Why should you read "Don Quixote"? - Ilan Stavans

Important Vocabulary Words From The Video

vanquish

To vanquish is to defeat or overcome. When the army vanquishes the enemy, they win the battle.

  • The vanquishing hero is celebrated throughout the kingdom.
  • The vanquishing hero is celebrated throughout the kingdom, and they receive a large reward.
undeterred

Undeterred means not discouraged or scared. When the team was undeterred by the first few losses, they kept on playing and eventually won the championship.

  • The students were undeterred by the negative feedback and kept on working.
  • The soldier was undeterred by the gunshots and kept on moving.
encapsulates

To encapsulate something is to put it into a complete, perfect, or complete understanding. When you encapsulate a piece of information, you understand it completely.

  • The professor was trying to encapsulate the information in the lecture so that the students would understand it.
  • The writer was trying to encapsulate the emotions of the story in a few words.
chronicling

To chronicling is to write or to record something in a diary or journal. chronicling can also refer to the act of documenting or recording the history of something.

  • The chronicler documented the history of the war.
  • The chronicler documented the history of the city.
tomes

A tome is a large book, usually written in a scholarly style. Some tomes are even very thick.

  • He is reading a tome on medieval history.
  • She is reading a tome on chemistry.
nobleman

A nobleman is a person who is part of the nobility. This means that they are born with a certain amount of money and power, and they are usually considered to be above average in terms of intelligence and social status.

  • The nobleman was very angry, and he was shouting at the top of his lungs.
  • He is a nobleman, and he is not used to being shouted at.
downtrodden

When something is downtrodden, it is lower in status or quality than it was before. The economy is downtrodden, which means that the prices of goods are lower than they were before.

  • The downtrodden workers are protesting for better pay.
  • The downtrodden town was hit hard by the recession.
lurid

Lurid is a adjective that is used to describe something that is very graphic or gory. The word is often used to describe the news or the media.

  • The article was lurid and full of gory details.
  • The movie was lurid and full of graphic violence.
clamored

To clamor is to yell or plead for something loudly. The people in the stadium were clamoring for the ball to be thrown back to them.

  • The protesters were clamoring for their voices to be heard.
  • The people in the restaurant were clamoring for their food to be served.