Lewis Palmer’s Reviews > The Rachel Papers > Status Update

impedimenta
noun [ plural ] mainly humorous
UK /ɪmˌped.ɪˈmen.tə/
the objects that you need for a particular activity that are heavy or difficult to carry:
We were weighed down with sleeping bags, gas cookers and pans - all the impedimenta of camping.

syncopate
verb [ I or T ] MUSIC specialized
UK /ˈsɪŋ.kə.peɪt/
to have a rhythm in which strong notes are not on the beat, or to create music that has this rhythm:
The music suddenly syncopates, like ragtime.
The melodies were syncopated off the bass lines.

amorphous
adjective
UK /əˈmɔː.fəs/ /ˌeɪˈmɔː.fəs/
(of a physical thing) having no fixed form or shape:
an amorphous mass of jelly
(of an idea, a plan, etc.) having no clear structure or details:
How can historians deal with such amorphous human qualities as fear and grief?
It wasn't clear what they expected from me other than the amorphous "change".

beleaguered
adjective formal
UK /bɪˈliː.ɡəd/
having a lot of problems or difficulties:
The arrival of the fresh medical supplies was a welcome sight for the beleaguered doctors working in the refugee camps.

capricious
adjective literary
UK /kəˈprɪʃ.əs/
changing mood or behaviour suddenly and unexpectedly:
a capricious child
He was a cruel and capricious tyrant.

recondite
adjective formal
UK /ˈrek.ən.daɪt/
not known about by many people and difficult to understand:
We had to work from material that was both complex and recondite.

contrapuntal
adjective MUSIC specialized
UK /ˌkɒn.trəˈpʌn.təl/
Contrapuntal music has two or more separate tunes that are played or sung at the same time.

extricate
verb [ T ] formal
UK /ˈek.strɪ.keɪt/
to remove something or set something free with difficulty:
extricate something from something It took hours to extricate the car from the sand.
extricate yourself from something I tried to extricate myself from the situation.

disconsolate
adjective formal
UK /dɪˈskɒn.səl.ət/
extremely sad and disappointed:
The players were disconsolate after losing what should have been an easy game.
Synonym
inconsolable

mawkishness
noun [ U ] disapproving
UK /ˈmɔː.kɪʃ.nəs/
the quality of showing emotion or love in an awkward or silly way:
For me, the most important quality of the novel is that it escapes mawkishness, sentimentality, and cliches.
He always keeps the story under tight control, never allowing it to descend into melodrama or mawkishness.