here.

For each word, an example sentence is shown in italics.

arithmetic (n)
mathematics (adding, multiplying etc)
Don't ask me to add the numbers; I'm terrible at arithmetic.

aroma (n)
scent
The aroma at the spa was of roses and vanilla.

bateau-mouche (n)
sightseeing boat for tourists on the River Seine in Paris
In the summer the bateaux-mouches carry thousands of tourists up and down the Seine.

bulbous (adj)
large and round
Santa Claus has a bulbous nose and belly.

cask (n)
wooden container
We filled the cask with wine and put it in the cellar.

claret (n)
French red wine
You should always serve a nice claret with a juicy steak.

conceal (v)
hide
Franco concealed his love notes under his pillow.

contempt (n)
feeling that a person or thing is worthless
Jane's contempt for her ex-husband is unfair on her kids.

cultivated (adj)
educated about art
My husband is very cultivated because his grandmother was into classical music and painting.

dab (v)
touch lightly
Mary dabbed her extra lipstick off with her napkin.

decent (adj)
pretty good
At least wear a decent shirt because you are going to be photographed from the waist up.

denouncements (n)
accusations
The thief rejected the denouncements even though he was caught stealing on camera.

elegant (adj)
attractive, graceful, simple
I need a long elegant dress to wear to my graduation ceremony.

entertain (v)
host a party
Whenever my parents entertained their college friends we always had a BBQ and badminton tournament.

excessively (adj)
with more effort than necessary
Chrisie called me so excessively that I didn't want to be friends with her.

fathomless (adj)
deep, incomprehensible
Astronomers are constantly trying to search the fathomless depths of space.

fling (v)
throw wildly
The bride flung her bouquet of flowers behind her.

fumes (n)
strong smell that makes it hard to breathe
The petrol fumes at the garage always give me a headache.

game (n)
birds and other animals hunted for food or sport
The only game I enjoy eating is duck.

gaze (v)
look at intently with wide eyes
The couple sat on the beach gazing at the sunset.

genuine (adj)
real
This movie is not a genuine documentary.

glances (n)
looks that last only a short moment
Before we started dating we used to exchange glances from our desks.

grief-stricken (adj)
upset because of a loss
I was grief-stricken when my dog got run over by a car.

harvest (n)
season when crops are ready to pick
During the harvest the whole family goes out to work in the corn fields.

heaven forbid (interjection)
expressing a strong wish that something does not happen
Heaven forbid that we ever get hit by one of these terrible hurricanes!

humiliating (adj)
causing embarrassment
It was humiliating when they made me stand up and make a speech.

idyllic (adj)
peaceful, perfect
It was an idyllic afternoon with all of the kids away at school.

immigration (n)
permanent movement of someone from one country to another
The rules of immigration say that I need a permit to work in this country.

impassively (adv)
without expression, not showing emotion
The young teen stood impassively while the policeman put handcuffs on him.

insinuations (n)
suggestions about someone (without proof) that are not nice
I broke up with Bob because of the insinuations he made about me and my ex-boyfriend.

intention (n)
aim or plan
Alice's intention was to rent a guitar, not to buy one.

loathe (v)
hate
I loathed my grade nine French teacher because he gave us so much homework.

lunge (v)
move forward suddenly and quickly
The child lunged at the birthday cake before we could remove the candles.

peasant (n)
poor person who usually lives off the land
My ancestors were peasants who used to beg for food when their crops wouldn't grow.

pedigree (n)
record of ancestry, line of relatives
We only breed dogs of excellent pedigree.

(be) poised (v)
prepared to act
The fashion model was poised at the foot of the walkway.

raconteur (n)
a skilful storyteller
There is always one raconteur in the family who makes everyone laugh at the dinner table.

ravishing (adj)
very beautiful, entrancing
Brides always look ravishing on their wedding days.

reason (v)
analyze and form judgement logically; try to persuade by giving good reasons
I reasoned with my father to extend my curfew.

reputation (n)
opinions or beliefs that others have about a person or thing
Mark has a reputation for dating more than one woman at a time.

resort to (v)
do because nothing else worked
There were no size ten skates so Marie resorted to wearing men's.

root (n)
early stage, cause
Janice's mother-in-law is the root of her marital problems.

shudder (v)
tremble or shake because of cold or fear
Andrea shuddered when she heard the loud scream.

telegram (n)
mail formerly sent electronically and delivered in printed form on paper
During the war she learned of her son's injuries by telegram.

termagant (n)
a bad-tempered, noisy woman
The termagant was hassling her husband about forgetting to make her coffee.

veal (n)
the meat of a young cow
Samantha doesn't eat veal because she's a vegetarian.

vigorous (adj)
strong, energetic
The vigorous builders had the house finished in one week.

vintage (n)
top wine, usually wine from a specific year
They're serving a 1975 vintage to mark their anniversary.

vineyard (n)
place where grapes are grown
We worked in the vineyard until all of the grapes had been picked.

visibly (adv)
easily seen
She stood visibly in front of the window, so I knew she was home.

well up (v)
fill up (often with liquid)
Her eyes welled up with tears when he asked her to marry him.

winepress (n)
machine or equipment used to squeeze the juice out of grapes
We'll need a winepress if we want to make juice out of these grapes.